2026-10-23
Ronit Avni, Chaya Koren
Objective: This qualitative phenomenological study examines how loneliness and non-loneliness are experienced within long-term marriages in Israel, where marriage is the most common relationship status among adults in the third age. Background: Previous research on loneliness within long-term marriage has focused on quality of life, relationship quality, security, belonging, and intimacy, typically examining the presence or absence of these dimensions at specific points in time. The phenomenological trajectory of loneliness and non-loneliness as a continuous, transformative experiential sequence across long-term marriage remains largely unexplored. In this study, non-loneliness refers to participants’ descriptions of togetherness, not being alone, belonging, security, protection, feeling understood, and being “as one body.” Method: Ten couples (aged 60–74) married for 30–53 years participated in filmed joint interviews (n=10; audio and video) and individual audio-recorded interviews (n=20), yielding 30 interviews in total. Data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) and dyadic interview analysis. Results: Four distinct themes concerning the dynamics of loneliness/non-loneliness within couplehood emerged based on three inductively derived parameters: (1) fundamental experiences of loneliness/non-loneliness within couplehood, (2) their transformation through meaningful life events, and (3) their emotional intensity. The analysis revealed that loneliness and non-loneliness can coexist within a shared relational space despite incongruence, differing emotional intensities, or contradictory experiences. Conclusion: Methodological triangulation enriched the phenomenological understanding of couples’ experiences. The findings advance a theoretical understanding of couplehood as a dynamic process in which experiences of loneliness/non-loneliness are continuously reshaped, particularly at existentially significant junctures.
2026-10-20
Elena Merayo
Objective: This study explores Nepali migrant women's experiences of what I call transnational matrescence in Australia, aiming to add nuance to assumptions that migration diminishes the quality of maternal care by examining how transnational care circulation and kinship reconfigurations facilitate positive maternal experiences. Background: Nepal is a patrilineal society, and women typically move into their in-laws' households after marriage and are expected to care for their in-laws thereafter. During matrescence, the liminal period of transition into motherhood, these dynamics are particularly significant for Nepali women, as they are weaved into relational hierarchies of care. In diaspora, matrescence is further marked by cultural and physical distance, which the literature tends to link to poorer early motherhood experiences than are experienced in a homeland setting. Findings presented here complicate this depiction by highlighting relational strengths of transnational family-making. Method: The analysis draws on a multi-sited ethnographic study conducted between Sydney and Kathmandu, combining participant observation with in-depth interviews. Forty-one participants took part, comprising migrant mothers in Sydney and their extended families in Nepal. Results: The findings reveal that transnational family care-giving, its negotiation through presence and absence and its culturally complex dynamics of care are re-shaping the ways Nepali matrescent women negotiate patriarchal family structures and reconfigure some of the gendered barriers to accessing quality care. Conclusion: Ultimately, the study captures how these emerging dynamics contest both the medicalized version of matrescence and deficit-based views on transnational care.
2026-10-12
Lisa Schmid, Karsten Hank, André Ernst
Objective: We aim to explore the association between sexual minority orientation, singlehood, and subjective well-being employing a between-group design. Background: Previous research largely neglected sexual minority singles, who may be ‘doubly stigmatized’, being stereotyped based on their sexual orientation and their single status. This might translate into particularly low levels of subjective well-being. Method: We use data from the German Family Demography Panel Study (FReDA; n = 17,344) to compare the life satisfaction of sexual minority (gay/lesbian or bi-/pansexual) singles with (a) their sexual minority partnered counterparts, (b) heterosexual singles and (c) heterosexual partnered individuals. Results: OLS regressions revealed that singles and people with sexual minority orientation exhibited lower levels of life satisfaction than partnered and heterosexual individuals. Singlehood was substantially more negatively associated with life satisfaction than sexual minority orientation. We observed an at most weak cumulation of disadvantage in life satisfaction among sexual minority singles. Conclusion: Deviating from the normative ideal of living in a heterosexual relationship is associated with lower well-being. The lack of stronger evidence supporting expectations that sexual minority singles might face disproportional disadvantages questions previous theoretical assumptions about potential adversities in subjective well-being resulting from the ‘dual challenges’ that sexual minority singles often face. Further research, ideally taking a longitudinal perspective and delving deeper into specific mechanisms underlying well-being disparities, would be valuable for practitioners developing targeted interventions.
