Guest Editorial: Generation X enters middle age

Authors

  • Alice Sullivan Institute of Education, University College London
  • Matt Brown Institute of Education, University College London
  • David Bann Institute of Education, University College London

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14301/llcs.v6i2.351

Keywords:

BCS70, Generation X, middle age

Abstract

The 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) is an ongoing longitudinal study of people born in the United Kingdom in a particular week in 1970. It is the third study in Britain’s world-renowned series of birth cohort studies, following the 1946 and 1958 birth cohorts. Compared to the generations born in 1946 and 1958, the 1970 cohort were subject to an era of economic and labour market transformation and turbulence and experienced growing socio-economic inequalities. They can be seen as entering middle age with a degree of reluctance, as child-bearing has been delayed to later ages compared to previous generations.  The notion that this generation is more troubled than the previous generation gains some support from the higher levels of mental distress reported by the 1970 cohort members at age 42. This special issue asks how this generation is faring in mid-life, and addresses a diverse range of themes including social mobility, obesity and religion. This paper provides an introduction to the 1970 cohort and the social context in which they have lived, and an overview of the remaining papers in the special issue.

Downloads

Published

2015-04-15

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 2 (2015): Generation X enters middle age

Section

Editorial

License

Authors who published with Longitudinal and Life Course Studies Volumes 1–9 agreed to the following terms:

1. Authors retain copyright and grant the Journal right of first publication with the work, simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

2. Following first publication in this Journal, Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal, provided always that no charge is made for its use.

3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g. in institutional repositories or on their own website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.