PopDigests

Perelli-Harris et al. investigated whether individuals who cohabit have similar levels of subjective wellbeing (SWB) as married people. They studied events and characteristics correlated with entrance into marriage; whether marriage may be more advantageous for those with a lower or higher tendency to marry; and, finally, whether there is variation by country and gender between partnership type and SWB.

Nella Geurts (Radboud University) & Marcel Lubbers (Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute/KNAW/University of Groningen) investigated the relationship between migrants’ engagement with the country of origin and second-language proficiency from a quantitative perspective.

Research by Michael Mühlichen studied how mortality rates have developed in two German states since reunification with specific focus on premature mortality. Using official population and cause-of death statistics for Germany, he found that premature mortality has decreased rapidly since reunification, especially in the east.

Jonas Helgertz (University of Minnesota and Lund University) and Anton Nilsson (Lund University) analysed full-population Swedish register data on siblings and twins born between 1973 and 1994, and followed until 2011. This is one of the first studies to look at the effect of birth weight on sick days in adulthood.

Student mobility could foster social mobility, but its role in preserving or dismantling social inequalities is still largely under-investigated in Europe. Besides the fact that higher education reforms at the European Union (EU) and national levels have incentivised young people to study abroad from their home region, its impact on social mobility is yet to be understood.

A new study based on the Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally-representative longitudinal survey of children born in 2000-2 and living in the United Kingdom, explored the association between family structure trajectories and early physical health, as opposed to more commonly reported outcomes such as cognitive development or behaviour in older children.

Daniel Devolder and Joan Ballester (Centre for Demographic Studies, Autonomous University of Barcelona, and Barcelona Institute for Global Health) explored mortality and temperature data from the Spanish National Institute of Statistics and the European Climate Assessment and Dataset project, respectively. The study, published in the prestigious journal The Lancet Planetary Health, is the first to comprehensively assess the impact of the 1°C increase in ambient temperature, observed in Spain since 1980, on mortality due to cardiovascular disease by sex and age.

To understand immigrants’ situation properly, it is important to grasp both their own perceptions of their position in the new society and the life they left behind when they migrated. Per Engzell (Nuffield College, University of Oxford and Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University) and Mathieu Ichou (Institut National d'Études Démographiques) studied immigrants’ self-perceived status, measured as subjective social status, and perceived financial situation in the destination countries.

Why do people in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) live shorter lives than those in the developed countries? Is LAC approaching the levels of life expectancy and population health of the most developed regions in the world? A new study looks at health and mortality of 20 LAC countries during the period between 2000 and 2014.

A study by Ellen Dingemans and Kène Henkens analysed life satisfaction between full retirees and working retirees in Europe. Overall, they found that the relationship between life satisfaction and working after retirement is related to where one lives, the individual’s pension income, and whether one still has a partner or not.