2026-10-12
Francesca Decimo
Objective: The purpose of this article is to rethink the concept of care circulation by linking it to the notion of social reproduction, with a focus on transnational marriages between Morocco and Italy. Background: Moroccan settlement in Italy is shaped by transnational, gender, and intergenerational relationships through which mobility and family projects have become increasingly intertwined. Marriage plays a pivotal role in this process, as the evolution of life courses, mobility trajectories, and kinship networks hinges on it. Method: The analysis draws on 50 unstructured, in-depth interviews conducted primarily with women, although men were also involved. Most interviews took place in participants’ homes and were embedded within broader social encounters lasting two hours or more. The fieldwork therefore also incorporated periods of observation and systematic ethnographic note-taking. Results: The article traces how care circulates across the Mediterranean to facilitate transnational matchmaking. It highlights how families and relatives in countries of origin support migrants’ family needs in countries of destination, rather than care flowing solely in the opposite direction. Furthermore, it shows that family transnationalism encompasses not only relationships maintained across distance but also the formation of proximity relationships and processes of emplacement. Conclusion: Approaching transnational marriages through the lens of care circulation opens up new avenues for examining family reproduction and the horizons through which it is imagined and sustained.
2026-10-05
Dominika Perdoch Sladka, Anna Matysiak
Objective: This study examines how occupational task content, particularly routine task intensity, is associated with short-term marital intentions among partnered individuals in Czechia. Background: Technological advances like automation have contributed to structural shifts in labour demand, with routine-intensive occupations often identified as especially vulnerable to wage stagnation, job displacement, and weaker long-term career prospects. Because economic prospects shape family formation and perceived marriageability, occupational task content may be relevant for understanding marital intentions. However, little is known about whether routine-intensive employment is associated with marital plans, or whether this association differs by gender Method: We analyse data from 1,288 respondents in non-marital partnerships from the Czech Household Panel Survey (2015–2019), linked to occupational task measures from the European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations Database (ESCO). Using multinomial logistic regression, we estimate the association between occupational task content and marital intentions. Results: Men in highly routine-intense occupations are more likely to report no plans to marry. Women’s marital plans do not show a clear association with the content of their occupations. Conclusion: These results suggest that technological change not only reshapes labour market outcomes but may also influence marital intentions of individuals in occupations most vulnerable to these changes.
2026-09-14
Elisabetta Zontini
Objective: This article examines how Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic have reshaped care circulation within Italian transnational families in the United Kingdom. Background: Italian migrants in the UK have historically maintained strong cross-border family ties and often taken mobility for granted. Brexit and the pandemic have created an "immobilizing regime" that restricts these practices and unevenly redistributes mobility-related risks and opportunities. Connecting care-circulation research with scholarship on racialised mothering, cognitive labour, and mental load highlights cognitive care in transnational family life. Method: The study re-analyses qualitative material from several interconnected research projects involving EU migrants in the UK, focusing on Italian transnational families. The dataset combines participant observation, interviews with migrants and practitioners, and a collaborative documentary. Data were interpreted through a care-circulation framework centred on three resources - mobility, time, and knowledge - and situated alongside the author’s previous research. Results: Brexit and the pandemic disrupted established caring practices and required families to reorganise how care was planned, coordinated, and delivered across borders. Access to mobility, time, and relevant knowledge became increasingly unequal, producing differentiated capacities to maintain family relationships. Cognitive labour and mental load consequently emerged as central, yet often overlooked, dimensions of transnational care under restrictive conditions. Conclusion: Analyses of transnational care should account for both unequal mobility regimes and the cognitive work increasingly required to sustain care across borders.
2026-09-10
Erika Grigorjew, Marja Leena Böök, Armi Mustosmäki, Katherine Twamley, Petteri Eerola
Objective: This research explores the narratives of night-time care produced by Finnish parents and how these narratives reflect broader parenting ideals. Background: Night-time care is a neglected area of research in social sciences and family research. Focusing on the night provides a fresh perspective on care, gender, parenting and the everyday lives of families with young children. Our research draws on theories from sociology of sleep, parenting culture studies and family sociology. Method: The data were collected in 2022-2023 and consist of 52 writings collected online and 50 individual in-depth interviews. Mothers and fathers with at least one child of age 6 or under were asked to share their experiences of night-time care. These accounts are analysed using a narrative approach. Results: We identified three narratives about night-time care: the narrative of instrumental caregiving, the narrative of devotion and nurture, and the narrative of care as a burden. In the first narrative, care was produced as task-oriented and practical; in the second, as affectionate and aimed at meeting all children’s needs; and the third narrative describes night-time care as wearisome and highlights parents’ difficulties in coping. Conclusion: Parents' narrated experiences highlight both the positive aspects and consuming nature of night-time care and reflect broader ideals on care and parenting, such as intensive parenting and understandings of “good” parenthood.
