Onder vier ogen

Uit het NKPS-onderzoek blijkt dat bij meer dan de helft van alle ouder-kind relaties wekelijks sprake is van face-to-face contact.Bij vijf procent is er helemaal geen contact.Zes procent van de moeders en negen procent van de vaders heeft het contact met ten minste één kind verbroken. Het aantal contacten per kind neemt rechtlijnig af met de grootte van de kinderschare

Blijvers en uitvallers

Van degenen die in 2003 deelnamen aan de eerste ronde van de Netherlands Kinship Panel Study is in 2006 75 procent opnieuw geïnterviewd. Vijftien procent weigerde om een tweede keer mee te doen en tien procent viel af vanwege overlijden, vertrek naar het buitenland of omdat ze, zelfs na herhaalde pogingen, niet opnieuw zijn bereikt. Wie zijn de uitvallers? Wie zijn degenen die niet opnieuw zijn geïnterviewd? Zijn bepaalde groepen daarin oververtegenwoordigd? Het antwoord op deze vragen is van belang om te kunnen bepalen of de tweederonde respondenten nog een goede afspiegeling vormen van de Nederlandse bevolking

Discrepancies in parents’ perceptions of adult children’s well-being:evidence from mother–father–child triads

Most studies of discrepancies in parents’ reports about children’s psychological problems address younger children and psychological problems. The current contribution shifts the focus to adult children and to well-being. In adult intergenerational relationships, knowledge of children’s well-being is more uncertain and there is more room for disagreements to arise, especially in the context of divorce. We analyzed Dutch multi-actor survey data, using a sample of triads of adult children, fathers, and mothers (N = 1,440). Two hypotheses were tested about the origins of discrepancies using structural equation models in which child well-being reports were included of parents and self-reports of children. The analyses supported the notion of relational specificity: when parents have a closer and more harmonious relationship with the child, they evaluate the child more positively than the other parent, after controlling for adult children’s self-reports of well-being. Qualified support was obtained for the depression-distortion hypothesis, with mothers who have higher well-being themselves being more positive about the child. Discrepancies were larger among separated parents than among married parents and parent-stepparent combinations. The conclusion is that parents do not always have similar views of adult children’s well-being and that disagreements are systematic, with bias stemming from the informant and the relationship.</p

Comparing Neighbors and Friends in Age-Related Network Changes

Objectives: To assess how the role of neighbors and friends in people’s networks changes with age and how this is affected by cohort, marriage, employment, and socioeconomic status. The hypothesis is that for most aspects of the network, friends lose “importance” as people become older, with neighbors gradually becoming more dominant in the nonkin network. Methods: Data are used for people aged 55–90 between 1999 and 2019 from the Swiss Household Panel (N = 5,585). A total of 4 network aspects were measured: size, contact, practical support, and emotional support. Measures for neighbors and friends were compared and analyzed with fixed-effects and hybrid-effects regression models on person-year observations. Results: The sizes of both network segments declined with age but more strongly for friends than neighbors. Contact with friends was stable but contact with neighbors increased. Support from friends declined whereas support from neighbors was stable. Direct comparisons revealed that the relative share of neighbors vis-à-vis friends increased as people age. Friends were more common and supportive vis-à-vis neighbors for divorced and widowed people than for married people, but this gap declined with age. The share of neighbors increased with retirement, especially for men. The share of neighbors vis-à-vis friends was also larger for people with less income and education and this gap did not change with age. Discussion: In the nonkin part of older adults’ networks, proximity eventually becomes dominant. This finding is interpreted in terms of rising needs, greater opportunity for local contact, and friend mortality risks, all favoring the neighbor segment of the network.</p

Discrepancies in parents’ perceptions of adult children’s well-being:evidence from mother–father–child triads

Most studies of discrepancies in parents’ reports about children’s psychological problems address younger children and psychological problems. The current contribution shifts the focus to adult children and to well-being. In adult intergenerational relationships, knowledge of children’s well-being is more uncertain and there is more room for disagreements to arise, especially in the context of divorce. We analyzed Dutch multi-actor survey data, using a sample of triads of adult children, fathers, and mothers (N = 1,440). Two hypotheses were tested about the origins of discrepancies using structural equation models in which child well-being reports were included of parents and self-reports of children. The analyses supported the notion of relational specificity: when parents have a closer and more harmonious relationship with the child, they evaluate the child more positively than the other parent, after controlling for adult children’s self-reports of well-being. Qualified support was obtained for the depression-distortion hypothesis, with mothers who have higher well-being themselves being more positive about the child. Discrepancies were larger among separated parents than among married parents and parent-stepparent combinations. The conclusion is that parents do not always have similar views of adult children’s well-being and that disagreements are systematic, with bias stemming from the informant and the relationship.</p

The influence of men’s income and employment on marriage and cohabitation: testing Oppenheimer’s theory in Europe

"This article discusses Oppenheimer’s theory on marriage timing, reviews the way this theory was received in European demography and family sociology, and develops a new test of the theory using annual panel data from 13 European countries for the period 1994–2001. Several indicators of men’s economic status are used, including school enrollment, employment, type of labor contract, work experience, income, and education. Effects of these indicators are estimated for the transition to marriage and cohabitation, as well as for the transition from cohabitation to marriage. Country differences in these effects are examined as well. The evidence provides strong support for the male breadwinner hypothesis on the one hand, and for Oppenheimer’s career uncertainty hypothesis on the other. However, the relevance of these hypotheses also depends on the national context, and especially on the way gender roles are divided in a society." [author's abstract]Dans cet article relatif à la théorie d’Oppenheimer sur le calendrier du mariage, nous examinons la manière dont cette théorie a été perçue par la démographie européenne et la sociologie de la famille et nous testons à nouveau cette théorie à l’aide de données de panel annuel collectées dans 13 pays européens au cours de la période 1994–2001. Différents indicateurs du statut économique de l’homme sont utilisés, tels que la scolarisation, l’emploi, le type de contrat de travail, l’expérience professionnelle, le revenu et le niveau d’instruction. Les effets de ces indicateurs sont estimés pour l’entrée dans le mariage ou la cohabitation, ainsi que pour le passage de la cohabitation au mariage. Les différences entre pays des effets de ces indicateurs sont également examinées. Les résultats appuient fortement l’hypothèse de l’homme en tant que soutien économique de la famille d’une part, et d’autre part l’hypothèse d’instabilité professionnelle d’Oppenheimer. Cependant, la pertinence de ces hypothèses dépend également du contexte national, et plus spécialement de la répartition des rôles selon le genre dans la société étudiée

Does Ethnicity Moderate the Union Dissolution Penalty for Women? A Register-based Analysis of Changes in Income Components

Union dissolution has severe consequences for women’s economic well-being. Theoretical work links these consequences to ethnic inequality. Ethnic groups vary in terms of separation rates, female employment, repartnering trajectories, kin support, and reliance on welfare benefits. The current study examines whether ethnicity moderates the dissolution penalty. To do so, the authors draw on register data, covering women from five major ethnic groups in the Netherlands: Dutch, Antillean, Surinamese, Moroccan, and Turkish. The authors describe women’s income trajectories from 1 year before to 5 years after union dissolution. Using decomposition techniques, changes in household income are decomposed into changes in six underlying income sources (i.e., earnings, benefits, alimony, partner income, and coresident family income). The results show that ethnicity moderates the dissolution penalty and, especially, the contribution of the various income sources when recovering from dissolution.</p