Changing patterns of transition to adulthood in Moldova before and after the 1990s transformation

The transition to adulthood (TA) patterns are often classified into two broad categories: traditional and modern. This classification is usually confirmed by the research of trends of the age of transition events in developed countries. Fewer studies concentrate on or cover post-socialist societies. Both case and comparative studies suggested a more complex picture and challenged a uniform move from traditional to modern TA. This study explores the Moldovan society by classifying the patterns of the cohorts born in the pre-Gorbachev Soviet Era. The Latent Profile Analysis is applied to the Gender and Generation Survey 2020. To account for the gender- and period-specific trends, the sample was divided into four subsamples and analyzed independently. This allowed us to detect the clusters of TA in the continuum between the modern and traditional patterns. The changes in the patterns’ timing and frequencies were analyzed. The study detects a substantial gender difference in trends. The male TA patterns witnessed slow and robust modernization. At the same time, the female TA patterns saw traditionalization and its reversal for the last Soviet-born birth cohorts. The analysis also suggests that the trends started and developed before the 1990s transformation. The study adds to our understanding of TA patterns in developing Europe and gives several methodological suggestions for further research.