Exploring the association between educational aspirations and intentions to migrate among youth in Central Mexico by gender

Abstract

We assessed the association between educational aspirations and the intention to migrate among 1446 adolescents aged 11–17 years, living in semi‐urban/rural communities in Jalisco, Mexico. Analyses rely on survey data from the Family Migration and Early Life Outcomes study. The outcome variable was the intention to migrate, a three‐category variable coded as no intention to migrate, intention to migrate within Mexico, and intention to migrate internationally. The main independent variable was the adolescents' educational aspirations, conceptualized as the intention to achieve higher education. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to examine associations. We found an association between educational aspirations and intentions to migrate, and it was moderated by gender. Girls with the highest educational aspirations intended to migrate internationally, while higher educational aspirations were not a driver for boys' migration intentions. The study findings have implications for education and migration policies and future research.