Children of the Great Depression

Author: (USA) Eldred / Tian He / Ma Chunhua
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-04-01
Features: The Great Depression of the 1930s was one of the most unforgettable painful experiences for Americans in the 20th century. In Children of the Great Depression, Eldred's cohort born between 1920 and 1921 was selected as the research subjects for a long-term longitudinal study on the impact of the Great Depression on various aspects of their life trajectories. Eldred argues that the Great Depression not only affected the living environment of the research subjects during their childhood but also had a profound influence on their adult work life, adult experiences, career paths, and even extended to their descendants, shaping, to some extent, the national character of post-war Americans. In this book, Eldred comprehensively employs research methods from history, sociology, and psychology to appropriately assess the far-reaching impact of the economic hardships caused by the Great Depression on the life trajectories of his research subjects and their descendants. In terms of the influence of major social and historical changes on individual life trajectories, Eldred undoubtedly pioneered a completely new field of research. Therefore, this work holds significant reference value for scholars in various social sciences.