Residential Mobility, Age, and the Life Cycle

A life cycle explanation of residential mobility is presented. It posits that age-related events in a normative context influence moving probabilities for homogeneous populations who have relatively uniform socializa-tion. The life cycle is expressed mathematically by an a priori step function where transition points are de-lineated and are used jointly with an assumed underlying e*a distribution in which a = age. Curve fitting is employed to determine if the life cycle explanation is consistent at different units and levels of analysis. Results are as follows: (1) age has a consistent inverse relation to mobility, (2) age underlies a family life cycle step function explanation of mobility for a homogeneous population aggregate, and (3) family life cycle transition points likely delineate normative events that are followed by subsequent residential changes. In further research, these transition points might be used in predictive models, as time points where behavioral probabilities change for different cohorts. THE life cycle reflects population experi-ences through normatively-defined age statuses (Cain, 1964; Erikson, 1959). Eisen-stadt (1956) describes age-related expectations for behavior as an important link between the social system and the individual. The life cycle