An analysis of life event sequences of China's young adults

China, having undergone unprecedented socioeconomic transformation and state policy interventions since the Chinese Communist Party took over in 1949, provides a fascinating laboratory for studying how lives of young people have been shaped by different historical contexts. Preliminary evidence based on the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) suggest that today’s young Chinese are exploring new pathways to adulthood, including cohabitation and premarital sex. Using the 2008 CGSS data, we propose a holistic approach of examining the transitions to adulthood by employing the optimal matching technique. This method takes into account multiple trajectories simultaneously, and allows us to investigate further the orderliness and disorderliness of lives of Chinese young adults.