2026-09-09
Elisa Cisotto, Cecilia Tomassini, Andrea Bonanomi, Eleonora Meli
Objective: This study examines educational differences in the timing of the transition to grandparenthood across two birth cohorts in Italy (1923-1938 and 1941-1956). Background: Educational differences in fertility behaviour are well established, yet less is known about how these differences extend to later-life family transitions such as grandparenthood. This issue is particularly relevant in contexts like Italy, where a substantial expansion in educational attainment has occurred alongside marked changes in fertility timing. Method: We use nationally representative data from the Italian Families and Social Subjects Survey (1998 and 2016) and focus on individuals aged 60–75 with at least one child aged 15 or older (n = 7,087 in 1998; n= 4,971 in 2016). Kaplan–Meier estimates are used to analyse the timing of grandparenthood and to compare two cohorts observed at the same stage of the life course. Results: Lower-educated individuals become grandparents earlier than their higher-educated counterparts, with median ages differing by several years (e.g., approximately 53 versus 59 among women in the earlier cohort). Across cohorts, the transition to grandparenthood is delayed, with median ages increasing by between 2 and 4 years, while the timing of parenthood remains relatively stable, leading to a widening interval between the two transitions. In addition, the probability of grandparenthood by age 75 declines in the more recent cohort. Conclusion: Educational differences are reflected in both the timing and the likelihood of experiencing grandparenthood, while cohort change is primarily driven by intergenerational shifts in fertility timing.
2026-08-27
Giulia Maria Dotti Sani, Nevena Kulic, Natalia Soboleva, Maria Stoicescu
Objective: This article examines the prevalence and correlates of parental guilt and shame in Italy, including anticipated parental guilt among childless individuals. Background: Parental guilt and shame arise when parents perceive a mismatch between internalized norms of good parenting and their actual parenting practices. While these emotions have been documented in other societies, empirical evidence in Italy remains limited, largely qualitative, and focused on mothers. This study addresses this gap by providing national-level evidence on both mothers and fathers and by extending the analysis to anticipated parental guilt. Method: The study draws on an original online survey of 6,000 adults of childbearing age living in Italy, with a sampling design that deliberately oversampled mothers (3,500 mothers, 1,000 childless women, 1,000 fathers, and 500 childless men), with a final analytical sample of 5,587. The survey includes items measuring different forms of parental guilt and shame, as well as anticipated guilt. Exploratory Factor Analysis was used to construct five guilt scales, which were subsequently analyzed using OLS regression models. Results: Parental guilt and shame are similarly prevalent among Italian mothers and fathers, with mothers displaying a modestly higher level of these emotions. No gender differences emerge in anticipated parental guilt. However, the correlates of guilt vary by gender, with economic well-being and gender-role attitudes emerging as the strongest and most consistent correlates across nearly all forms of guilt. Conclusion: Parental guilt emerges as a salient emotional dimension in Italy not only among mothers and fathers but also among childless individuals, suggesting that moral expectations surrounding parenthood are widely shared in a low-fertility context.
2026-08-07
Jule Adriaans, Marlene Bohmeier, Carsten Sauer
Objective: This study examines how subjective perceptions of fairness in partners’ division of labor – encompassing housework and employment – are associated with relationship satisfaction. Background: Prior research has extensively explored dissatisfaction from unequal task distribution in relationships. However, not all deviations from equality are perceived as unfair. We focus on the un-derexplored role of perceived fairness for relationship satisfaction – with a particular focus on cases where a partner perceives to contribute less than their fair share. We draw on two theoretical models as potential interpretative frameworks for the studied correlation between perceived fairness and relationship satisfaction: the distributive justice model , which posits that satisfaction peaks at perceived fairness and is lower in the case of unfair imbalance, whether one contributes more or less of their fair share, and the self-interest model , which proposes that relationship satisfaction is always higher when personal contributions are lower. Method: This study uses data from the first wave of the German Family Demography Panel Study (FReDA) collected in 2021. We restrict the sample to respondents cohabitating with a different-sex partner (N = 11,012), regress relationship satisfaction on the perceived fairness of the division of labor, and test for differences in this relationship by gender. Results: Perceived unfairness is associated with lower relationship satisfaction. This holds both for individuals who perceive to contribute more and those who perceive to contribute less than their fair share. This pattern of association is in line with the distributive justice model . Moreover, lower relationship satisfaction is more strongly associated with perceived undercontribution among women and with perceived overcontribution among men. Conclusion: Results underscore the nuanced role of fairness perceptions in relationship dynamics, highlighting the importance of gendered perspectives on relationship satisfaction.
2026-08-03
Martina Dieckhoff, Vanessa Gash, Antje Mertens, Laura Romeu-Gordo
Objective: This article investigates for different cohorts how earnings inequalities evolve with the duration of cohabiting couples’ relationships and after childbirth. Background: Germany has undergone a paradigm shift in its family policies and so presents ideal contextual conditions to examine whether institutional change is reflected in a decrease in within-couple inequality overall and across cohorts. Method: Using a sample of 3161 couples from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) from 1992 to 2023 we estimate growth curve models and fixed-effects panel regression. We differentiate three cohorts and given continued differences in gender norms analyze East and West Germany separately. Results: Our findings suggest that children substantially increase earnings inequalities within couples, and that the gap does not return to pre-birth levels over time. We also find differences across cohorts: the impact of children on the partner earnings gap has notably reduced in West Germany over time with younger cohorts experiencing lower penalties than older ones, but the earnings gap still remains substantial. In East Germany we could not find a pattern of decreasing inequality across cohorts. Conclusion: While there is some evidence that earnings inequalities between couples have reduced in our West German sample, during a time marked by paradigmatic change in German family policy, the earnings gap in couples persists and remains strongly related to the birth of children.
