Changes in women’s family trajectories in Mexico and Colombia

Abstract

This study investigates the family trajectories of young women in Mexico and Colombia, analysing changes across three birth cohorts and examining the evolving relationship between educational attainment and family trajectories. Utilizing data from the Colombian Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) and the Mexican Encuesta Nacional de la Dinámica Demográfica (ENADID), the study encompasses retrospective partnership and childbearing histories for 45,683 women. Using sequence analysis and hierarchical clustering, we categorized family trajectories into five distinct clusters and employed multinomial logistic regression models to assess the association between family trajectories, birth cohort, and educational attainment. Our findings underscore a shift away from marriage and a rise in cohabitation in women’s family trajectories, coupled with an increase in complexity among younger cohorts, evident through more frequent separations and second-order unions. The study reveals that, despite evolving patterns, the predominant family trajectories within every cohort are characterized by stability, either in the form of marriage or cohabitation.