It Takes Two to Tango, Doesn't It? The Influence of Couple Characteristics on the Timing of the Birth of the First Child

Corijn, Martine; Liefbroer, Aart C.; Jong-Gierveld, J. de

doi:10.2307/353381

Cited by 87 publications

(73 citation statements)

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“…We could support the assumption that models based on both partners' fertility intentions are superior to those based on only one partner's intentions (Fried and Udry 1979;Fried et al 1980;Morgan 1985) and that models including only the women's intentions are likely to be mis-specified (Corijn et al 1996). Since women tend to prevail in the couple negotiation process, we share the view that models based on female child-timing intentions should be preferred over models based on male child-timing intentions -if the choice between one of the two partners has to be made (Fried et al 1980;Morgan 1985).…”

Section: Summary and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Couples’ childbearing behaviour in Italy: which of the partners is leading it?

Tester¹

2012

Populationyearbook

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Using data on 2356 Italian couples from the longitudinal survey on Family and Social Subjects conducted between 2003 and 2007, we examine the relationship between child-timing intentions and subsequent reproductive outcomes. Our hypothesis is that in Italy the lack of agreement between partners has an inhibiting effect on couple's pregnancy-seeking behaviour because inertia and social norms favour the partner who does not want to have a(nother) child. We find that this holds true only for couples who have already two or more children whereas at lower parities conflicting intentions result in either a middle fertility outcome or childbearing levels similar to those observed for couples who agree on having a child. Women have a greater influence on childbearing decisions than men. The explicit consideration of a partner's disagreement increases the predictive accuracy of fertility intentions. Our findings strongly support the adoption of a couple-oriented approach in fertility research.

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Section: Summary and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

Couples’ childbearing behaviour in Italy: which of the partners is leading it?

Tester¹

2012

Populationyearbook

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“…While this may seem obvious, many studies on the interrelationship between paid work, education, and childbearing focus on women only. Previous research has confirmed that both partners in a couple influence decisions about having children (Beckman 1984;Coombs and Chang 1981;Corijn, Liefbroer, and de Jong Gierveld 1996;Jalovaara and Miettinen 2013;Jansen and Liefbroer 2006;Thomson 1997;Vignoli, Drefahl, and De Santis 2012), but the lack of suitable couple data often causes fertility researchers to focus only on women. This can be problematic because the exclusion of partner information has been shown to lead to an overestimation of the negative effects of women's employment on fertility (Matysiak and Vignoli 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How do educational and occupational resources relate to the timing of family formation? A couple analysis of the Netherlands

Begall¹

2013

DemRes

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“…Literature on fertility shows that age, education and religiosity are important factors determining fertility behaviour (e.g. Blossfeld 1995; Corijn et al 1996). Therefore, we included these characteristics, from both partners if data permitted, as control variables.…”

Section: Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hence, it is important that the influence of characteristics of the couple on fertility decisions is studied as well. Indeed, in recent years increasing attention has been paid to the influence of characteristics of both partners and to couple characteristics (Coombs and Chang 1981;Corijn et al 1996;Jansen and Liefbroer 2006;Morgan 1985;Thomson 1997Thomson , 2002Thomson and Hoem 1998;Thomson et al 1990). Nevertheless, as yet little attention has been paid to the question to what extent fertility is influenced by the quality of the partner relationship itself.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Partner Relationship Quality on Fertility

Rijken

Liefbroer

2008

Eur J Population

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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.Keywords Fertility Á Panel study Á Relationship quality Á The Netherlands Résumé Cette étude examine l'influence de la qualité de la relation avec le partenaire sur la fécondité, et cherche à identifier les aspects de la relation les plus pertinents par rapport à cette question. Différentes hypothèses sont explorées. La (2009) 25: 27-44 DOI 10.1007/s10680-008-9156-8 première postule que plus la qualité de la relation est bonne, plus la fécondité est élevée, car une relation de bonne qualité offre le contexte le plus favorable pour élever des enfants. A l'opposé, une deuxième hypothèse postule que plus la qualité de la relation est mauvaise, plus la fécondité est élevée, car les couples pourraient avoir des enfants pour améliorer leur relation. Des modèles de durée sont utilisés pour analyser les trois vagues du Panel d'Etude de l'Intégration Sociale aux PaysBas. Il apparaît que les interactions positives, de même que les interactions néga-tives entre partenaires ont une influence négative sur les naissances de rang 1 et sur les suivantes. Ce résultat suggère que les couples ont le plus de chances d'avoir des enfants s'ils ont des interactions qui ne sont ni trop bonnes, ni trop mauvaises. L'accord entre partenaires au niveau du système de valeurs influence de façon négative les naissances de rang supérieur.Mots-clés fécondité Á étude de panel Á qualité de la relation Á Pays-Bas

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It Takes Two to Tango, Doesn't It? The Influence of Couple Characteristics on the Timing of the Birth of the First Child

Cited by 87 publications

References 10 publications

Couples’ childbearing behaviour in Italy: which of the partners is leading it?

Couples’ childbearing behaviour in Italy: which of the partners is leading it?

How do educational and occupational resources relate to the timing of family formation? A couple analysis of the Netherlands

The Influence of Partner Relationship Quality on Fertility

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