2026-08-03
Isabel Habicht
Objective: The study investigates which distributive justice principles apply when allocating parental leave between mothers and fathers. Background: Despite policies promoting gender equality, parental leave uptake and duration in Germany remain unequally distributed and highly gendered. Existing research has primarily focused on the determinants of parental leave uptake, while less attention has been paid to perceptions of what constitutes a just allocation of parental leave between parents. Method: Using a multifactorial survey experiment, the study manipulated gender, income, job position, and job satisfaction in randomized vignettes of heterosexual dual-earner couples (N = 3,012 vignette evaluations). Respondents were asked to allocate 12 months of parental leave fairly between the parents. Results: Gender had only a modest effect on parental leave allocations, with respondents allocating 5.4 out of 12 months to fathers for the distribution to be perceived as just. Instead, respondents allocated substantially fewer parental leave months (4.4 out of 12 months) to fathers with stronger work attachments and income advantages (i.e., highly satisfied with their jobs, managers, and higher earners). However, these effects were not gender-specific and similarly applied to “female breadwinner” scenarios. Conclusion: The findings suggest that justice perceptions regarding parental leave are shaped less strongly by traditional gender roles than by occupational characteristics and income differences. At the same time, justice perceptions and actual parental leave behavior in Germany do not necessarily align due to structural and contextual constraints.
2026-07-29
Isabella Buber-Ennser, Caroline Berghammer, Maria Winkler-Dworak
Objective: This study examines partnership dissolution in Austria from 2018 to 2023, covering the pandemic and a subsequent period of high inflation. It specifically investigates the role of socio-economic and family characteristics and hence contributes to the literature on how crisis periods interact with such characteristics. Background: Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, divorce rates across European countries significantly declined and remained low through 2023. This sustained low level is notable, especially given the potential for a rebound in divorce rates due to postponed divorces. Method: The analysis draws on 24 quarterly waves from the Austrian Microcensus, focusing on cohabiting and married couples aged 20 to 54 (n=31,239 couples). Households participated for five consecutive quarters. Changes in partnership status across waves are analysed using logistic regression models. Results: The dissolution of partnerships declined during the pandemic (2020-21) and increased thereafter. The risk of separation decreased most significantly in two groups: couples without minor children in the household (compared to couples with minor children) and couples living in nonmarital cohabitation (compared to married couples). We interpret the less pronounced decline in dissolution risk among parents as an indication of higher strain, particularly due to work-family conflicts. Conclusion: Austrian couples split less despite the increased strains many families experienced due to the multiple crises that occurred during this period. The economic barriers hindering partnership dissolution, – especially among couples in weaker socio-economic positions, may be considered a social problem.
2026-07-20
Myrian Carbajal, Ihssane Otmani, Nadia Baghdadi
Objective: We set out to examine how the reconfiguration of gender identities among Syrian refugees in Switzerland is shaped by the moral duty to care for aging parents living in Syria or third countries. Background: Syrian refugees in Switzerland face prolonged legal uncertainty, financial insecurity, and social marginalization. At the same time, they strive to fulfill responsibilities toward parents and sometimes siblings who live abroad. Applying the circulation of care framework, this article explores how such transnational care responsibilities influence the reconfiguration of gender identities. Method: The analysis draws on in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted with 16 Syrian refugees living in different Swiss cantons. Results: Our findings show how men shift away from their identity as male provider to embrace masculinities based on moral responsibility, emotional support, and the protection of parents and siblings in Syria or third countries. Meanwhile, new femininities emerge as women gain more autonomy within the nuclear household and more authority within transnational family networks, where they often assume financial and decision-making responsibility. Conclusion: Although transnational care responsibilities create an emotional burden, they also serve as a source of recognition and social validation. They provide refugees with a coherent sense of identity in contexts otherwise marked by stigma, paternalism, and restricted mobility. The article contributes to family and migration studies by showing how gender identities are reconfigured within extended transnational networks, rather than solely within the nuclear family.
