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Recent years have witnessed a resurgence in the interest in family size intentions and ideals in developed societies, partially stemming from the idea that realized fertility in these societies is lower than intended fertility. This paper addresses the question of the stability of family size intentions. Based on Heckhausen's life-span theory of control, it is hypothesized that young adults' family size intentions are likely to change as a result of their experiences in the family and occupational life domains. To study this issue, data are used from a Dutch panel survey in which respondents are questioned on their family size intentions six times over the course of 18 years. The results show that family size intentions are not stable, but are adjusted as people age. On average, the adjustment is downward, but some people do not adjust their intentions or even adjust them upwards. Much of this difference in age patterns can be explained by changes in the partner, educational, and occupational careers of young adults. Not finding a suitable partner and pursuing a career—for women—are important factors. But also the timing of the fertility career itself is of major importance. If respondents postpone having children until their thirties, they are much more likely to adjust their intentions downwards than if they start their childbearing career earlier.

Political science; Sociology - In onze hedendaagse samenleving wordt sterk benadrukt dat mensen zelfstandig keuzes moeten maken en niet zo maar platgetreden paden moeten bewandelen. Dat lijkt te suggereren dat het gedrag en de opvattingen van ouders nog maar een beperkte rol spelen bij allerlei beslissingen die hun kinderen in het leven moeten maken. Maar is dat echt zo? In dit boek wordt aan de hand van empirisch onderzoek nagegaan in welke mate kinderen in hun denken en doen op hun ouders lijken. Daarbij wordt aandacht besteed aan de intergenerationele overdracht van een diversiteit van verschijnselen: arbeidsmarktparticipatie, cultuurdeelname, gezondheidsgedrag, criminaliteit, eenzaamheid en familiewaarden. Ook wordt stilgestaan bij de vraag hoe gelijkenis tussen ouders en kinderen tot stand komt; speelt de opvoeding een rol, komt het doordat ouders en kinderen in dezelfde soort omstandigheden leven, en in hoeverre is er sprake van een genetische component?

This study explored the involvement of grandparents in the care for young children and its effect on subsequent child births in dual‐earner families, using data on 898 Dutch men and women aged 18–49 from the Netherlands' Kinship Panel Study. Three theoretical perspectives were used to develop hypotheses: (a) needs and opportunities, (b) normative preferences, and (c) gendered involvement of grandparents. The findings showed that needs and opportunities informed involvement of grandparents but that the availability of formal child care did not predict grandparents' involvement. Maternal grandparents were more likely to provide child care than paternal grandparents, and grandmothers were more likely to do so than grandfathers. Involvement of both maternal and paternal grandparents in turn increased the likelihood of additional child births. The authors conclude that grandparental child care may be part of an emerging reproductive strategy. Implications of these findings for the theoretical approaches used are discussed.

Chapter 1. Social Background and Adult Socio-Demographic Outcomes in a Cross-National Comparative Perspective: An Introduction -- Chapter 2. Cross-National Variation in the Link Between Parental Socio-Economic Status and Union Formation and Dissolution Processes -- Chapter 3. Nonmarital Fertility in Europe and North-America: What is the Role of Parental SES and Own SES? -- Chapter 4. The Persistent Influence of Socio-Economic Background on Family Formation Pathways and Disadvantage in Young Adulthood -- Chapter 5. Adding Well-Being to Ageing: Family Transitions as Determinants of Later-Life Socio-Emotional and Economic Well-Being -- Chapter 6. Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression: An Alternative to Multilevel Analysis when the Number of Countries is Small -- Chapter 7. Modeling the Genesis of Life Courses -- Chapter 8. Understanding the Mechanisms of Intergenerational Social Inequality in Demographic Behavior -- Chapter 9. Explaining Cross-National Differences in Social Background Effects: What Have We Learned?.

