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The effect of stepchildren on childbearing intentions and births

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Demography

Abstract

This article reports on a study of the effect of stepchildren (children from previous unions) on coupleś fertility intentions and childbearing behavior using longitudinal data from the National Survey of Families and Households. The results indicated that stepchildren negatively affect childbearing intentions and childbearing risks. Intentions to have a child are weakened by onés own previous biological children and the previous biological children of onés current spouse or partner. This effect varies by the parenting configuration of the couple and gender of the respondent. Among couples with stepchildren, intentions remain high until each partner has had a biological child. Unlike women, men’s previous biological children do not affect their intentions of having a child. Stepchildren exert a weak negative effect on coupleś childbearing risks, and this effect is mediated by the coupleś childbearing intentions. The findings suggest that stepchildren should be incorporated into future models of fertility.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Richmond, 23173, Richmond, VA

    Susan D. Stewart

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  1. Susan D. Stewart
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Correspondence to Susan D. Stewart.

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Portions of this article were presented at the 1999 annual meetings of the National Council on Family Relations in Irvine, CA, and the 2000 annual meetings of the American Sociological Association in Washington, DC. I thank Wendy Manning, Alfred DeMaris, Susan Brown, and Mary Ellen Benedict for their contributions to this project, several anonymous reviewers, and the editors for their valuable comments.

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Stewart, S.D. The effect of stepchildren on childbearing intentions and births. Demography 39, 181–197 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1353/dem.2002.0011

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