Trajectory Models for Aging Research
Life course research investigates how human lives and events unfold over time, at both the individual level and larger levels, such as within families or nations. At the individual level, life course research is concerned with the development of individuals as they age, as well as with between-person differences in development. Such differences often exist across sexes, races, socioeconomic classes, and other characteristics. Importantly, the birth cohort to which an individual belongs plays an important role in shaping development, as do period events (e.g., economic depression). Trajectory methods have emerged over the last several decades as important tools for investigating life course dynamics, including between-person differences in development.
