Peace Corps service as a turning point.

This is a longitudinal study of twenty-one U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers, first interviewed in the mid-1960s during their tour of service in the Republic of the Philippines and then twenty years later as middle-aged adults. Life events reported after their service and the high degree of response agreement in the two interviews confirm that their Peace Corps experience constituted a turning point in their life courses. The study reviews the literature on turning points, proposes an appropriate definition for the concept, identifies conditions that promote turning points, especially for youth, and indicates directions for future research.