2026-06-22
Sarah Lips, Nina Achterberg, Marianne Nieuwenhuijze, Corine Verhoeven, Ank de Jonge, Petra Verdonk
Objective: This study explores connections between (expectant) parents' narratives about fathers’ involvement in maternity care during the pandemic, and societal discourses regarding gendered roles and responsibilities in perinatal care and parenting. Background: Paternal involvement preceding, during, and following pregnancy and birth is increasingly underscored as important. However, when COVID-19 emerged, limiting fathers’ access to maternity care was among the first measures introduced. Method: We conducted 25 online, semi-structured interviews with 29 parents who received maternity care between March 13 and June 1, 2020, known as the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands. We combined a reflexive thematic analysis process of open and axial coding with a critical discourse analysis. Results: Measures limiting fathers’ involvement in maternity care were experienced as unpleasant but generally accepted and followed. We found that participants’ perceptions of pandemic uncertainty and risk: a) legitimized the overruling of relationality; b) reinforced inequality in parenting and paid work arrangements; c) accentuated cultural understandings of gender-based parental asymmetry. Both progressive and traditional discourses coexisted among and within participants’ accounts, yet more traditional role divisions were relatively often prioritized in parents’ and care professionals’ considerations and negotiations. Conclusion: Responses to early-stage pandemic uncertainty and risk tended to legitimize and reinforce gendered asymmetries in perinatal care and parenting, corroborating research showing that the pandemic magnified preexisting inequalities and systemic weaknesses.
2026-06-11
Jan Skopek, Thomas Leopold, Oliver Posegga
Objective: This research note reconstructs the historical demography of the multigenerational family from preindustrial colonial America (1700) up to the end of the Gilded Age (1910) in the territory of the present-day United States and selected European regions. Background: Knowledge of the demography of multigenerational family ties is limited to the 20 th and 21 st centuries. By contrast, little is known about the preceding demographic history of the multigenerational family, especially continuity and change in multigenerational co-survivorship and exposure. Method: Using retrospective family-tree data from FamiLinx, a genealogical dataset derived from a crowdsourced genealogy website, we estimate the supply of, and exposure to, multigenerational kin measured by the number of, and years of life shared with, parents and grandparents. Results: Multigenerational supply and exposure increased in the US and all European regions, but changes were modest compared to the surge that followed in the 20th century. Historically, multigenerational kin availability was consistently higher in the US than in all European regions, although differences diminished from 1850 onward. Conclusion: Substantial cross-continental differences marked the demographic-historical pathways leading to the modern multigenerational family, but these pathways had increasingly converged by the late 19th century.
2026-06-08
Janna Wilhelm, Pia S. Schober
Objective: This study examines how differences in romantic partners' gender and marriage beliefs affect whether and how individuals adapt their own beliefs over time. Background: To date, research on convergence of gender and marriage beliefs in couples is limited. Applying a life course perspective, we conceptualize beliefs as dynamic and new relationships as unique contexts, where partners’ exposure to each other’s beliefs, the need to build shared realities, and shared life course transitions such as cohabitation, marriage, and parenthood foster convergence. Method: Using nationally representative data from the German Family Panel pairfam, we provide a strong methodological approach by combining two-stage least squares fixed effects (2SLS-FE; n = 521 couples) and regular fixed effects (FE; n = 1732 couples) regression models. Beliefs are measured with five statements covering normative gender and marriage beliefs. For the 2SLS-FE models, we use information about the beliefs of the mother of one partner to create an instrumental variable. Results: Findings show strong evidence of convergence, particularly within 3-5 years of relationship duration, with moderate-to-large shifts towards more traditional or progressive positions depending on the item. Institutionalising transitions, particularly cohabitation, partly mediate the effects. We find no gender differences in who influences whom more. Conclusion: Romantic relationships are dynamic arenas of belief change, with early years of relationship institutionalisation, particularly cohabitation, representing key contexts of partner influence.
2026-05-20
Irena Kogan, Marlene Bauer
Objective: This study examines partner-meeting channels and their association with patterns of endogamous and exogamous unions among male refugees from Syria and Afghanistan, as well as first- and second-generation men in Germany. Background: The substantial inflow of young, predominantly male refugees from Syria and Afghanistan to Germany has created markedly imbalanced partner markets, posing significant challenges for partnership formation. The question arises through which channels these male refugees are likely to find partners and how these compare to those of first- and second-generation migrants residing in Germany. Method: Using data from PARFORM and CILS4EU-DE (total N = 3,813) and weighted multinomial logistic regressions, we analyse individuals’ propensity to form endogamous unions, partnerships with the German majority, and partnerships with other non-co-nationals. We focus on partner-meeting contexts, distinguishing between family, friends, main activities (work or study), neighbourhoods, leisure activities, and online dating spaces. Results: Refugees rely primarily on family, followed by friends, the internet, and daily activities, whereas MENA+ and other minority groups draw on a wider range of channels, including leisure settings alongside friendship networks. Among Syrians, meeting through family contacts is associated with stronger endogamy, while among first- and second-generation individuals of MENA+ origin, neighbourhood contacts support endogamy. By contrast, among Afghan refugees and first- and second-generation individuals from other origins, partnership endogamy and exogamy show little variation by meeting context. Conclusion: Family and neighbourhood contacts reinforce endogamy among Syrian refugees and first- and second-generation migrants of MENA+ origin, respectively, whereas leisure contexts – with some nuances – are associated with greater exogamy.
