Life course theory is a multidisciplinary paradigm for the study of people’s lives, structural contexts, and social change. It also refers to a sequence of socially defined events and roles that the individual enacts over time. This approach encompasses ideas and observations from disciplines such as history, sociology, demography, developmental psychology, biology, and economics. Life course theory directs attention to the powerful connection between individual lives and the historical and socioeconomic context in which these lives unfold. Life span refers to duration of life and characteristics that are closely related to age but that vary little across time and place. However, the life course perspective emhasize on the importance of time, context, process, and meaning on human development and family life.

Socio-historical and geographical location is one of the key concepts of life course theory. The developmental path is  transformed by events occurring within their geographical location. An understanding of the location of various cohorts in their respective historical contexts aids scholars and policy makers to identity circumstances that have differentially affected people’s respective life histories. The other key concept is Timing of lives, which encompass individual time, generational time, and historical time. This approach assumes that periods of life, such as childhood, adolescence, and old age, influence positions, roles, and rights in society.

Heterogeneity is the other key concept, which argues that generations are not homogeneous collections of people but rather differ in terms of gender, social class, family structure, ethnicity, and religion. The other key concept is linked lives and social ties, which emphasizes that lives are interdependent and reciprocally connected on several levels. This is why events, such as war, could affect individual behaviors and familial relationships. Stressful events such as death can affect family relationships as it trigger patterns of stress and vulnerability.