Plans to Combine Work and Family in Portuguese and Polish Emerging Adults: Effects of Gender and Work Experience

Emerging adulthood is a critical developmental phase for planning future adult roles, such as the professional and familial role. Current research concerning plans to combine work and family roles in emerging adults enrolled in higher education has focused mainly on gender differences with few studies devoted to cross-cultural comparisons. This study aims to explore plans to combine work and family roles with a sample of 239 Portuguese and Polish emerging adults enrolled in higher education. Country comparisons revealed that Polish emerging adults present a more clear perspective on how to combine work and family in the future. Further, findings suggested that working students perceptions of being able to successfully manage work and family roles are higher when compared with those who were only students. No evidence was found for gender differences in future plans to combine work and family roles.