It takes two to tango: The (un)easy dance between life-course sociology and life-span psychology

This article reflects on the challenges and contradictions of studying adult lives in contemporary times. It highlights complexities related to age, variability, social change, risk and uncertainty, institutional contexts, politics, and interdependence. It discusses how life-course sociology and life-span psychology might together better inform these and other themes. It also identifies key points of divergence and convergence between the two fields, what these might mean for their future separation, cooperation, or integration, and how the barriers between them might be overcome.