Adolescent Activities and Young Adult Union Formation

Gina A. Erickson, University of Minnesota

Research has shown significant effects of adolescent activities on contemporaneous outcomes (e.g. school performance) and behaviors (e.g. sexual activity), but little research has investigated the long-term effects for adolescent activities outside of educational outcomes. Using school-based activity clusters and non-school activities from a nationally representative longitudinal sample, I assess whether adolescent activities affect any union formation in young adulthood, if activities influence the timing and type of first residential union, and how activities are related to union type (marriage or cohabitation vs. being single) in the late 20s and early 30s. Preliminary results show some evidence that a few activities matter for both union formation overall and rate of movement into residential unions, with varied effects for males and females.