In explaining these contradictory phenomena, attention is drawn to the continuous growth of social problems as a result of economic change, which increasingly forces individuals and entire peer groups to develop new modes of reproducing and constructing their identities. The diversification of life styles and life courses has led researchers to attribute excessive importance to this aspect of the modernisation process and to neglect the objective reality of the social structure, namely, the confirmation of the traditional differences between classes and social strata, between the sexes, age-groups and ethnic groups. The contradictory character of modernisation became apparent when the indicators of social inequality established by cross-sectional research were followed up in longitudinal studies of cohorts in order to study the distribution of these inequalities at different points in the life cycle. This contributes WALTER HEINZ AND ULRIKE NAGEL In order to study the relationship between structural reproduction and social change, in the relationship between structure and action in Gidden's terms, the concept of the life course has turned out to be a useful frame of reference for designing empirical studies and for theory formation. The life course is seen as the arena of the modernisation process where determining effects of the socio-economic structure as well as the erosion of traditional life styles and life courses can be observed simultaneously. © 1997 AnnetteJoberr, Catherine Marry, Lucie Tanguy and Helen Rainbird selection and editorial matter; individual chapters, the contributors. All rights reserved.
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