Why does fertility remain high among certain UK-born ethnic minority women?

The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007‒2013) for the research project FamiliesAndSocieties under grant agreement no. 320116.Background : Previous research has shown high total fertility among certain UK-born ethnic minorities, but the reasons behind their high fertility have remained far from clear. Some researchers attribute their elevated fertility levels to cultural factors, whereas others argue that high fertility is the consequence of their poor education and labour market prospects. Objective : This study investigates fertility among the descendants of immigrants in the UK and examines the determinants of high fertility among certain ethnic minority groups. Methods : We use data from the Understanding Society study and apply multivariate event history analysis. Results : The analysis shows, first, that relatively high second-, third-, and fourth-birth rates are responsible for the elevated total fertility among certain UK-born minorities, especially women of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin. There is little variation in the first-birth rates among natives and immigrant descendants. Second, although fertility differences between ethnic minorities and native British women slightly decrease once religiosity and number of siblings are controlled for, significant differences persist. We conclude that cultural factors account for some elevated fertility among ethnic groups in the UK, whereas the role of education and employment seem to be only minor.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Introduction to research on immigrant and ethnic minority families in Europe

BACKGROUND This article provides an introduction to the special collection of papers on partnership dynamics among immigrants and their descendants in five selected European countries: Sweden, France, the UK, Spain, and Estonia. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The analysis shows a significant variation in partnership patterns among immigrants in all five countries. Immigrants from countries with more 'conservative' family patterns (e.g., those from Turkey, South Asia, and the Maghreb region) have high marriage rates, low (premarital) cohabitation levels, and are less likely to separate. By contrast, more 'fluid' family formation patterns dominate among some non-European immigrant groups (e.g., Caribbeans, Sub-Saharan Africans, and Latin Americans). The significant diversity of partnership patterns within countries across immigrant groups supports the idea that socialisation factors play an important role in their partnership behaviour. The partnership patterns of immigrants' descendants are 'in-between'. These findings support the idea that both the minority subculture and the mainstream society have an effect on the behaviour of ethnic groups; however, the role of minority subculture seems to be larger than expected among some groups (e.g., individuals of Turkish, South Asian, Slavic, and Maghrebian origin). CONTRIBUTION All five studies report a significant diversity in partnership patterns across ethnic groups and suggest that the diversity in family forms will persist in the future. We argue that future research should investigate family patterns among the 'third generation', examine the links between economic and cultural integration of ethnic minorities, and exploit various novel techniques to analyse the dynamic nature of individuals' lives.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Union formation and dissolution among immigrants and their descendants in the United Kingdom

BACKGROUND There is a growing literature on the dynamics of immigrant fertility and mixed marriages, but partnership transitions among immigrants and ethnic minorities are little studied. OBJECTIVE This study investigates union formation and dissolution among immigrants and their descendants in the UK. METHODS We use data from the Understanding Society study and apply the techniques of event history analysis. We contrast partnership trajectories of various immigrant groups and compare these with those of the 'native' British population. RESULTS The analysis shows significant differences in partnership formation and dissolution among immigrants and ethnic minorities. Women of Caribbean origin have the highest cohabitation and the lowest marriage rates, whereas cohabitation remains rare among immigrants from South Asia and their descendants, as most of them marry directly. Immigrants from the Caribbean region and their descendants also show higher divorce rates than 'native' British women, whereas women of South Asian origin have a low divorce risk.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Partnership formation and dissolution among immigrants in the Spanish context

<b>Background</b>: The diversification of partnership patterns away from the traditional marriage standard emerged in Spain relatively late. This makes Spain an interesting case for the study of the partnership dynamics of natives and immigrant groups. <b>Objective</b>: This paper analyzes partnership formation and dissolution among immigrant women of various origins, in comparison to natives in Spain. The study aims to identify variations in timing and incidence of partnership transitions. <b>Methods</b>: Data from the Fertility and Values Survey 2006 is used to conduct discrete-time logistic regressions for several union transitions. In a further step, the data are analyzed including cohort interactions to explore the extent to which differences are due to the younger profile of the migrant population. <b>Results</b>: The obtained results lend support to the selection and disruption hypotheses in the case of immigrant women who arrived in Spain before their first union formation. However, when explaining the high propensity of Latin American and EU-15 women to enter cohabiting unions, socialization effects cannot be ruled out. Immigrant women also show higher risk of union dissolution than natives. <b>Conclusions</b>: Immigrant women differ consistently from native Spanish women across the various partnership transitions. They generally display higher risks of forming a union, particularly a cohabiting union, and of separating from their first partner. Models including interactions between birth cohort and migrant status showed that differentials between immigrants and natives are not due to compositional effects

