The implications of marital instability for a woman’s fertility: Empirical evidence from Italy

Using a sample of Italian women interviewed in 2003 in the survey “Family and Social Subject,†this paper investigates two issues: (1) how a woman’s family life-course (union status and parity/ages of children born in the first marriage) influences the risk of a post-dissolution birth among separated women; and (2) how the experience of a marital disruption affects a woman’s cumulated fertility. Given that in Italy marital instability is relatively recent and still barely socially accepted, our main assumption is that separated women engage in more prudent reproductive behaviour than their counterparts living in countries with a longer experience of the phenomenon. With respect to the first point, our results show that: (i) not only remarriage, but also cohabitation, are strongly associated with the likelihood of post-dissolution childbearing; (ii) significant differences in the risk of having a child following the dissolution of a marriage are present only between separated women with no children and separated women with children; thus, separated women with one child have the same probability of experiencing a post-dissolution birth as those with two or more children, and the age of children is irrelevant. With respect to the second point, we find that women who underwent a marital dissolution have lower fertility than those who remained continuously married, and that repartnering enables this group of women to recapture some—but not all—of the fertility lost with the dissolution of the first marriage.fertility, Italy, life course, marital instability

Repartnering after marital dissolution: Does context play a role?

This paper examines in depth the determinants of repartnering in Italy. With data from a national survey conducted in 2003, the effects of socio-economic, demographic and contextual characteristics on second-union formation among separated women are examined. The analysis is of particular interest in a country such as Italy, which is undergoing a transition from traditional to modern family behaviours. In addition, it allows us to verify the hypothesis that the importance of demographic factors in the repartnering process decreases as marital instability becomes more common. Results of event history analysis models confirm the basic hypothesis and show some unexpected effects.Italy, North-South gradient, repartnering, separation

Late maternal age and parenting practices

In recent decades, the age that women give birth to their children has been gradually increasing in many developed countries. This trend may have important consequences on parenting. The present study aims to analyse whether and how maternal age influences parenting practices with respect to the presence of parents in their children’s daily life. Using data from the 2005 Italian Birth Sample Survey, we refer to the early infancy period and consider three domains of parenting: a) support for the baby’s care (grandparents, babysitter, or crèche), b) the mothers’ return to work after childbirth, and c) the father’s time spent with his child. Results show that maternal age has mixed effects depending on the employment status of the mothers. Older unemployed mothers are more prone than their younger counterparts to adopt traditional parenting models. On the contrary, employed older mothers are more likely than younger ones to have less traditional parenting models

Family contexts and adolescents' emotional status

Children's living arrangements have become increasingly diverse and complex in recent decades: a significant proportion of children reside in stepfamilies or in separated one-parent families, even in countries such as Italy, which only recently are undergoing a transition from traditional to less traditional family behaviours. The present study explores whether adolescents living in families which are the result of separation or divorce have lower levels of psychological well-being than those living in more traditional families, and whether this possible effect of family structure is influenced by family resources (parental socio-economic circumstances and parental health). These issues are investigated using data from a national representative survey conducted in Italy in 2005. Results suggest that adolescents living in non-traditional families are not necessarily at higher risk of emotional suffering than others. Only adolescents who live in step-families show a lower level of emotional well-being than those living in two-biological-parent families, and this effect is not mediated by family resources

Repartnering after marital dissolution: does the context play a role?

This paper intends to examine in depth the determinants of repartnering in Italy. With data from the survey “Family and Social Subjects” conducted in 2003, the effects of socio-economic, demographic and contextual characteristics on second-union formation among separated women are examined. In particular, the hypothesis that the demographic determinants of repartnering differ according to geographical context, defined by the level of diffusion of marital instability, is taken into consideration. Results of event history analysis models confirm the basic hypothesis and show some unexpected different effects

The involvement in childcare of married and cohabiting fathers: evidence from Italy

Abstract This study analyses paternal involvement in the daily basic childcare of Italian cohabiting and married fathers with children aged 0–3. The aims are (a) to verify whether cohabiting fathers are more or less involved in childcare than married ones are and (b) to examine the mechanisms behind the possible differences. The focus is on both the daily basic childcare as a whole and on the specific activities of daily basic care (such as putting the child to sleep, dressing the child and changing its nappies). In addition, also potential differences among married fathers are examined, distinguishing between those who marry directly and those with pre-marital cohabitation. Results show that a higher involvement in the daily basic childcare of cohabiting fathers and of married fathers with pre-marital cohabitation may be completely explained by the fact that these typologies of couples are selected by structural differences which are positively associated with the higher fathers' basic childcare

Life satisfaction among the elderly in Italy in a gender approach

Over the last few decades, increasing attention has been paid to the issue of well-being among the elderly, and life satisfaction has been used as an indicator to evaluate older people’s life conditions, reflecting multiple and broad domains. This paper sheds some light on this topic with reference to Italy, a country characterized by an increasing ageing population. The aim is to examine life satisfaction among people aged 65 and older and its predictors. We adopt a gender approach to examine whether literature results, which show that elderly men and women have different sources of satisfaction, are confirmed. In doing this, particular attention is given to the role played by the family and its influence on the life satisfaction of older adults. As a Mediterranean country, Italy is assumed to place special importance on these aspects. The data used come from the cross-sectional surveys “Aspects of Daily Life”, carried out in Italy by the National Statistical Institute (ISTAT). As we considered the latest available surveys (2010 and 2011), we can rely on a large sample and, thus, test several hypotheses about the predictors of older adults’ life satisfaction. The results show unexpected patterns in the determinants of life satisfaction for men and women, and do not confirm previous literature

Scelte Riproduttive tra Orientamenti Valoriali, Costi e Opportunità. Uno Studio Qualitativo in Contesto Urbano

This work presents results from a qualitative study on mothers and fathers with alternatively few (one) and many (three or more) children, aiming to analyse in-depth the mental processes that build up the reproductive choices of couples. The study particularly focuses on some dimensions: lifestyles, parenthood, costs and benefits of children, and policies supporting parenthood. Results suggest that parents are burdened with an excess of costs, especially of psychological kind, deriving from the delay of Italian society in conforming to the changes, occurred in the last decades in industrialized countries, regarding values and women’s role

Non-resident parent-child contact after marital dissolution and parental repartnering: Evidence from Italy

Background: With the diffusion of marital instability, the number of children who spend some of their childhood without one of their parents has become significant, even in Italy. Therefore, given the importance of parent-child interactions for children's wellbeing, analyzing children's contact with the non-resident parent has become relevant. Objective: In this paper we consider the frequency of contact between children and their non- resident parent after separation, with a double aim: a) to analyze if and how the non- resident parent's contact with his/her children varies according to whether the (resident or non-resident) parent has repartnered, and b) to investigate whether the relationship between repartnering and contact differs according to the gender of the non-resident parent. Methods: The study focuses on children aged 0-17 living with only one biological parent, using data pooled together from two cross-sectional rounds of the Italian survey, Family and Social Subjects. Results: Results show that parents' repartnering is positively associated with lower non-resident parent-child contact only in the case of non-resident fathers; in the case of a non- resident mother, her repartnering is actually correlated with higher contact. Contribution