ABSTRACT
Problems of interdependence between family ties and individual achievement are common in the life course. Family relations both enhance and curtail the life chances of individuals by influencing their opportunities for achievement through education, occupation, and marriage. Individual achievement, in turn, can strengthen or weaken family bonds. This social dynamic has appeared in women's scheduling of family events and individual achievement since at least the 1940s. In this paper, we view women's lives across three generations from the vantage point of family ties and life chances.
