“Family-Anchored” transitions to adult life in Mexico

Background: It is common for young adults in Mexico to coreside with own parents or other extended family members when forming the first partnership or becoming a parent/single parent. This practice has scarcely been studied in the literature and yet plays a very relevant role in understanding transitions to adulthood in the Latin American context. Objective: This study explores whether young Mexicans realize family transitions (first partnership, parenthood, and single motherhood) within an extended household (‘family-anchored’ transitions), emphasizing the role of family support during life course transitions and its stability across cohorts. Methods: Leveraging longitudinal data from the 2017 Retrospective Demographic Survey (EDER) for cohorts born between 1962 and 1987 (N = 13,020), we analyze whether family transitions (first partnership, first parenthood within partnership, and first single motherhood) involve a shift from a nuclear to an extended household. Using multivariate logistic regressions, we assess the socioeconomic and demographic profile associated with family-anchored transitions. Results: Around 42% of women and 32% of men anchor their transition to first partnership and single motherhood in an extended household. Younger adults from recent cohorts, low-SES families, and with lower education have higher odds of experiencing family-anchored transitions to first partnership and parenthood, whereas anchored transitions to single motherhood is more likely for women from younger cohorts and high-SES backgrounds. Contribution: This research contributes to the understanding of the critical role of family support during vulnerable life stages in Mexico, and how anchoring family transitions in extended households represents a common strategy across Mexican society.