This open access book examines how childhood social disadvantage influences young-adult demographic decision-making and later-life economic and well-being outcomes. This book in particular focuses on testing whether the consequences of childhood social disadvantage for adult outcomes differ across societies, and whether these differences are shaped by the "context of opportunities" that societies offer to diminish the adverse impact of economic and social deprivation. The book integrates a longitudinal approach and provides new insights in how the experience of childhood disadvantage (e.g. low parental socio-economic status, family disruption) influences demographic decisions in adulthood (e.g. the timing of family-events such as cohabitation, marriage or parenthood; the risk of divorce or having a child outside a partner relationship; the exposure to later-life loneliness, poor health, and economic adversity). Moreover, using a cross-national comparative perspective it investigates whether the relationships of interest differ across nations, and tests the "context of opportunities" hypothesis arguing that the links between childhood disadvantage and adult outcomes are weakened in societal contexts offering good opportunities for people to escape situations of deprivation. To do so, the book analyzes national contexts based on economic prosperity, family values and norms, and welfare-state arrangements.

AbstractThe authors examined double standards regarding divorce among parents with young children and regarding having children within nonmarital cohabitation across Europe. Whether people disapprove more of men or of women engaging in these behaviors is not a priori clear. The authors formulated arguments in both directions and expected double standards to vary cross‐nationally by the level of socioeconomic gender equality in a country. They conducted multilevel analyses on a sample of about 44,000 individuals nested in 25 countries, obtained from the European Social Survey (2006). Double standards were measured with a split‐ballot design. The findings indicated that men were generally more disapproved of than women when displaying the family behaviors under study. Overall, women endorsed both double standards, whereas men endorsed only the double standard regarding divorce. However, substantial cross‐national differences in the double standards exist. The higher the level of socioeconomic gender equality, the larger these double standards in favor of women.

The prevalence and social acceptance of childlessness have increased in recent decades. Still, little is known about how this social acceptance is shaped, the extent to which approval of childlessness differs across Europe, and what factors cause potential cross‐national variation. The authors used data from the European Social Survey 2006 (N =36,187) to examine the attitude toward voluntary childlessness in 20 countries. Results from multilevel models were largely in line with expectations derived from Second Demographic Transition theory concerning traditional orientation, age, religiousness, education, and stage of Second Demographic Transition in a country. The results also corroborated individual‐level expectations on the role of gender and socioeconomic status based on New Home Economics theory. One country‐level indicator, child‐care availability, was not related to the attitude toward childlessness. The current study provides new insights into explaining cross‐national differences in the attitude toward childlessness and more generally into the process of fertility decision making.

This study examines whether partner relationship quality influences fertility, and if so, in which direction and which aspects of relationship quality are relevant. Competing hypotheses are tested. One hypothesis assumes that higher relationship quality leads to higher rates of childbearing, as a high-quality relationship offers the most favourable environment to raise children. An opposite hypothesis expects that lower relationship quality leads to higher rates of childbearing, as couples might have children in order to improve their relationship. Hazard analyses are performed using three waves of the Panel Study on Social Integration in the Netherlands. Findings indicate that positive as well as negative interaction between partners has a negative effect on first- and higher-order birth rates. This suggests that couples are most likely to have children if they do not have too much negative interaction, but neither interact in a very positive way. Value consensus negatively influences higher-order birth rates.

'Während der letzten Jahrzehnte ist der Lebensweg als Annäherung zu menschlichem Überleben ein zentrales Thema in der Epidemiologie und Demographie geworden. Obwohl theoretisch eine vorausblickende Studie zu Geburtenkohorten die angemessenste Forschungskonzeption für diese Art von Studien ist, haben Probleme mit Daten diesen Ansatz praktisch undurchführbar gemacht. In dem Beitrag präsentieren die Verfasser den Hauptentwurf eines Projektes, in dem die Sie eine voraussichtliche Kohortenkonzeption für historische Populationen benutzen. Dieses Projekt basiert auf einem historischen Datenset für drei niederländische Provinzen und erstreckt sich über einen Zeitraum von Mitte des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts bis zum frühen einundzwanzigsten Jahrhundert. Die Studie legt den Fokus insbesondere auf die Einflüsse von drei spezifischen Bedingungen auf das Überleben während des Säuglingsalter und der Kindheit bis zum Erwachsenenalter und hohem Alter: die sozio-ökonomische Bedingung der Familie, die Komposition und Struktur der Familie und die physikalische Umgebung, in der Kinder den ersten Teil ihres Lebens verbringen. Die Verfasser skizzieren kurz den theoretischen Hintergrund ihrer Studie, diskutieren die Strategie der Datensammlung und das Forschungsgebiet und präsentieren die ersten Ergebnisse einer Analyse eines Teils des Datensets, der kürzlich zugänglich wurde.' (Autorenreferat)