Skip to main content
Image
Mental Health in Adolescence and Its Role in Family Formation
Miriam Evensen (Norwegian Institute of Public Health) and Torkild Lyngstad (University of Oslo) used population-based data from Norway and found that adolescent males with externalising disorders - such as anxiety and depression - have a lower chance of becoming a parent by age 30 than other men.

Miriam Evensen (Norwegian Institute of Public Health) and Torkild Lyngstad (University of Oslo) used population-based data from Norway and found that adolescent males with externalising disorders - such as anxiety and depression - have a lower chance of becoming a parent by age 30 than other men.

Image
Books and Reports: Comparative Demography of the Syrian Diaspora: European and Middle Eastern Destinations
This book provides a demographic profile of the Syrian diaspora into Europe and identifies the issue of forced migration as a separate and increasingly salient topic within the more general field of migration research.  It describes the progressive increase in numbers of Syrian refugees in different European countries during recent years and gives a demographic profile of the Syrian refugee population.

This book provides a demographic profile of the Syrian diaspora into Europe and identifies the issue of forced migration as a separate and increasingly salient topic within the more general field of migration research.  It describes the progressive increase in numbers of Syrian refugees in different European countries during recent years and gives a demographic profile of the Syrian refugee population.

Image
The Smoking Epidemic
Of all lifestyle behaviours, smoking caused the most deaths in the last century. Because of the time lag between the act of smoking and dying from smoking, and because males generally take up smoking before females do, male and female smoking epidemiology often follows a typical double wave pattern dubbed the ‘smoking epidemic’. Our research aimed to answer the questions: How are male and female deaths from this epidemic differentially progressing in high-income regions on a cohort-by-age basis? and How have they affected male-female survival differences?

Because of the time lag between the act of smoking and dying from smoking, and because males generally take up smoking before females do, male and female smoking epidemiology often follows a typical double wave pattern dubbed the ‘smoking epidemic’. Research from Maarten Wensink (CPop) et al. aimed to answer the questions: How are male and female deaths from this epidemic differentially progressing in high-income regions on a cohort-by-age basis? How have they affected male-female survival differences?

Image
The Long Arm of the Family
The question of how life-course outcomes depend on the institution of the family is central to sociology and social demography. Few outcomes are more important in life than one's educational attainment, and a large literature studies how it depends on the family of origin – so-called intergenerational mobility research. In this field there have always been two opposing views. One seeing intergenerational transmission as "mostly in the genes" and thereby difficult to influence by policy levers; another seeing outcomes as heavily dependent on social forces.

Does the balance of "nature" and "nurture" depend on whether you grew up in a society with high or low social mobility?In a recent study in PNAS, Per Engzell and Felix Tropf explore the roles of family of origin and genetics on educational attainment. 

 

 

Image
Closing the Fertility Gap
A recent study by Eva Beaujouan and Caroline Berghammer looked at the fertility gap among women in 19 European countries and the United States. Their results indicate that on average, compared to earlier expectations and intentions, women had fewer children and were childless more often. Fertility gaps differed by country & education level, leading to possible structural explanations.

A recent study by Eva Beaujouan and Caroline Berghammer looked at the fertility gap among women in 19 European countries and the United States. Their results indicate that on average, compared to earlier expectations and intentions, women had fewer children and were childless more often. Fertility gaps differed by country & education level, leading to possible structural explanations.

Image
Making Father’s Involvement the Norm
In the Nordic countries, it has become common through extensive family policies for both mothers and fathers to be able to take parental leave following the arrival of a new child. Norway, for example, offers parents the chance to take over a year’s worth of leave. As part of this leave, a father’s quota was introduced and this has led to a dramatic increase in the number of fathers taking leave. But what impact does a father’s involvement have on a woman’s fertility decisions?

Using administrative registers that covered the entire Norwegian population, Trude Lappegård and Tom Kornstad found that the higher the share of fathers using parental leave in the municipality (social norm), the more likely women were to have their first and second child. Looking at the decision to have a second child, the effect of father’s engagement is actually stronger compared to the decision of becoming parents for the first time.

Image
Do You Think We Live Too Long?
Our lives are getting longer and longer – are we perhaps living “too long”? So far, little is known about how long people want to live, and most of the few existing studies have focused exclusively on middle-aged and older adults. Young adults are expected to live even longer than current generations, and they are also in the midst of making a number of decisions and establishing behavioural patterns that will dramatically affect their future development and health.

To address the lack of research on how long young adults want to live, Bowen et al. conducted a survey of over 700 university students in Austria, Norway, Poland and Russia. They asked students how long they want to live (preferred life expectancy), how long they expect to live (subjective life expectancy) and how long they think an average person of the same age and sex will live (belief about average cohort life expectancy).

Rotkirch
Anna
Ageing and Life Expectancy
Family and Children
Society and Solidarity
Image
Are Married People Happier?
Numerous studies have been published that have examined subjective wellbeing (SWB) and marriage status, finding that married people tend to have a higher SWB. But in today’s society, more couples are opting for cohabitation, which includes many benefits associated with marriage. This then leaves the question of whether individuals who cohabit have similar levels of SWB as married people.

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.

Kravdal
Øystein
Family and Children
Fertility
Health
Subscribe to Norway