Previous research has shown that singlehood and cohabitation are associated with postponement of parenthood. This study examines whether this association extends to the long term, potentially leading to a higher likelihood of ultimate childlessness among those with singlehood or cohabitation experience. Results from analyses of retrospective life course data from a sample of people born since 1935 and living in the Netherlands show that experience with nonmarital living arrangements has a long-term impact on the transition to parenthood. This impact is greater for females than for males and is partly caused by the higher likelihood among cohabitors to end their partnerships.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Axinn, W. G., & Barber, J. S. (1997). Living arrangements and family formation attitudes in early adulthood. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 59, 595-611.
2.
Bachrach, C. A. (1987). Cohabitation and reproductive behavior in the U.S. Demography, 24, 623-637.
3.
Bernhardt, E. M. (1993). Fertility and employment. European Sociological Review, 9, 25-42.
4.
Bloom, D. E., & Trussell, J. (1984). What are the determinants of delayed childbearing and permanent childlessness in the United States? Demography, 21, 591-611.
5.
Blossfeld, H.-P., & Huinink, J. (1991). Human capital investments or norms of role transition? How women’s schooling and career affect the process of family formation. American Journal of Sociology, 97, 143-168.
6.
Blossfeld, H.-P., & Jaenichen, U. (1992). Educational expansion and changes in women’s entry into marriage and motherhood in the Federal Republic of Germany. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 54, 302-315.
7.
Bosveld, W. (1996). The ageing of fertility in Europe. A comparative demographic-analytic study. Amsterdam: Thesis.
8.
Clarkberg, M., Stolzenberg, R. M., & Waite, L. J. (1995). Attitudes, values, and entrance into cohabitational versus marital unions. Social Forces, 74, 609-634.
9.
Corijn, M., Liefbroer, A. C., & De Jong Gierveld, J. (1996). It takes two to tango, doesn’t it? The influence of couple characteristics on the timing of the birth of the first child. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, 117-126.
10.
Cramer, J. C. (1980). Fertility and female employment: Problems of causal direction. American Sociological Review, 45, 167-190.
11.
De Graaf, A. (1990). Waarom trouwen samenwoners? [Why most cohabitors marry]. Maandstatistiek Bevolking, 8, 12-13.
12.
De Graaf, A., & Sprangers, A. (1999). Older mothers, fewer children. In J. Garssen, J. De Beer, L. Hoeksma, K. Prins, & R. Verhoef (Eds.), Vital events. Past, present and future of the Dutch population (pp. 51-65). Voorburg: Statistics Netherlands.
13.
Economische, Social en Ruimtelijke wetenschappen/StichtingTelePanel [Stichting Sociaal-Culturele wetenschappen data file]. (1992). The Hague, the Netherlands: The Netherlands Organisation for the Advancement of Scientific Research.
14.
Ganzeboom, H. B. G., De Graaf, P., & Treiman, D. J. (1992). A standard international socioeconomic index of occupational status. Social Science Research, 21, 1-56.
15.
Goldscheider, F. K., & Waite, L. J. (1991). New families, no families? The transformation of the American home. Berkeley: University of California Press.
16.
Heckman, J. (1979). Sample selection bias as a specification error. Econometrica, 47, 153-161.
17.
Jensen, A.-M. (1998). Partnership and parenthood in contemporary Europe: A review of recent findings. European Journal of Population, 14, 89-99.
18.
Kalmijn, M. (1996). Effecten van opleidingsniveau, duur en richting op het tijdstip waarop paren hun eerste kind krijgen [Effects of educational level, school enrollment and type of schooling on the timing of the first birth]. Bevolking en Gezin, pp. 41-71.
19.
Leridon, H. (1990). Extra-marital cohabitation and fertility. Population Studies, 44, 469-487.
20.
Liefbroer, A. C. (1991). The choice between a married or unmarried first union by young adults: A competing risks analysis. European Journal of Population, 7, 273-298.
21.
Liefbroer, A. C., & De Jong Gierveld, J. (1993). The impact of rational considerations and perceived opinions on young adults’ union formation intentions. Journal of Family Issues, 14, 213-235.
22.
Lillard, L. A., Brien, M. J., & Waite, L. J. (1995). Premarital cohabitation and subsequent marital dissolution: A matter of self-selection? Demography, 32, 437-457.
23.
Lillard, L. A., & Waite, L. J. (1993). A joint model of marital childbearing and marital disruption. Demography, 30, 653-681.
24.
Manning, W. D. (1995). Cohabitation, marriage, and entry into motherhood. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 191-200.
25.
Manting, D. (1994). Dynamics in marriage and cohabitation. An inter-temporal, life course analysis of first union formation and dissolution. Amsterdam: Thesis/PDOD.
26.
Manting, D. (1996). The changing meaning of cohabitation and marriage. European Sociological Review, 12, 53-65.
27.
Marini, M. M. (1985). Determinants of the timing of adult role entry. Social Science Research, 14, 309-350.
28.
Mulder, C. H., & Manting, D. (1994). Strategies of nest-leavers: “Settling down” versus flexibility. European Sociological Review, 10, 155-172.
29.
Oppenheimer, V. K. (1988). A theory of marriage timing. American Journal of Sociology, 94, 563-591.
30.
Pagnini, D. L., & Rindfuss, R. R. (1993). The divorce of marriage and childbearing: Changing attitudes and behavior in the United States. Population and Development Review, 19, 331-347.
31.
Popenoe, D. (1991). Family decline in the Swedish welfare state. Public Interest, pp. 65-78.
32.
Prinz, C. (1995). Cohabiting, married, or single. Portraying, analyzing, and modeling new living arrangements in the changing societies of Europe. Aldershot, UK: Avebury.
33.
Rindfuss, R. R., & St. John, C. (1983). Social determinants of age at first birth. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 45, 553-565.
34.
Rindfuss, R. R., & VandenHeuvel, A. (1990). Cohabitation: a precursor to marriage or an alternative to being single? Population and Development Review, 16, 703-726.
35.
Smeenk, W. (1998). Opportunity and marriage. The impact of individual resources and marriage market structure on first marriage timing and partner choice in the Netherlands. Nijmegen, the Netherlands: Thela Thesis.
36.
Thornton, A., Axinn, W. G., & Teachman, J. D. (1995). The influence of school enrollment and accumulation on cohabitation and marriage in early adulthood. American Sociological Review, 60, 762-774.
37.
Ultee, W. C., & Ganzeboom, H. B. G. (1993). Netherlands Family Survey 1992-93 [machine readable data set]. Nijmegen, the Netherlands: Nijmegen University, Department of Sociology.
38.
Waite, L. J., Goldscheider, F. K., & Witsberger, C. (1986). Nonfamily living and the erosion of traditional family orientations among young adults. American Sociological Review, 51, 541-554.
