Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Union Stability and Stepfamily Fertility in Austria, Finland, France & West Germany

  • Published:
European Journal of Population / Revue européenne de Démographie Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this paper, we test the hypothesis that unique effects of stepfamily composition on union fertility are confounded with differences between stepfamilies and couples without stepchildren in the risk of union disruption. We use birth and union histories from Fertility and Family Surveys in Austria, Finland, France and West Germany. The risks of a union birth and separation are modeled simultaneously, allowing for the potential effects of unobserved predispositions to have a child or to separate on the other event. We test hypotheses drawn from the value of first and second shared births to couples: Net of the couple’s combined parity, the birth risk will be greater if the child is (a) the first in a union, (b) the first biological child for one of the partners, or (c) the second child in a union.

Résumé

Résumé. Dans cet article, nous testons l’hypothèse selon laquelle les effets de la composition de la famille recomposée sur la fécondité de l’union sont brouillés par les risques différents de rupture d’union entre familles recomposées et couples sans enfants. Nous utilisons les histoires génésiques et maritales recueillies dans les enquêtes fécondité et famille en Autriche, Finlande, France et Allemagne de l’ouest. Les probabilités de naissance dans l’union et de séparation sont modélisées simultanément, pour prendre en compte les effets éventuels sur l’autre événement de prédispositions non observées à avoir un enfant ou à se séparer. Nous testons des hypothèses basées sur la valeur d’un premier ou d’un deuxième enfant en commun pour les couples. Si l’on contrôle sur le nombre d’enfants antérieurement nés, la probabilité de naissance sera plus grande si l’enfant est le premier dans l’union, s’il est le premier enfant biologique de l’un des deux parents ou s’il est le deuxième dans l’union.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andersson, G. and Philipov, D., 2002. ‘Life-table representations of family dynamics in Sweden, Hungary, and 14 other FFS countries: A project of descriptions of demographic behaviour’, Demographic Research 7: 68–144, Available online at http://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol7/4.

  • P. Baizán A. Aassve F. C. Billari (2003) ArticleTitle‘Cohabitation, marriage, first birth: The interrelationship of family formation events in Spain European Journal of Population 19 147–169 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1023343001627

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • A. Booth J. N. Edwards (1992) ArticleTitle‘Starting over: Why remarriages are more unstable’ Journal of Family Issues. 13 179–94 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:DC%2BD38rltFClsA%3D%3D Occurrence Handle12343619

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bosveld, W., 1996. The Ageing of Fertility in Europe: A Comparative Demographic-Analytic study. Doctoral thesis, Netherlands Graduate School of Research in Demography. (Thesis Publishers, Amsterdam).

  • Buber, I. and Prskawetz, A., 2000. ‘Fertility in second unions in Austria: Findings from the Austrian FFS’, Demographic Research3/2 (http://www.demographic-research.org/Volumes/Vol3/2).

  • R.A. Bulatao (1981) ArticleTitle‘Values and disvalues of children in successive childbearing decisions’ Demography 18 1–25 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:Bi6C3sbgtlc%3D Occurrence Handle7202782

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • J. T. Fawcett (1983) ‘Perceptions of the value of children: Satisfactions and costs’ R. A. Bulatao R. D. Lee (Eds) Determinants of Fertility in Developing Countries NumberInSeries2 Supply and Demand for Children. Academic Press New York

    Google Scholar 

  • P. Findl (1991) ‘Austria’ J. L. Rallu A. Blum (Eds) European Population Vol. 1. Country Analysis. John Libbey London 225–236

    Google Scholar 

  • L. H. Ganong M. Coleman (1988) ArticleTitle‘Do mutual children cement bonds in stepfamilies?’ Journal of Marriage and the Family . 50 687–98

    Google Scholar 

  • J. D. Griffith H. P. Koo C. M. Suchindran (1985) ArticleTitle‘Childbearing and family in remarriage’ Demography 22 73–88 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:BiqC2Mvnslc%3D Occurrence Handle3979617

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • C. Höhn (1991) ‘Germany’ J. L. Rallu A. Blum (Eds) European Population, Vol. 1. Country Analysis. John Libbey London 83–111

    Google Scholar 

  • K. Kiernan (1999) ArticleTitle‘Childbearing outside marriage in Western Europe’ Population Trends 98 11–20 Occurrence Handle10658241

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • L. A. Lillard (1993) ArticleTitle‘Simultaneous equations for hazards: Marriage duration and fertility timing’ Journal of Econometrics. 56 189–217 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0304-4076(93)90106-F Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:DC%2BD38rpvFyqsQ%3D%3D Occurrence Handle12318328

