Research Interests
Transition to adulthood: variation in adolescent aspirations and expected timing/sequencing of transitions to adult roles
Fertility, education, and migration: fertility intentions and educational aspirations and outcomes, education and fertility intentions in high-migration contexts, gender differences in fertility intentions
Regional focus: United States, Mexico; additional experience in high-migration contexts of Mozambique and Nepal
Current Projects
Individual Projects
In my dissertation, I address several key questions focused on how adolescents manage competing goals in a high-migration environment where both family and work contexts are rapidly changing. I draw from child and parent perspectives on adolescents’ goals for the future, including family formation, education, and migration. My research examines the expected timing and sequencing of marriage and romantic relationships, with special attention to variation between boys and girls as a way of understanding how gendered family roles shape life course goals. I use mixed-methods data from an interdisciplinary data collection project, Family Migration and Early Life Outcomes project (FAMELO), in Mexico that focuses on studying the impact of parental migration on children’s well-being. I have been involved with for the last three years, and I draw on both survey and focus group data collected as part of the project. My dissertation contributes to sociological and family literature on adolescent aspirations, norms and expected timing of key transitions to adulthood, migration, and partnering patterns and goals in high-migration contexts.
Collaborative Projects
I am working on several collaborative research projects that center around education and fertility, as well as social inequality more broadly. I am working with both faculty members and fellow graduate students – at both my own and other institutions.
For more information on my current work, please check out my CV page or email me at alcaraz.11@osu.edu.