The Role of Parental Social Class in the Transition to Adulthood: a Sequence Analysis Approach in Italy and the United States.

In comparison to older cohorts, younger men and women in the developed societies delay their transition to adulthood and follow more complex trajectories. However, within cohorts there remain variations in timing and sequencing of events. Two of the major determinants of life course events related to transition to adulthood, and in particular family formation, are gender and social class. These two characteristics can influence the sequence of events characterizing the transition to adulthood in terms of socioeconomic inequalities through a different availability of opportunities for social mobility. Several studies show that in North America, a higher familiar status tends to decrease the complexity of trajectories or, in other words, to push towards a more “traditional” pattern, i.e. a trajectory in which the end of education and the first job precedes union formation, which in turn precedes parenthood. On the other hand, it has been highlighted that in Europe the familiar status has a different effect with an increasing complexity among higher status.
The aim of the research is to examine in details the sequences of transitions highlighting, in a comparative perspective, how the life trajectories are influenced by parental social class and gender in the US and Italy.