PopDigests

Divorce rates in Western countries have been increasing in recent decades and more children are also born to parents who never cohabitate.  As a result, more and more children are living in joint or sole physical custody.  Existing research has suggested some of the negative effects of parental separation on child-wellbeing, such as an increased risk of social maladjustment and poor health. However, very little research has explored the influence of parental ill health and well-being on children’s mental health as a result of differing family structures.

Researchers have identified 12 specific areas of the DNA sequence that are robustly related with the age at which we have our first child, and the total number of children we have during the course of our life.

Forscher haben 12 Bereiche in der DNA-Sequenz identifiziert, die stabil damit verbunden sind, in welchem Alter wir unser erstes Kind und wie viele Kinder wir im Laufe unseres Lebens haben.

Un groupe de chercheurs a identifié 12 régions spécifiques de notre ADN qui sont fortement liées à notre âge à la naissance de notre premier enfant, ainsi qu’au nombre total d’enfants que l’on aura durant notre vie.

It has been proven that preschool attendance improves certain short-term cognitive outcomes of children, such as early literacy, early number concepts, and health. However, very little is known about the long-term effects of preschool.

In recent years, the number of ageing adults in societies has increased significantly. At the same time, even countries with generous social support systems have begun shifting care obligations away from the state, emphasizing the need for individual responsibility. The idea falls under the assumption that adult children will step in as the need for care arises. But what does this mean for individuals who, either voluntarily or involuntarily, do not have children in old age?

When tackling risky behaviour of adolescents, are mothers and fathers equally capable of influencing their child? While the literature has pointed to a mitigating effect of parental supervision on adolescent risky behaviour, studies thus far did not differentiate between fathers and mothers.

The role of income and employment on fertility patterns has already been extensively explored in the existing literature. However, empirical evidence for such effects is surprisingly scarce for Switzerland. In this recent study, Doris Hanappi, Valérie-Anne Ryser and Laura Bernardi examine the way perceived job quality is associated with the intention to have a child for men and women in Switzerland.

During the past 50 years, marital trends in Europe have changed significantly, particularly in France, where family formation has been postponed, the number of marriages has declined and cohabitation has increased. Simultaneously, for some time now, France has been a country of immigration, welcoming immigrants from a wide variety of countries and regions where partnership patterns are highly diverse. How are these two trends connected? In her study, Ariane Pailhé compares partnership dynamics between immigrants and the native French population.

Country differences in intergenerational relationships are not only due to economic, policy or housing contexts but also to a cultural tendency towards closer intergenerational ties. In a recent study, Cornelia Mureşan and Paul-Teodor Hărăguş investigated how norms of filial responsibility influence adult children to provide support to their ageing parents in several Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries as compared to Western Europe.