Das bürgerliche Familienideal, die Rolle der erwerbstätigen Mutter und die Autonomie des Einzelnen.

Modernization is an ongoing process with huge structural and cultural changes which have significant impacts as well on people's individualization and personality and their relationships. Today modern people have to deal with complex social networks which change often within the life course. Contemporary observers had already remarked on this. For example Emile Durkheim claimed that modern people tend to commit to others easily in the same way they tend to dissolve relationships. Luhmann stated that the basic need for the individual is to reduce complexity in order to cope with every day's requirements. Working sphere and family sphere are two areas which make high demands on modernized people. Particularly the rite de passage between work and family life seems to be the interface which looms different gender specific way outs for women and men. The following article deals with these to hemispheres and focusses on interdependent effects and problems between career development and timing of marriage and the family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]