ABSTRACT
Major historical events of the twentieth century have had a differential impart on women of different ages, altering the life course for successive cohorts. Demographically, changes in women's life course patterns are defined by changes in the rates at which women assume significant social roles (such as the roles of student, paid worker, spouse, or parent) and by changes in the timing, sequencing, and duration of these roles (Hess 1988; Huber 1988; McLaughlin et al. 1988; Riley 1988). Women's social roles, as well as their age cohort, affect their attitudes, aspirations, expectations, and values (Hess 1988; Riley 1988). This article focuses primarily on the changes in the typical life course pattern of white women in the United States during the twentieth century.
