In which areas of life are people confronted with transitions? The authors of this book examine three thematic areas: (1) transitions between autonomy and dependence, (2) transitions between family, work and leisure, and (3) transitions and relationships. Common to all contributions is not only the content-related reference to transition research, but also a fundamentally reflexive approach that understands transitions as social constructions and keeps the relation of subject and structure in view. The contributions in this book look at different transitions and their individual meaning in different phases of life. The aim is not to analyse transitions in terms of their function in structuring the life course, but rather to address the question of how transitions shape, form or even link life phases.

Prof. Dr. Sabine Andresen , Professorin, Institut für Erziehungswissenschaft der Goethe-Universität Frankfurt Prof. Dr. Frank Oswald , Professor, Interdisziplinäre Alternswissenschaft, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt Prof. Dr. Bernhard Schmidt-Hertha , Professor, Institut für Pädagogik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München