Experiences Of Youth In Transition To Adulthood: The Models Developed In Base Of Generation And Gender Survey

Understanding the specificities and patterns of transition to adulthood and timing of young adults' milestones is essential for developing targeted and effective social integration policies that address the needs and vulnerabilities of youth subcategories. The aim of the paper is to develop a typology of transition models within the specific context of Moldova by classifying different pathways that young people follow during the transition into adulthood. This study uses the data from Generations and Gender Survey (GGS) conducted in Moldova in 2020. Pathways are derived from key life events that mark the transition to adulthood, retrospectively observed for young people 25-35 years old (N = 2540). To explore the different patterns of transitions Two-Step Cluster analysis was used. This exploratory model is relevant for creating typologies and processing both continuous and categorical variables. The analysis identifies four main clusters of transition to adulthood, showing variations between them. The “complex transition†cluster describes young people who experience a smoother transition to adulthood, characterized by a higher level of education followed by stable employment opportunities, while demographic events such as marriage and parenthood occur later in this group. The “uncertain transition†cluster reflects a degree of instability and uncertainty in terms of employment, many young people, especially men, are employed temporarily or informally, while women in this cluster are often on maternity or childcare leave without being employed. The “precarious transition†cluster represents inactive young people in the labor market, most of them having a low level of education, contributing to their precarious situation on the labor market. The “early transition†cluster suggests a pattern of early transitions into adulthood, often accompanied by limited educational attainment and early family formation.