2026-05-13
Simone Norlund Vering Johansen
Objective: I examine whether the substantial decline in the marriage rate in Denmark following the Great Recession is equally distributed among sociodemographic groups. Background: Since the beginning of the second demographic transition, marriage rates have been declining in the Western world. While the European Union’s marriage rate stabilized during the late 1990s and the early 2000s, it declined again following the Great Recession. If this decline is driven by certain groups, existing inequalities in the benefits associated with marriage may be exacerbated. Method: Applying Das Gupta's (1993) rate decomposition method to Danish administrative data, I investigate compositional changes between the group who gets married prior to and after the onset of the decline across five sociodemographic covariates. To assess the nature of the decline, I investigate three transitions into union formation: i) single to cohabitation, ii) single to marriage, and iii) cohabitation to marriage. Results: I find that all groups across age, income, children, marriage history, and employment status contribute to the marriage rate decline and that these contributions reflect behavioral changes. Comparing the three transitions into union formation, I find that people continue to cohabit but become less inclined to marry. Conclusion: My findings suggest that the marriage decline following the Great Recession was largely equally distributed among groups and likely led to a perpetuation of existing inequalities in the benefits associated with marriage.
2026-04-02
Beyda Çineli, Zafer Buyukkececi
Objective: This study examines how later-life parental divorce is associated with changes in adult sibling relationships, focusing on contact, emotional closeness, intimacy, and conflict. Background: Divorce is becoming increasingly common among older adults which is referred to as "gray divorce". Although couple dissolution has implications for broader family dynamics, less is known about how later-life parental divorce shapes relationships among adult children. Prior research on sibling relationships has primarily focused on childhood and adolescence and has often relied on cross-sectional designs. Understanding how later-life parental divorce relates to adult sibling ties is important, given the central role siblings play in providing emotional and practical support across the life course. Method: We use four waves of longitudinal data from the German Family Panel and employ fixed-effects models to examine within-individual changes in sibling contact, emotional closeness, intimacy, and conflict following later-life parental divorce. Results: The frequency of contact and emotional closeness between adult siblings decreases following later-life parental divorce. Additional analyses indicate that female-male and male-male sibling dyads are more likely to experience increased conflict after later-life parental divorce compared to female–female dyads. Conclusion: Later-life parental divorce is associated with meaningful changes in adult sibling relationships, suggesting that its consequences extend beyond the dissolving couple. Contrary to the assumption that divorce in later life has limited implications for adult children, our findings indicate that it may reshape sibling dynamics in complex ways.
2026-03-30
Rosalind Edwards, Susie Weller, Luisa Weissberg
Objective: This research note has both substantive and methodological objectives. It presents an account of undertaking a surface thematic analysis of a data sub-set from a repurposed public engagement written postcard exercise, to consider: (i) the significant non-relationally framed (i.e. factual and not related to the quality of the sibling relationship) information that people across gender and generation think that researchers should know about their siblings, and (ii) the written postcard exercise as a potential research method in family research. Background: Much research on siblings is concerned with outcomes or everyday relational processes. There is less attention to what people themselves regard as significant features of their siblings’ circumstances that is not shaped by researcher agendas and interactions. Method: The research note draws on electronic and hard copy written postcard data, submitted in response to the open prompt "Please tell us about your brothers and sisters", submitted by 795 children and adults. The majority were aged 29-58 and were female. A surface thematic analysis was undertaken to identify the factual, non-relationally framed information provided by postcard writers in a data sub-set in order to identify the issues that they regarded as important. Results: Postcard writers providing factual information about their siblings’ circumstances did so largely in the here-and-now of their siblings' lives. They addressed family form, geographical location, and age at which siblings left home, framing this non-relationally as information about their siblings. Conclusion: The analysis of sibling-provided information that is not relationally framed provides an alternative or additional perspective to both developmental outcomes research and studies of sibling perspectives. The postcard exercise offers possibilities as a data generation method that enables an initial co-production design.
2026-03-23
Sanna Kailaheimo-Björkqvist, Jessica Nisén, Niina Metsä-Simola, Pekka Martikainen, Mikko Myrskylä
Objective: Drawing on a life-course perspective that emphasises partnership-related processes, we examine how different mental health disorders relate to childlessness and whether these associations are explained by partnership status and partner’s mental health. Background: Mental health problems are increasing, while childlessness is becoming more common. Method: We use Finnish total population register data and discrete-time event history models to estimate the annual likelihood of having a first child. Results: All types of mental health disorders are associated with a lower likelihood of first-time childbearing. In age-controlled models, the annual probability 0.8-1.3%-points lower for women and 1.0-1.8%-points for men, with the strongest associations observed for severe mental disorders. Accounting for partner’s mental health and partnerships attenuates these associations, particularly among men (for any mental health disorder, 13% for women and 36% for men compared with age-controlled models). Conclusion: Partnerships and partner's mental health are important in understanding the association between mental health disorders and childlessness across the life course, especially among men.
