Fertility after repartnering in the Netherlands: Parenthood or commitment?

Area of Science:

• Sociology
• Demography
• Family Studies

Background:

• Fertility decisions after marital dissolution are complex.
• Previous research on parenthood and commitment hypotheses yielded mixed results.
• Understanding drivers of childbearing in repartnering situations is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the factors influencing childbearing after the dissolution of a first marital union.
• To test the parenthood and commitment hypotheses using a novel analytical approach.
• To examine gender-specific motivations for fertility in second unions.

Main Methods:

• Utilized couple data from multiple Dutch surveys (N=8094).
• Included couples with a repartnering partner (10.2%).
• Employed a new analytical method to specifically test the commitment hypothesis.

Main Results:

• Findings support the parenthood hypothesis for men's transition to union-specific births.
• Evidence supports the commitment hypothesis for women's transition to union-specific births.
• Prior children decrease men's likelihood of a new union-specific birth, but not for women.

Conclusions:

• Men's fertility decisions in second unions are driven by the desire for parenthood.
• Women's fertility decisions in second unions are motivated by commitment and family confirmation.
• Repartnering increases parity progression for women, supporting the commitment hypothesis.