A Latent Class Analysis of US College Students’ Expectations for Work and Family Labor

While much research aims to understand gender imbalances in careers (e.g., STEM), little is known about how college students’ expectations for integrating work and family impact their career expectations. Using latent class analysis, we identified classes of US college students ( N = 634, M age = 18.7, 77% White, 60% women) based on their expectations for future family and career involvement. Analyses revealed four classes for women (Second Shifters, Fence Sitters, Traditionalists, and Breadwinners) and four classes for men (Egalitarians, Fatherly Breadwinners, Fence Sitters, and Traditionalists). Major, expected career, and future income expectations predicted class membership for women, but not men. Higher maternal education predicted Traditionalist over Second Shifter status for women and Egalitarian over Fatherly Breadwinner status for men. These typologies highlight the diversity of young adults’ work-family expectations and demonstrate the need for an integrated approach to understanding how labor expectations shape young adults’ gendered career choices.