The Making of a Generation: The Children of the 1970s in Adulthood

Periods of economic insecurity affect different age groups in different ways. Whether you call them generations or cohorts, life experiences framed by the unique intersection of age and history have proved a fascinating subject for social scientists. In their coming-of-age account of the group of birth cohorts some have dubbed Generation X, Lesley Andres and Johanna Wyn provide a readable, theoretically embedded, and empirically supported account of how policy, economic conditions, and persistent inequality create currents that can lead us to different futures from those we imagined. Utilizing a longitudinal design and 14 to 15 years of data from the ‘‘Paths on Life’s Way’’ project, based in British Columbia, Canada, and the ‘‘Life Patterns’’ project, set in Victoria, Australia, the authors examine how these two sets of adolescents, who completed their secondary schooling in the late 1980s and early 1990s, manage decisions about postsecondary education, work, and relationships in a context of increasing economic insecurity, global competition, workplace restructuring, and persistent inequalities by class and gender. The similarities in the political, social, and economic institutions of Canada and Australia allow the authors to spotlight how expansions in post-secondary education were orchestrated, how the goal of expanding education opportunity was reflected in education achievement, and how these young adults tried to articulate their educational credentials and life goals with the changing work environment. The authors organize the material into five interrelated themes: reluctant change makers, an education generation, generating new patterns of family life, a generation in search of work/life balance, and a diverse generation. In unfolding these themes, they show us how, on the one hand, these young people wanted the same sorts of things we wanted at their age—financial security (but not necessarily wealth), good relationships, and happiness. But the circumstances they face are different—better in some ways, more difficult in others. Part of that difficulty stems from the diverse pathways available to young people, which may appear incomprehensible to those who argue that more choice is always better. Those trying to figure out how to get from here to there find that having ‘‘endless possibilities’’ is not necessarily a comfort, especially when we later discover that some of those routes are in disrepair, others are too crowded, and still others come with detours that may keep us from ever reaching our destinations. Rather, seeing some number of clearly articulated routes that lead to a specific outcome assures us that we will be able to reach our goals. The trend toward the individualization of risk that has been noted in both the academic and popular press appears here in various manifestations—for example, the anxiety felt over choosing the right major, finding more than a dead-end job, and paying off student loans. The other side of this trend is showing how the costs of social change are externalized, sometimes with unintended consequences. As families and students absorb the higher costs of post-secondary schooling, parents continue to house their graduates well into their 20s, graduates delay marriage and children until they are able to establish some financial foothold, while employers are able to hire college graduates to fill clerical jobs. When the costs of such widespread social change are shifted, those already in a position of disadvantage are often the most vulnerable. Despite the expansion of post-secondary education, existing patterns of inequality are reproduced as new generations are sorted into winners and losers. Those whose parents are college graduates manage the secondary to post-secondary transition more smoothly