The Family Foundation: What Do Class and Family Structure Have to Do with the Transition to Adulthood?

Citation

Wilcox, W. Bradford & Stokes, Charles E. (2015). The Family Foundation: What Do Class and Family Structure Have to Do with the Transition to Adulthood?. In Amato, Paul R.; Booth, Alan; McHale, Susan M.; & Van Hook, Jennifer (Eds.), Families in an Era of Increasing Inequality (pp. 147-157). Springer International Publishing.

Abstract

Young adults face an increasingly complex and often difficult landscape as they transition to adulthood, especially because the market provides fewer opportunities for them to find stable work that provides a straightforward path into the middle class. The transition to adulthood is particularly daunting for less-privileged young adults, who have fewer resources to navigate the new landscape. This chapter investigates the association between adolescent family structure and the transition to adulthood among young adults, especially less-privileged young adults. Considerable evidence demonstrates that young men and women from biological married families are more likely to graduate from college and avoid a nonmarital birth than their peers from non-intact families , but less evidence shows that family structure matters for young adult employment and income. The link between family structure and young adult outcomes seems to be particularly strong for young adults from moderately educated homes (where their mother has a high school degree but not a bachelor’s degree).

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08308-7_11

Reference Type

Book Chapter

Book Title

Families in an Era of Increasing Inequality

Series Title

National Symposium on Family Issues

Author(s)

Wilcox, W. Bradford
Stokes, Charles E.

Editor(s)

Amato, Paul R.
Booth, Alan
McHale, Susan M.
Van Hook, Jennifer

Year Published

2015

Volume Number

5

Pages

147-157

Publisher

Springer International Publishing

ISSN/ISBN

978-3-319-08307-0

DOI

10.1007/978-3-319-08308-7_11

Reference ID

5222