The Influence of Partnership Status on Fertility Intentions of Childless Women and Men Across European Countries.

The absence of a suitable partner is the most frequently given reason for unmet fertility intentions across European countries while having a partner is positively associated with the intention to have a child. However, once this relationship is framed within a life-course approach, existing evidence is mixed and inconclusive. The norm to have children within a stable relationship and norms regarding the timing of childbirth are acknowledged in many contemporary societies. Therefore, the presence of a partner might have a stronger effect on fertility intentions around the social deadline for fertility, which could explain the mixed findings in previous research. This article analyses how fertility intentions are influenced by partnership status and how this relationship varies by age and across countries. We use data from the first wave of the Generations and Gender Survey to analyse a sample of childless men and women aged 18-45 years from 12 European countries. We implement logistic regression models to investigate the influence of having a partner on fertility intentions during the life course. Previous studies found that the positive influence of having a partner either decreases across the life course or does not vary significantly. This study reveals that the positive association between partnership and fertility intentions increases from the age of 18, proving that whether someone is in a partnership becomes more influential at later stages in life. After a certain age threshold, which varies across countries and gender, this positive association either turns insignificant, remains positive, or reverses.

The impact of COVID-19 on fertility behaviour and intentions in a middle income country.

The COVID Pandemic may affect fertility behaviour and intentions in many ways. Restrictions on service provision reduce access to family planning services and increase fertility in the short term. By contrast, the economic uncertainty brought about by the pandemic and its impact on mental health and well-being may reduce fertility. These various pathways have been explored in the context of high income countries such as the United States and Western Europe, but little is known about middle income countries. In this paper we asses the impact of the COVID pandemic on fertility intentions and behaviour in the Republic of Moldova, a middle income country in Eastern Europe, using the Generations and Gender Survey. This survey was conducted partially before and partially after the onset of the pandemic in 2020, allowing for detailed comparisons of individual circumstances. The results indicate that the pandemic reduced the used of intrauterine devices, and increased the use of male condoms, but with no overall decrease in contraceptive use. Conversely individuals interviewed after the onset of the pandemic were 34.5% less likely to be trying to conceive, although medium term fertility intentions were unchanged. Indicators therefore suggest that in the medium term fertility intentions may not be affected by the pandemic but restricted access to contraception requiring medical consultation and a decrease in short-term fertility intentions could disrupt short term family planning.

Socio-Economic Differences in the Prevalence of Single Motherhood in North America and Europe.

The study focuses on understanding the association between parental socio-economic status (SES) and the likelihood of women experiencing a first birth while single, and identifying societal factors that influence this association in 18 North American and European societies. Previous research has shown that single motherhood occurs disproportionately among those from with lower a lower parental SES. The study assesses whether this is caused by parental SES differences in the risk of single women experiencing a first conception leading to a live birth or by parental SES differences in how likely women are to enter a union during pregnancy. Additionally, an assessment is made of whether cross-national differences in these associations can be explained by a country's access to family planning, norms regarding family formation, and economic inequality. Across countries, a negative gradient of parental SES was found on the likelihood of single women to experience a first pregnancy. The negative gradient was stronger in countries with better access to family planning. In some countries, the negative gradient of parental SES was aggravated during pregnancy because women from lower parental SES were less likely to enter a union. This was mostly found in societies with less conservative norms regarding marriage. The results suggest that certain developments in Western societies may increase socio-economic differentials in family demography. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10680-021-09591-3.

Having a child within a cohabiting union in Europe and North America: What is the role of parents' socio-economic status?

The link between parental socio-economic status (SES) and the likelihood of having a birth in cohabitation or in marriage varies considerably across countries. Previous studies have referred to the pattern of disadvantage perspective and the second demographic transition theory to explain this cross-national variation. Yet no study has directly tested the explanatory power of both theories in this context. In the current study, hypotheses are formulated about the influence of economic inequality and norms regarding family formation on this relationship. The hypotheses are tested in 19 European and North American countries, using data of the Generations and Gender Survey and four other datasets. The analyses show that in societies that have more traditional family formation norms, women with lower parental SES are more likely to have a birth in cohabitation whereas such differences are not found in less traditional societies. The influence of economic inequality is less clear-cut.

The Influence of Parental Educational Attainment on the Partnership Context at First Birth in 16 Western Societies.

In the US, growing up with parents with a low socio-economic status (SES) has been shown to increase the chance of having a birth outside marriage. However, less is known about the influence of parental SES in other Western countries. The current paper examines the association between parental educational attainment with the partnership context at first birth in 16 European and North American countries, by differentiating births within marriage, within cohabitation, or while being single. Moreover, we test whether the association between parental education and partnership context at childbirth changes over cohorts and whether its influence changes when controlling for own educational attainment. Data from the Generations and Gender Programme were used, as well as data from the American National Survey of Family Growth, the Canadian General Social Survey, and the Dutch Survey on Family Formation. The results show that in North American and East European countries, but not in West European countries, lower parental education increases the risk of having a birth within cohabitation. Moreover, in North American countries and half of the West and East European countries, lower parental education increases the risk of having a birth while being single. The association of parental education with the partnership context at birth tends to change furthermore over cohorts, although no clear pattern could be observed between countries. The study suggests that the intergenerational transmission of education is an important mechanism in explaining the influence of parental education, although other mechanisms also appear to be at work.