MEN’S TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

This paper aims to bring a new perspective to and understanding of the way that Czech men aged 40-55 entered into adulthood in the light of the life course perspective and given specific key life events and historical context. We examine entry into adulthood (operationalized as entry into first marriage), depending on the timing and whether men do or do not go through certain life transitions (e.g. transition from education to first job, gaining independence from parents and first child’s conception). The data have been taken from the Male Reproductive Behaviour Study conducted in 2011. Given the specificity of our data (retrospective) and stated goals, we employ discrete-time event history analysis and estimate the effects by use of binary logistic models. Timing of first marriage was related to completing school, labour force participation and leaving the parental home (at least for men who had entered first marriages before 1990). Completing education occupies a special place among these three transitions. It was commonly the first event in a series of partial transitions of entering into adulthood. The effect of completing education on entering into marriage was negative only in the case of premarital conception. Premarital conception also moderated the effects of labour force participation and parental home leaving.