Early Union Formation in Canada: Links with Education

This article examines the link between early union formation and education using a new Canadian longitudinal data set, the Youth in Transition Survey (YITS). Educational transitions and early union formation occur around the same time in young adulthood, yet the roles of student and conjugal partner are often thought to be incompatible. We examine the effect of two important educational indicators (exit from full-time school and level of achieved education) on the timing of the first conjugal union. In addition, we incorporate several more direct measures of educational commitment. Results from proportional hazard models reveal that exit from full-time school greatly increases the transition to first union, especially marriage. Similarly, obtaining a post-secondary degree/diploma also significantly increases the risk of forming a union, especially for women. More direct measures of educational commitment show that skipping classes in high school has a negative effect on the risk of marriage, but a positive effect on cohabiting unions. A greater aspiration for future education, meanwhile, has a negative impact on union formation in general.