Childhood residential and neighbourhood mobility: Consequences for educational attainment in young adulthood

Research on the consequences of residential mobility for educational outcomes is inconclusive about when and for whom moving is detrimental or beneficial. Whether moving during childhood impacts educational attainment depends on how often, how far and at which age one moves; and on whether the neighbourhood conditions improve or decline with the move. This study aims to better understand under which circumstances moving during childhood impacts educational attainment by studying residential mobility and neighbourhood trajectories of children born in different types of neighbourhoods and how this is associated with completion of tertiary education. Using longitudinal individual-level register data for all children born in the metropolitan areas of Sweden in 1990, children’s residential and neighbourhood mobility is followed from birth until age 16, with completion of tertiary education measured at age 26. We employ a multidimensional perspective, applying multichannel sequence analysis to identify residential trajectories based on various mobility indicators and socioeconomic neighbourhood trajectories, stratified by the neighbourhood socioeconomic composition at birth. We find that trajectories differ by the neighbourhood type children are born in. Trajectories can be roughly categorized into three different levels of frequency – stayers, low and high residential mobility – with variations in moving distance and neighbourhood trajectories. Descriptive results show that trajectories vary by the neighbourhood of origin, family structure and socioeconomic background. Regression analyses reveal that one-time movers are not different from stayers in their educational attainment, while frequent movers are less likely to have completed tertiary education by age 26 across all neighbourhood types.