Migration Aspirations and Adolescents’ Ideal age at Union Formation in Western Mexico

Abstract

Migration systems shape social life, including the timing and sequencing of key demographic behaviors such as marriage, childbearing, and household formation. Existing research has linked migration and marriage in Mexico through various mechanisms but provides less guidance on whether aspirations for migration and marriage are closely linked. Given that union formation is distinct within migration contexts, this article focuses on adolescents’ plans for marriage and the extent to which migration aspirations shape the desired timing of their union formation, by examining how four distinct measures of migration aspirations are related to adolescents’ ideal ages at union formation in rural Jalisco, Mexico. Drawing from data on adolescents ( n = 1,403 adolescents) from the Family Migration and Early Life Outcomes (FAMELO) project (collected in 2017–2018), it uses ordinary least squares (OLS) regression to analyze how various types of adolescent migration aspirations — including permanent migration, temporary labor migration, leaving the community at any point in time, and expected migration location — are associated with adolescents’ ideal age at union formation. Results reveal that all migration aspirations are associated with higher ideal ages at the marriage in unconditional models. However, these associations are not always robust to the inclusion of other factors, including adolescent aspirations in other life domains, particularly education. Results highlight the ongoing transition from a “culture of migration” to a “culture of education” in Mexico. Given that Mexican migration has changed dramatically in recent years, the findings presented here provide a window for understanding how these changes in migration are reflected in adolescent goals and likely subsequent behavior.

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

“…According to our results, girls who aspired to attain a bachelor degree or more, had higher intentions to migrate to the US, whereas educational aspirations did not seem to play an important role in boys' migration intentions. It is possible that young women in semi‐urban/rural regions of Mexico are moving away from traditional gender roles and aspire to achieve higher education within their country or, if not accessible, internationally, as a mean of acquiring roles outside of the household and family‐related chores (Alcaraz, 2022). The findings support the premise that when young women decide to migrate internationally to pursue higher education freely and independently in conditions of dignity, equity, and security, they can benefit the economic and social capital of the origin and host countries (International Office of Migration, 2021).…”