ABSTRACT
The data in our study are based on two waves of measurement separated by 16 years. In 1976 and 1992, the parents and children in our survey provided us with an insight into their personal and family lives. Initial findings on changes and stabilities, based on comparing these two waves on the level of personality, were reported in chapter 2. However, in view of the long time span between the two data collections, we can also ask what has been happening in the lives of the individual families and their members. Such information is particularly important if one wants to go beyond a descriptive comparison of the results from the two waves to study how possible changes or stabilities can be explained.
