Interaction Among Family, Professional and Geographical Mobility Trajectories in Early Adulthood: An Application of Multidomain Sequence Analysis Based on Entrée Dans La Vie Adulte Survey.

Background: Previous research has indicated that stable employment is a significant determinant for French young adults when establishing independent living arrangements, while geographical mobility for educational purposes often prompts earlier departures from the parental home. Furthermore, job transitions can act as catalysts for geographical mobility, with notable gender differences influencing these dynamics. However, the interaction between school-to-work transitions and home-leaving trajectories, particularly concerning geographical mobility during early adulthood, remains poorly understood.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the complexities of the transition to adulthood through the interdependent trajectories of school-to-work, home-leaving, and geographical mobility. Two research questions guide this inquiry: (1) How do these three trajectories interact simultaneously from adolescence to the late twenties? and (2) Do these interactions vary by gender, and if so, how?

Data and Method: We analyse life trajectory sequences from the French longitudinal survey Entrée dans la Vie Adulte (EVA), which includes data on individuals born in 1996 and observed annually until 2023. The survey provides comprehensive insights into living arrangements, educational pathways, and geographical mobility. We employ Multidomain Sequence (MD) analyses to examine these domains, utilising optimal matching distances for clustering individuals and multinomial logistic regression to assess the impact of individual characteristics such as socio-economic status and educational background.

Contribution: This study makes a significant contribution to the literature by being one of the first to fully exploit the EVA survey, thereby demonstrating the benefits of longitudinal data in life course research. It elucidates the interconnectedness and synchronicity of geographical mobility with school-to-work and home-leaving trajectories, showcasing the efficacy of innovative methodologies such as multidomain sequence analysis in exploring multiple life domains.