The early life courses of Canadian men: analysis of timing and sequences of events

Abstract

This paper focuses on the transition to adulthood of Canadian men born from 1916 to 1975. Through a life course framework, six early life events - school completion, work start, home-leaving, cohabitation, first marriage, and first birth - are examined using data from the 1995 Canadian General Social Survey of the Family. The trends in the timing and spread of each event, the length of transition to adulthood, and the trajectories to marriage indicate that the early life courses of Canadian men have changed tremendously with more diversified family behaviours and significant increases in ages at school completion and at start of regular work.