LIFE-HISTORIES AND DEVELOPMENTAL CONTROL IN TIMES OF A MACROSOCIAL RUPTURE - THE CASE OF DIFFERENT BIRTH COHORTS IN THE EAST-GERMAN TRANSFORMATION PROCESS

The transformation of the former GDR into a part of the Federal Republ ic of Germany after 1989 is considered here as an example of individua l life courses being shaped to a high degree by societal and historica l conditions. We focus here on the interplay between individual life h istories (before and after 1989) of different birth cohorts on the one side and developmental control on the other, considering primary and secondary strategies of developmental control, control beliefs, and se lf-esteem Special attention is dedicated to the question whether the c ontrol beliefs, which are assumed to be quite stable over the adult li fe course, are indeed stable when confronted with radical social chang e, and whether the interplay between primary and secondary control sti ll follows the age-related theories of life span development. We apply data of the study ''Life Courses and Historic Change in the Former GD R'', carried through at the Max Planck Institute fur Human Development and Education (four birth cohorts: 1929-31, 1439-41, 1951-53 and 1959 -61). Results give evidence for changing living conditions and a deval uation of formerly accumulated resources leading to lower levels of in ternal control beliefs, primary control, and a lowered self-esteem esp ecially for the birth cohort 1939-41. This is partly due to their comp arably bad labour market situation now compared to the relatively good career chances they experienced before 1989, but even beyond that the members of this cohort show evidence for a collective, comprehensive loss of future perspectives.