The birth cohort, or set of people born in approximately the same period of time, has a triple reference as an analytical tool in sociology: (1) to cohorts of people who are aging and succeeding each other in particular eras of history; (2) to the age composition of the population and its changes; and (3) to the interplay between cohorts of people and the age-differentiated roles and structures of society. Diverse sociological studies illustrate the use of these cohort perspectives (i.e., both theoretical and empirical approaches) to investigate varied aspects of aging and cohort succession, population composition, and the reciprocal relationships between cohorts and social structures.

Conceptual Framework

Figure 1 is a rough schematization of the major conceptual elements implicated in these interrelated cohort perspectives as they have relevance for sociology (for an overview, see Riley, Johnson, and Foner 1972; Riley, Foner and Riley 1999).

Aging and Cohort Succession. The diagonal...