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Fertility Outcomes of Adult Children With Divorced Parents: Evidence From Population Data
Silvia Palmaccio1,2,3, Deni Mazrekaj4,5,2, Kristof De Witte2,6
1Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics and Public Policy, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy.
Adult children of divorced parents have lower fertility rates and are more likely to be childless. This is linked to earlier exits from relationships, impacting their likelihood of having children.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Demography
- Family Studies
Background:
- Parental divorce significantly impacts children's lives.
- Previous research focused on childhood well-being, with limited data on adult family prospects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the long-term effects of parental divorce on adult children's completed fertility and childlessness.
- To provide population-level evidence on family formation after parental divorce.
Main Methods:
- Utilized three-generation administrative data from the Netherlands.
- Analyzed completed fertility and childlessness rates of adult children from divorced versus continuously married families.
Main Results:
- Adult children of divorced parents exhibit lower completed fertility.
- Individuals from divorced families are more likely to remain childless.
- Shorter relationship durations in adulthood contribute to reduced first and higher-order births.
Conclusions:
- Parental divorce has a lasting negative impact on adult children's fertility.
- Relationship duration is a key factor mediating the link between parental divorce and offspring fertility.
- Findings highlight the intergenerational transmission of family structure impacts.
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