2026-03-04
Claudia Recksiedler, Diana Schacht, Simone Schüller, Christina Boll, Christine Entleitner-Phleps, Alexandra Langmeyer, Sabine Walper, Claudia Zerle-Elsäßer
Objective: This study presents the "Post-Separation Family" (PSF) module within the panel study "Growing Up in Germany" (German title: Aufwachsen In Deutschland: Alltagswelten [AID:A]) and discusses its contribution to providing information on diverse post-separation family constellations in Germany. Background: Rates of separation and divorce are persistently high in Western societies, and post-separation families are increasingly diverse and complex. However, official statistics and large-scale surveys in Germany often lack detailed data on post-separation family constellations, particularly regarding non-resident parents. Method: The PSF module in AID:A collects comprehensive information on everyday practices, conflicts, and parental care involvement of a wide range of family constellations. It enables the classification of diverse family constellations, such as single parents and stepfamilies, and includes data on non-resident parents. Results: In 2019, about 23% of families with minors were post-separation families with a non-resident parent (i.e., 17% single-parents, 6% stepfamilies). About 12% of minors in post-separation families practiced a shared care arrangement according to the PSF module data. Key measures on post-separation care arrangements can be further linked to the broad spectrum of outcomes collected in AID:A (e.g., economic hardship, subjective well-being, and parental education). Conclusion: The PSF module represents a concise instrument for analyzing post-separation family diversity in Germany, which could lay the groundwork for national and international comparisons of diverse family constellations if adopted in other surveys.
2026-03-04
Weverthon Machado, Anne-Rigt Poortman, Anne Brons
Objective: This study explores the prevalence of family complexity in Joint physical custody (JPC) versus sole physical custody (SPC) and investigates the relationship between custody arrangements and children’s socioemotional problems, focusing on the moderating effect of parental repartnering. Background: JPC is increasingly common and shown to be beneficial for children. However, the rise in family complexity due to parental repartnering raises questions about JPC’s benefits for children's well-being in stepfamily settings. Method: Three waves of the New Families in the Netherlands (NFN) survey, covering ten years after separation, are used. The sample consists of parents who divorced or separated in 2010. Children's socioemotional problems were measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Linear regression models were estimated separately for boys and girls aged 4-17. Results: Descriptive statistics indicate that about half of the children live with a stepparent, with those living in JPC more likely to do so. Moreover, children in JPC showed fewer socioemotional problems than those in SPC. We did not find evidence that JPC is less beneficial for children when either parent has a new partner. Conclusion: Joint physical custody is associated with better child outcomes, and its advantages persist in stepfamily settings, indicating that parental repartnering does not weaken the effects of JPC.
2026-02-12
Fabienne Décieux, Eva-Maria Schmidt, Ulrike Zartler
Objective: This paper examines how mothers deal with their emotions related to their mothering practices in the early phase of motherhood, and analyzes which practices they use to work on their emotions. Background: Emotions and emotion work are regarded as integral and highly gendered parts of family work, which includes mothers as primary caregivers. However, the complex relation between mothers' emotions and their practices of mothering is yet to be fully understood. This study analyzes this relation by combining a social constructivist approach with a praxeological perspective. Method: The empirical results draw on an in-depth thematic and reconstructive sequential analysis of 23 semi-structured interviews with mothers in Austria whose youngest child was under the age of two. Results: Two bundles of practices of emotion work were identified: first, "changing conditions" (with practices of avoiding or preparing); and, second, "changing emotions" (with practices of suppressing, deep acting, and toning down guilt). Results explicate how mothers’ emotions and practices of emotion work are centered around the fundamental feeling rule of achieving positivity. This fundamental feeling rule includes numerous emotions that mothers work for with the aim of ensuring their child’s happiness and adequate development. Conclusion: Mothers' practices of emotion work mirror subjectivation and (gendered) responsibilization, and are therefore related to neoliberal ideals. Mothers act as invisible emotion workers to ensure the happiness and development of their child.
