Emerging adulthood transitions across generations and their association with psychological distress and general health: findings from two longitudinal population studies

Background The age at which young adults are entering typical adult roles has increased across generations, however few studies have investigated whether the longitudinal transitional pathways, and their outcomes, vary across generations. Objective To investigate cross-cohort generational differences in the life transition trajectories of 16- to 25-year-olds in respect to education, family formation, cohabitation, marriage, and employment, and to examine their associations with psychological distress and self-rated general health. Methods Second-order latent class analysis was applied to data from 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS) and 1989 Next Steps to derive patterns and timing of key transitional milestones from adolescence through to early adulthood. Trajectories were modelled separately for males and females within each cohort. Multinomial logistic regression was used to test associations between profiles of life transition trajectories and self-rated general health and psychological distress. Results Substantial differences in life transition trajectories between the ages of 16 and 25 years were observed across cohorts. Among those born in 1970 (BCS), males were most likely to leave compulsory education and enter employment (69%), whereas females were most likely to engage in further education before entering employment (43.2%). This pattern differed among those born in 1990 (Next Steps), where both males and females were most likely to continue their education before entering employment (66.7% and 77.2%, respectively). Certain life transitions were associated with poorer health outcomes at age 25. Leaving school early to enter employment was associated with increased psychological distress among females born in 1970, while leaving school early to enter parenthood was associated with increased psychological distress among males born in 1990. Associations with poor self-rated health were generally attenuated after adjustment for father’s social class, although elevated risks remained for males born in 1970 who left school early to enter employment and for males and females born in 1990 who left school early to enter parenthood. Conclusion These findings point to generational differences in the life transition trajectories of emerging adults’, and health disparities in general and psychological health.