Poverty and Family Transitions into Adulthood in Rural Mexico

Marta Mier-y-Teran, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

The objective of this paper is to analyse the process of transition into adulthood in the family domain amongst young people from rural and marginal localities in Mexico. The focus is on family transitions, but I also explore the way they are influenced by transitions in the public domain. I give particular emphasis to differentials by ethnicity, gender and region. The data source is the Survey of Socio-economic Characteristics of Households conducted in the framework of the Progresa Social Program from 1996 to 1999. Curves of ages at the three family transitions (leaving the family household, forming a conjugal union for the first time and giving birth to the first child) are analysed. Multivariate statistical models are applied to model the probability of being in a conjugal union and of living in an independent household. A multinomial logistic regression is applied to the male and female populations separately.