2026-02-06
Tonina Liriel Aurel
Objective: This study examines how siblings from families with two parents affected by mental illness negotiate their roles within the sibling group and which systemic-dynamic processes shape these negotiations. Background: While numerous studies have explored the experiences of children of parents with mental illness, little research has investigated how these experiences shape sibling relationships. This study addresses this research gap by analysing the conditions and systemic dynamics within sibling relationships under challenging life circumstances. Method: Biographical-narrative interviews were conducted with 11 young adults (aged 20-35) from four families in Germany and Austria who grew up in households with both parents affected by mental illness. Through interpretative-hermeneutic fine-structure analysis and systemic analysis, individual ascriptions of meaning and systemic-dynamic processes were reconstructed. Results: The analysis reveals that siblings in these families not only shape their own relationship but also assume an expanded set of responsibilities ("siblings+"). The parental impairment creates a role vacuum, which siblings compensate for among themselves. This results in an extended sibling role encompassing additional rights and obligations typically ascribed to parents. Conclusion: When parents are unable to fulfil their caregiving function and no external support is available, sibling relationships undergo fundamental transformations. Institutions that support such families should take these specific dynamics into account in order to meet the needs of those affected.
2026-01-13
Flavia Mazzeo, Nicole Hiekel, Agnese Vitali
Objective: This study examines the cohabitation-marriage gap in income pooling across Europe and quantifies the relative importance of selection and commitment mechanisms for couples’ decisions to share or separate economic resources. Background: Prior research has not effectively measured the relative importance of selection and commitment. We argue that, partly, this is because previous studies treated cohabiters and married couples as two homogeneous groups. We therefore distinguish four union types: directly married, married after cohabitation, cohabiters with and without marital intentions. Method: Using data from the Generation and Gender Survey Round 1 and logistic regression models with KHB decomposition, we analyze income pooling behaviors in 11 countries (n=34,061). Results: Findings reveal a gradient in income pooling in seven countries (Germany, France, Austria, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic and Sweden), with directly married couples being most likely to pool their incomes, followed by couples who married after cohabitation, cohabiters with and without marital intentions. Commitment-related variables explain more variation in income pooling between union types than selection-related ones, except when comparing directly married and married after cohabitation, where selection is more relevant. In Bulgaria, Russia, Georgia, and Romania, neither mechanism significantly impacts the minimal gap. Conclusion: Income pooling varies substantially between as well as within marriage and cohabitation. Commitment is generally more influential than selection for understanding couples’ resource sharing, though institutional and cultural settings condition the strength of these patterns.
2026-01-13
Jitka Slabá, Jitka Jírová, Anna Šťastná, Jiřina Kocourková
Objective: The study examines changes across cohorts in terms of the timing and frequency of the full spectrum of reproductive events and explores whether these reproductive trajectories reflect broader trends towards the destandardisation of family formation. Furthermore, the study assesses the quality and limitations of Czech health registry data by comparing them with official vital statistics. Background: Analysing fertility alone is insufficient with respect to understanding individual reproductive trajectories since reproductive experiences are interconnected across the lifespan and may be influenced by other reproductive events that affect both the tempo and the quantum - especially within the context of fertility postponement. Method: This study employs individual data obtained from the Czech National Health Information System (NHIS) that enable the holistic analysis of reproductive trajectories including live births, induced abortions, in vitro fertilisation, miscarriages and stillbirths across selected cohorts of women (1976–1991). Results: The younger cohorts experienced delayed and less frequent reproductive events. However, the lower incidence of adverse events partly reflected fewer conceptions due to the postponement of reproduction to older ages. The most common combination of event types involved live births with induced abortions or miscarriages. Reproductive trajectories were found to diversify with age but exhibited limited variation across the cohorts, and an early live birth remained linked to higher completed fertility. The NHIS data were largely in line with the vital statistics, with the moderate underestimation of live births and the under-reporting of early miscarriages and induced abortions. Conclusion: The findings highlight the potential and limitations of health registry data in terms of capturing the full spectrum of reproductive events. Forming a deeper understanding of women's reproductive trajectories and experiences, enabled via the use of linked health register data, is essential in terms of developing policies on reproductive health and rights in the context of declining fertility levels and the postponement of childbearing to later ages.
2026-01-08
Sarahi Resendez, Jianghong Li, Matthias Pollmann-Schult
Objective: This study examines whether nonstandard work schedules (NSWS) improve or hinder work-life balance (WLB) for parents and non-parents in dual-earner households. Background: Previous research shows that NSWS can negatively affect workers' well-being. However, less is known about whether and to what extent these effects differ between parents and childless individuals. Method: Using data from the first wave of the German Family Demography Panel Study (FReDA), linear regression models are applied to assess whether the effect of NSWS on WLB is influenced by family circumstances. Results: Parenthood is generally associated with lower WLB. However, the negative association between NSWS and WLB is more pronounced among childless workers. Notably, mothers of young children (ages 0-5), as well as fathers of school-aged children (ages 6-12) working NSWS report higher WLB than their childless counterparts. Conclusion: Parents with NSWS in dual-earner households do not necessarily experience lower WLB than childless workers. In some cases, NSWS may even help parents better reconcile work and family responsibilities.