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • L.A. Lillard M.J. Brien L.J. Waite (1995) ‘Premarital co-habitation and subsequent marital dissolution - A matter of self selection’. Demography 32 437–457 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:BymC3Mvlt10%3D

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • L.A. Lillard C.W.A. Panis (2000) aML Multilevel Multiprocess Statistical Software Release 1.0 EconWare, CA Los Angeles

    Google Scholar 

  • L. A. Lillard L. J. Waite (1993) ArticleTitle‘A joint model of marital childbearing and marital disruption’ Demography 30 653–681 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:ByuD1crmslU%3D Occurrence Handle8262286

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • T. C. Martin L. L. Bumpass (1989) ArticleTitle‘Recent trends in marital disruption’ Demography 26 37–51 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:BiaB1M%2Fht1U%3D Occurrence Handle2737357

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • T. Nikander (1998) Fertility and Family Surveys in Countries of the ECE Region Standard Country Report Finland, United Nations, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Olah, L., Sz., 2001. Gendering Family Dynamics: The Case of Sweden and Hungary. Doctoral Thesis (Stockholm University, Demography, Unit Stockholm.

  • A. Orloff (1996) ArticleTitle‘Gender in the welfare state’ Annual Review of Sociology 22 51–78 Occurrence Handle10.1146/annurev.soc.22.1.51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • C. Prinz (1995) Cohabiting, Married or Single: Portraying, Analyzing, and Modeling New Living Arrangements in the Changing Societies of Europe Avebury Aldershot, England

    Google Scholar 

  • C. Prinz (1998) Fertility and Family Surveys in Countries of the ECE Region Standard Country Report, Austria United Nations, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Rönsen, M. and Sundström, M., 1997. ‘Women’s return to work after first birth in the Nordic countries – full time or part time?’, Stockholm Research Reports in Demography 112, Stockholm University, Demography Unit.

  • R. Schoen W. Urton K. Woodrow J. Baj (1985) ArticleTitle‘Marriage and divorce in 20th century American cohorts’ Demography. 22 101–114 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:BiqC2Mvns1E%3D Occurrence Handle3979610

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • S. D. Stewart (2002) ArticleTitle‘The effect of stepchildren on childbearing intentions and births’ Demography 39 181–197 Occurrence Handle11852836

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thomson, E., 1997. ‘Her, his and their children: Influences on couple childbearing decisions’, NSFH Working Paper # 76, Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison WI.

  • E. Thomson J. M. Hoem A. Vikat A. Prskawetz I. Buber L. Toulemon U. Henz A. L. Godecker V. Kantorova (2002) ‘Childbearing in stepfamilies: how parity matters’ E. Klijzing M. Corijn (Eds) Fertility and Partnership in Europe: Findings and Lessons from Comparative Research, Vol. II. United Nations Geneva/New York 87–99

    Google Scholar 

  • L. Toulemon C. Guibert-Lantoine Particlede (1998) Fertility and Family Surveys in Countries of the ECE Region Standard Country Report, France. United Nations, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • D.M. Upchurch L. A. Lillard C. W. A. Panis (2002) ArticleTitleNonmarital childbearing: Influences of education, marriage and fertility’ Demography 39 311–329 Occurrence Handle12048954

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • A. Vikat E. Thomson J. M. Hoem (1999) ArticleTitle‘Stepfamily fertility in contemporary Sweden: The impact of childbearing before the current union’ Population Studies 53 211–25 Occurrence Handle10.1080/00324720308082

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • A. Vikat E. Thomson A. Prskawetz (2004) ArticleTitle‘Childrearing responsibility and stepfamily fertility in Finland and Austria’ European Journal of Population 20 1–21 Occurrence Handle10.1023/B:EUJP.0000014536.56286.41

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE, UK

    Ursula Henz

  2. Department of Sociology and Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1180 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Elizabeth Thomson

Authors
  1. Ursula Henz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Elizabeth Thomson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ursula Henz.

Additional information

Henz, U. and Thomson, E., 2005. Union stability and stepfamily fertility in Austria, Finland, France & West Germany, European Journal of Population, 21: 3–29.

Henz, U. et Thomson, E., 2005. Stabilité des unions et fécondité des familles recomposées en Autriche, Finlande, France et Allemagne de l’ouest, Revue Européenne de Démographie, 21: 3–29.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Henz, U., Thomson, E. Union Stability and Stepfamily Fertility in Austria, Finland, France & West Germany. Eur J Population 21, 3–29 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-004-7267-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-004-7267-4

Keywords

Mots clés

Search

Navigation