Mapping pathways to adulthood among Finnish university students: Sequences, patterns, variations in family- and work-related roles

The present follow-up study examined the sequences, patterns, and variations in family- and work-related roles during the transition to adulthood among university students. Our aim was to identify typologies of transitional pathways to adulthood across their education, employment, residence, partnership/parenthood histories. The subjects were 182 first-year Finnish university students (mean age = 21) who were followed for 18 years. The Life History Calendar was used to collect data on their education, employment, residence, and partnership/parenthood histories. We also investigated the participants’ background variables (gender, age, parents’ education, school grades) and their life satisfaction at the end of the follow-up. Six transitional pathways were identified: Career and family (24%), Slow starters (19%), Fast starters (15%), Fast partnership and late parenthood (15%), Career with unsteady partnerships (15%), and Singles with slow career (12%). Further, the results showed that those participants who were on time in their career and family transitions experienced higher life satisfaction than those who postponed these major role transitions.