Change and continuity in family formation among young adults in Britain

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Description/Abstract

Data from the 1958 and 1970 British birth cohorts permit comparison of family formation patterns among young adults. We present evidence of changes in the speed and extent to which young adults enter first partnership, marry and become parents, and the relationships between these events. There remain remarkable continuities in social class differences. The intergenerational perspective demonstrates how persistent class differences in the family formation trajectories of young adults are in part a reflection of social inequalities in access to further and higher education.