Becoming a Parent

This chapter discusses how becoming a parent involves a huge transformation in social role and identity. It often spurs young people to want to act more grown-up and do better—at work, in their relationships, with their educations—than before, all to give their children a better life than they themselves had while growing up. These role transitions—to adulthood, partnership, and parenthood—are intertwined in these young people’s lives, and complications and challenges arise from tackling these transitions simultaneously. Amid a great deal of instability and change, the young parents in this study struggle to trust one another and themselves, which makes securing their desired social resources and avoiding social poverty that much more difficult.