延後就讀大學對家庭組成的影響

Abstract

延後就讀大學，會如何影響個人步入家庭的步調與型態？過去研究顯示，延後進入大學的個人相較於準時進入大學者，可能會更早在家庭領域「轉大人」，例如可能會更早步入婚姻。然而現代社會中，結婚的心理與物質門檻日益增加，不具大學學歷者在勞動市場的前景日趨沒落，推遲入學可能會導致結婚延遲。本研究關注這群延後就讀大學者，檢驗他們的初婚年齡、初次同居關係年齡、初婚對象的教育程度，與準時進入大學者有何差異。一般認知的延後進入大學者往往是家境優渥的年輕人，為了自我探索而選擇 ”take a gap year”，然而實際上，延後入學者相較高中畢業後立即就讀大學者，更有可能來自弱勢的社會背景，例如少數族群、單親家庭、低收入家庭、就讀非升學導向的中學等。本文使用美國勞動統計局於1997-2019年的長期追蹤資料NLSY97，進行事件史分析。結果顯示，延後入學者雖比準時入學者更快進入非婚姻同居關係，然而他們並沒有比準時入學者更快進入婚姻。此外，他們的初婚對象為大學畢業生的可能性比準時入學者低。獲得學士學位可以顯著提高延後入學者的結婚速度以及與大學畢業生婚配的可能性，並且其為延後入學者帶來的正面效果和準時入學者相同，但延後入學者取得大學學歷的可能性極低，因此實際上鮮少有延後入學者能享受大學學歷帶來的婚姻回饋。

Previous research suggests that individuals taking gap years before college may complete adulthood transitions in the family domain earlier than on-time college students, such as getting married. However, due to increasing material prerequisites for marriage and deteriorating economic prospects for the non-college-educated, postponing college may lead to a delay in marriage. This research focuses on those college delayers who are more likely to come from disadvantaged backgrounds, such as low-income families, racial minorities, and attending non-academic-track high schools, to compare their timing of first marriage, timing of first union, and assortative mating patterns with on-time college enrollees. Applying event history analysis on NLSY97 longitudinal data through 2019, I find that although delayers are more likely to transition to cohabitation than on-time enrollees, they do not necessarily transition to marriage faster. Moreover, delayers are less likely to marry a college graduate compared to on-time college enrollees. Although attaining a bachelor’s degree can significantly increase delayers’ speed into marriage and chances of marrying a college graduate, delayers have limited access to this benefit as they can hardly attain a bachelor’s degree.