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First, the types of co-residence trajectories identified in our analyses are
consistent with those found in earlier scholarly work and confirm the
trend of a limited pluralization of the life course (Brückner and Mayer
2001; Levy and Widmer 2013 ). On the other hand, they overwhelm-
ingly reflect life stages and transitions associated with the processes of
birth, death, integrations, and exclusions (Abbott 2001 ) in personal con-
figurations. This occurs essentially with entering and/or exiting conjugal-
ity and with procreation or the absence thereof. The long phase of mid-life
adulthood (respondents were between 35 and 60 years old at the time of
the interviews) is characterized by a fair diversity of co-residence trajecto-
ries for the observation period 1990–2010, both within and across the
three countries. The most frequent types are Parenthood (35%), Transition
to parenthood (16%), Transition to empty nest (11%), Solo (8%), and
Transition to lone parenthood (8%). These types are differently distributed
in the three countries of interest, which we largely explained based on
national characteristics. Adulthood in late modernity is associated with
gain and losses of social roles stemming from life transitions (partnership,
custodian parenthood, employment) on the one hand and with possible
phases characterized by stable configurations of these social roles over
time on the other hand. The conditions of realization of these transitions
and phases, and their onset, sequencing, and duration, are largely influ-
enced by the economic and political context of each country, as well as by
its welfare state specificities.
Second, co-residence trajectories were found to be strong predictors of
personal networks in adulthood in all national contexts. Co-residency is
a powerful mechanism for creating proximity, as has been suggested by
various scholars (Antonucci et al. 2014 ). Overall, all types of co-residence
trajectories contribute to explaining one or the other type of personal
configurations in which individuals are embedded. In addition, some dif-
ferences are visible at the country level. In Switzerland, co-residence tra-
jectories explain five of the nine types of personal networks. The
Conjugality type predicts four of them, in addition to the types Solo
(three), Transition to parenthood (two) and Leaving parental home (one).
In Portugal six of the nine types of personal networks are associated with
specific co-residence trajectories. The Solo type is influential in three cases,
followed by either Leaving parental home (two), Conjugality (one) and
J.-A. Gauthier et al.