Life Course Perspective Essay

Life course perspective is an approach that tries to understand how chronological age, relationships, life transitions, historical time and place, and social change shape lives of people from fetal period to death (Elder et al., 2003). Various life course trajectories increases exposure to advantage and disadvantage throughout our life leading to accumulation of risks and opportunities which impact subsequent life trajectories and health of the person themselves and other people close to them. Therefore, cumulative advantage and disadvantage and linked lives can be two of the important factors that can contribute to the course origins of health (Elder et al., 2003 and Ferraro & Shippee, 2009).
Cumulative advantage and disadvantage The experiences throughout our life course leads to accumulation of advantage and disadvantage in our life and shapes our health. Accumulation of advantage is associated with more opportunities over life course whereas accumulation of disadvantages is linked to more exposures to risk factors (Ferraro & Shippee, 2009). The risk and opportunities not only determine physiological and behavioral factors related to health outcomes but they also are related to access and
The principal of linked lives states that events in person’s life can have an influence on the lives of other significant people in her or his life. The effect of life course on health through linked lives begins even before birth. According to Barker, maternal undernutrition and stress during pregnancy leads to decreased nutrient and oxygen supply which leads to metabolic, physiological, and structural changes in fetus. These changes can increase the risk of low birth weight and premature birth among infants. In addition, these infants are more likely to develop chronic disease such as heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes during their later life (Barker,