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

Women migrated from Veneto in the 1950s: Entry into motherhood.

This paper aims at studying the relationship between fertility and migration, considering women moved from the North-East Italian region of Veneto in the 1950s. A quite innovative approach lies on the matching between own children method and event history analysis; this allows to consider current status data, such as those of the 1981 population census, to know demographic events. A piecewise constant exponential model studies the birth of the first child for women aged 30-34 moved towards the North-West Italian regions of Piemonte and Lombardia. Results show that among women from Veneto there is a gradual assimilation to fertility norms and behaviour of the host society

The outcomes of a couple partnership: the importance of sexuality in the transition from dating to cohabitation, marriage or disruption.

This paper examines new union dynamics in Italy, focusing on non-residential partnerships and studying the various transitions of a couple partnership among more recent cohorts. Data from a national survey conducted in 2006 provide a unique opportunity to examine the dynamics of relationship outcomes considering both an individual and a couple perspective and to verify the relevance of sexuality. In particular, an event history approach was used to study the disruption of a intimate couple relationship or its transition to a cohabitation or a marriage. Results of piecewise constant exponential models for competing risks showed that besides attitudinal factors (associated with socio-demographic background), also some aspects connected with sexuality may be important in affecting the decision whether to marry or cohabit or to end a relationship. In particular, both sexual attitudes of individual and sexual characteristics of the relationship have some effects in the outcome of a couple partnership

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

Self-regulated learning, motivation and emotions towards university study. A latent class approach

Students' attitudes, motivations and emotions towards university study have a great in uence on their university careers. In this work, we use a latent class factor analysis approach to reveal the underlying latent factors which summarise a series of items investigating students' positions in three domains: self-regulated learning, motivation, and emotions towards university study. Data come from a CAWI survey conducted in 2012 on a cohort of students enrolled in academic year 2006-07 at University of Padova, a large public university in north-east Italy. Results show that the underlying latent factors are in line with related psychological literature

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

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

Tatuaggio e piercing tra gli adolescenti: atteggiamenti e pratiche. Una indagine tra gli studenti di scuola secondaria superiore in Veneto

The present study analyzes the factors associated with the propension to the practices of piercing and tattoos among adolescents, thanks to a Survey conducted in the high schools of Veneto in 2007. Analyses showed the comparisons between sub-groups of interviewees characterized by gender, and by experience and interest in the two forms of body modification. Behaviours, attitudes and motivations connected with these practices are examined; questions, doubts and the knowledge about operator and the potential health consequences are investigated too; in addition, also the importance of physical appearance and the references values are considered. First, some descriptive analyses on various aspects of the phenomena are conducted; then, multinomial logistic regression models are applied, which allow us to identify what predicts the practices, the interest or the indifference for piercing and tattoos. Results showed gender differences in the approach of these body modification practices: as regards girls, these practices may be considered a mainstream activity, which involves younger cohorts: piercing and tattoo become a way to increase own body satisfaction. As regards boys, instead, the factors connected with the propension to these practices are a low cultural background and the importance given to physical appearance. Both for boys and girls, a significant aspect to define attitudes towards body art practices is the value system: values such as enjoyment, beauty and youth, are found to be strongly connected with high propension to these practices

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