ABSTRACT
Even before we are born, institutions and social structures begin to shape our lives through their variable effects on our parents and communities. Initially, our families of origin filter the influences of various economic and social forces. As we move through childhood and adolescence, we begin to experience these institutional and structural influences firsthand, through the roles we play as members of our immediate and extended families, as students in educational systems, as worshipers of a given religion, and as patients receiving health care. We arrive on the cusp of adulthood poised to take on new and emergent roles within political institutions, as voting-aged citizens, and within economic institutions, as workers and consumers. As we transition into these and other adult roles, we may experience opportunities related to family connections, higher education, and professional employment, or we may begin to realize the consequences of growing up in disadvantaged circumstances as they play out in constrained educational, employment, and housing opportunities. Some of us will experience spells as inmates in the criminal justice system, while others of us will serve on active duty in the U.S. military.
