The changing relationship between socio-economic background and family formation in four European countries

Jarl E. Mooyaart, Aart C. Liefbroer, Francesco C. Billari

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Family formation, a process that includes union formation, fertility, and their timing and order, has become increasingly diverse and complex in Europe. We examine how the relationship between socio-economic background and family formation has changed over time in France, Italy, Romania, and Sweden, using first wave Generations and Gender Survey data. Competing Trajectories Analysis, a procedure which combines event-history analysis with sequence analysis, allows us to examine family formation as a process, capturing differences in both the timing of the start of family formation and the pathways that young adults follow. Regarding timing, socio-economic background differences in France and Sweden have remained relatively small, whereas in Italy and Romania higher parental education has become more strongly associated with postponement. Pathways tend to diverge by socio-economic background, particularly in Sweden and France. These results indicate that while family formation patterns have changed, they continue to be stratified by socio-economic background.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)235-251
Number of pages17
JournalPopulation Studies
Volume76
Issue number2
Early online date4 May 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Funding information: European Commission Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), Ideas programme, European Research Council [grant number 324178].

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Funding

Funding information: European Commission Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), Ideas programme, European Research Council [grant number 324178].

FundersFunder number
European Research Council
Seventh Framework Programme324178

    Keywords

    • change over time
    • competing trajectories analysis
    • family formation
    • Pattern of Disadvantage
    • Second Demographic Transition
    • sequence analysis
    • socio-economic background

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