TY - JOUR T1 - The Demographic Stretch of the Arc of Life: Social and Cultural Changes That Follow the Demographic Transition JF - Global Health: Science and Practice JO - GLOB HEALTH SCI PRACT SP - 341 LP - 351 DO - 10.9745/GHSP-D-14-00175 VL - 3 IS - 3 AU - Ariel Pablos-Mendez AU - Scott R Radloff AU - Kamiar Khajavi AU - Sally Ann Dunst Y1 - 2015/09/10 UR - http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/3/3/341.abstract N2 - The demographic transition from high to low levels of mortality and fertility brings about changes that stretch the “arc of life,” making each stage of life longer and creating new ones—a phenomenon we call “the demographic stretch.” This stretch can transform societal structure, for example, by extending childhood, shifting working ages up, delaying marriage and childbearing, improving women’s status and equity, and pushing the burden of chronic disease and disability to older ages. Global health efforts must address the resultant economic and social changes.The demographic transition, when countries shift from high to low levels of mortality and fertility, has been underway for 2 centuries, with differences in onset and pace across countries and regions of the world.1-3 Over the course of the transition, average life expectancy more than doubles, from about 40 years to 80 years, while the average fertility rate declines from about 7 children per woman to 2.5 children per woman—nearing replacement levels.Living longer does not mean simply adding more years of decrepitude to the end of life. We posit that unprecedented increases in life expectancy stretch the “arc of life,” making each stage of life longer and creating new ones—a phenomenon we call “the demographic stretch.”The clearest example of the demographic stretch is the transition from child to adult: the concept of “adolescence” was popularized only in the 20th century, and the term “teenager” was unknown before World War II. (G. Stanley Hall coined the term “teenager” in 1904 to describe the stage of life made possible by child labor laws and universal education, before youth faced the responsibilities of adulthood.4) Rather than work and marry, young people are more likely to go to college and postpone marriage, and sexual and reproductive activity may be likewise postponed or take on … ER -