PopDigests

PopDigests are short, comprehensive summaries of research results with a link to the original publication (if accessible online). This allows population experts and other interested audiences to be able to easily access information to the latest research results.

10/05/2023

Lowered minimum legal drinking age associated with increased alcohol-attributable morbidity and mortality decades later

In their cohort study published in the Lancet Public Health, Juha Luukkonen et al. assessed whether being legally able to purchase alcohol at younger age was associated with later alcohol-attributable morbidity and mortality.

Read more about Lowered minimum legal drinking age associated with increased alcohol-attributable morbidity and mortality decades later

05/04/2023

Europeans show some preference for baby daughters

In their study, Ewa Cukrowska-Torzewska and Magdalena Grabowska (University of Warsaw) examine whether there exists a sex preference for children among women from 11 European countries.

Read more about Europeans show some preference for baby daughters

31/03/2023

Why so many twins?

Age of mothers and reproductive tech contribute to all-time high in multiple births

To examine the frequency of twin and other multiple births over time and across countries, Catalina Torres, Arianna Caporali, and Gilles Pison have developed the Human Multiple Births Database (HMBD).

Read more about Why so many twins?

27/03/2023

Does parental unemployment lead to poorer infant health?

In this study, Björn Högberg, Anna Baranowska-Rataj, and Jonas Voßemer find that the effects of maternal unemployment on poor infant health are small and not consistently significant. They also found no effects at all from paternal unemployment.

Read more about Does parental unemployment lead to poorer infant health?

17/03/2023

Do single mothers rely on the support of their parents?

Multigenerational coresidence in Europe

It was long believed that single mothers in Europe have the advantage of the welfare state: public childcare, housing regulations, and cash transfers would make their lives a little easier than those in other parts of the world. New research by Bram Hogendoorn and Juho Härkönen puts this belief into question.

Read more about Do single mothers rely on the support of their parents?

25/01/2023

Who moves to whom?

On long-distance couples moving in together

When a couple decides to move in together, they have an important decision to make: who moves in with whom, or where will the new destination for both of them be? Particularly for long-distance couples, this decision has large consequences.

Read more about Who moves to whom?

25/01/2023

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected immigration in receiving countries?

Miguel González-Leonardo, Michaela Potančoková, Dilek Yildiz and Francisco Rowe published the first study analysing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on immigration flows in a global sample of countries.

Read more about How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected immigration in receiving countries?

12/01/2023

Does moving to a new country influence the number of children migrants have?

Eleonora Mussino and Stefano Cantalini look at the number of children migrants from two low-fertility contexts (Poland and Romania) have in two destinations (Italy and the United Kingdom), and compare them to co-nationals that never left the country of origin and to non-migrants at the destination country.

Read more about Does moving to a new country influence the number of children migrants have?

11/01/2023

Does an economic crisis lead to lower fertility?

Differences between migrants’ and natives’ fertility behaviours in Italy and Sweden

In this study, Giammarco Alderotti, Eleonora Mussino and Chiara Ludovica Comolli explored childbearing behaviour during the Great Recession (2010-2015) in Italy and Sweden across two dimensions of vulnerability: migration background and labour market uncertainty.

Read more about Does an economic crisis lead to lower fertility?

10/01/2023

Generous parental leave is protective against poorer mental health among parents

In this study, Amy Heshmati, Helena Honkaniemi and Sol P. Juárez (Stockholm University) evaluate the international scientific literature on the association between parental leave and parents’ mental health for both mothers and fathers.

Read more about Generous parental leave is protective against poorer mental health among parents