ABSTRACT
If there is one summary comment that can be made, it is that psychological processes cannot be studied except in the context of both variations in social surround and change over time. Evidence presented here shows quite clearly that means used for coping with role strains and both expected or normative, and unexpected, generally adverse circumstances vary with changes in social context including the course of life itself. Indeed viewed from the perspective of life-course social science, failure to consider these issues of context and timing compromises the significance of findings.