Country-specific case studies on fertility among the descendants of immigrants

This report consists of six case studies on fertility among the descendants of immigrants by comparing their patterns to those of the ‘native’ population. The countries that are included in the analysis are Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom, France, Spain and Switzerland. All of the case studies use large-scale longitudinal data and apply event-history analysis. The analysis shows that the descendants of immigrants have lower first-birth rates than ‘natives’ suggesting the postponement of childbearing among ethnic minorities; the only exception are women of Turkish origin who exhibit elevated first-birth levels in several countries (Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and France) indicating early childbearing among this group. Some ethnic minority groups have somewhat higher second-birth risks than ‘natives’ (e.g. South Asians in the UK, women of Turkish origin in Germany and Moroccans in Spain), but many show significantly higher third-birth rates; elevated third-birth levels are observed among women of Turkish, Middle Eastern and Northern African origin in Sweden, South Asians in the UK and North Africans in France and Spain. Elevated third-birth levels largely explain a relatively high total fertility among these minority groups. Fertility differences between the ‘native’ and ethnic minority women largely persist once women’s educational level is included in the analysis, but decrease after factors related to language, religion and family of origin are controlled. Overall, the analysis supports the importance of cultural-normative factors, potentially related to minority subcultures, in shaping childbearing patterns of ethnic minority groups, particularly third-birth rates. The analysis also suggests that education and employment related factors may play a role, e.g. explain delayed entry into motherhood among most ethnic minorities or low fertility among highly educated women of Turkish descent in Germany

Mixed marriages among immigrants and their descendants in the United Kingdom : analysis of longitudinal data with missing information

The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 320116 for the research project FamiliesAndSocieties.This study investigates formation of endogamous and exogamous marriages among immigrants and their descendants in the UK. While there is a growing literature on various aspects of ethnic minorities’ lives in Britain, their marriage patterns have been little studied and understood. We apply event-history analysis to data from the Understanding Society study and use multiple imputation to determine the type of marriage for individuals with missing information on the origin of their spouse. The analysis shows, first, significant differences among immigrants and their descendants in the likelihood of marrying within and outside of their ethnic groups. While immigrants from European countries have relatively high exogamous marriage rates, South Asians exhibit a high likelihood of marrying a partner from their own ethnic group; Caribbeans hold an intermediate position. Second, the descendants of immigrants have lower endogamous and higher exogamous marriage rates than their parents; however, for some ethnic groups, particularly for South Asians the differences across generations are small. Third, the exogamy rates are high among ethnic minority women and men with better English skills, individuals who are less religious and those who are older at first marriage. Fourth, highly-educated native British men have an elevated likelihood of forming an inter-ethnic marriage; exogamous marriages are also formed at later ages among the native men and women.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Partnership dynamics among immigrants and their descendants in four European countries

The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007‐2013) under grant agreement no. 320116 for the research project Families and Societies. For Leen Rahnu and Allan Puur, this work was also supported by the Estonian Research Council grant (PRG71). Hill Kulu's work was also supported by Economic and Social Research Council grant ES/K007394/1 and carried out in the ESRC Centre for Population Change (CPC).This study investigates union formation and dissolution among immigrants and their descendants in four European countries with different migration histories and family patterns (United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Estonia). Although there is a growing body of literature on migrant families in Europe, there is still little comparative research on partnership dynamics among immigrants and their descendants. We apply event history analysis to pooled data from the four countries. The analysis shows a significant variation in partnership patterns across migrant groups in some countries (e.g., South Asians vs. Caribbeans in the United Kingdom) and similar partnership behaviour for some migrant groups in different countries (e.g., South Asians in the United Kingdom and immigrants from Turkey in France). Descendants of immigrants often exhibit partnership patterns that are similar to those of their parents' generation. The country context matters; specific patterns are observed for Spain and Estonia.PostprintPeer reviewe

A decade of life-course research on fertility of immigrants and their descendants in Europe

The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007- 2013) under grant agreement no. 320116 for the research project FamiliesAndSocieties. Hill Kulu and Júlia Mikolai’s work was also supported by Economic and Social Research Council grant ES/K007394/1 and carried out in the ESRC Centre for Population Change (CPC).Objective : This article provides an introduction to a special collection on childbearing among the descendants of immigrants in Europe. We first review recent life-course research on fertility of immigrants and their descendants followed by a summary of the papers of this special collection. Finally, we discuss their contribution and future research avenues. Results : The papers of this special collection report significant heterogeneity in childbearing patterns among descendants of immigrants. Some groups have fertility levels similar to those of natives, some have lower fertility, and some exhibit significantly higher fertility. Further, polarisation characterises many descendant groups; some individuals have small families or even remain childless, whereas others have large families. Conclusions : We conclude that factors related to mainstream society, minority subculture, and minority status all shape fertility behaviour of the descendants of immigrants and that their impact varies across descendant groups. Future research should investigate whether the observed heterogeneity in childbearing patterns is likely to decline over generations or the diversity is here to stay.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe