Equality Often Ends with the Birth of the First Child

Equality Often Ends with the Birth of the First Child

Can couples who equally share domestic work maintain their egalitarian ways after the birth of their first child? And how is subjective satisfaction with work-life balance related to equal arrangements? Researchers María José González, Irene Lapuerta, Teresa Martín-García and Marta Seiz recently published a study analysing 31 dual-earner couples in Spain who had practiced an egalitarian division of household tasks during pregnancy.

Can couples who equally share domestic work maintain their egalitarian ways after the birth of their first child? And how is subjective satisfaction with work-life balance related to equal arrangements?

Socio-economic Resources of One Partner are Related to Health Status of the Other Partner

Socio-economic Resources of One Partner are Related to Health Status of the Other Partner

Inequalities in health are not only caused by biological determinants, but also by social determinants like income or education. One’s own socio-economic position has been shown to often be an important predictor for health and mortality. A recently published article by Jenny Torssander, Heta Moustgaard, Riina Peltonen, Fanny Kilpi and Pekka Martikainen sheds further light on the assumption that not only someone’s own resources affect health and mortality, but the resources of the partner one lives with also play a role.
How Does Commitment Work in Living-Apart-Together Partnerships?

How Does Commitment Work in Living-Apart-Together Partnerships?

Studies in a range of Western countries have shown that about 10% of all adults are in a relationship in which the partners do not live together. This is often seen as an expression of the individualisation of societies. However, little is known about how commitment in these so-called living-apart-together (LAT) relationships actually works. This is explored in a new study by Roselinde van der Wiel, Clara H. Mulder and Ajay Bailey by using an extended version of the Investment Model of Commitment.

Studies in a range of Western countries have shown that about 10% of all adults are in a relationship in which the partners do not live together. This is often seen as an expression of the individualisation of societies. However, little is known about how commitment in these so-called living-apart-together (LAT) relationships actually works. This is explored in a new study by Roselinde van der Wiel, Clara H. Mulder and Ajay Bailey by using an extended version of the Investment Model of Commitment.

Retirement in Germany: Life, love and bridge employment

Retirement in Germany: Life, love and bridge employment

Men and women perceive differently the consequences of work after retirement on relationships
With more time than ever to themselves, retirees’ relationships with their partners can certainly be expected to evolve. Hopefully, to improve. But as German society ages, more and more retirees are engaging in bridge employment, paid work between the retirement from full-time work and complete withdrawal from the labour market. The consequences of this trend on relationships after retirement are still unclear, but a new study from Andreas Mergenthaler and Volker Cihlar shows that, as ever, there is a gender dimension to the question.
News: Does the Internet Affect Assortative Mating? Evidence from the U.S. and Germany

Does the Internet Affect Assortative Mating? Evidence from the U.S. and Germany

The Internet has now become a habitual channel for finding a partner, but little is known about the impact of this recent partnership market on mate selection patterns. This study revisits the supply side perspective on assortative mating by exploring the role played by online venues in breeding educational, racial/ethnic and religious endogamy. It compares couples that met online (through either online dating platforms, Internet social networking, Internet gaming website, Internet chat, Internet community, etc.) to those that met through various offline contexts of interaction.
News: Cohabitation across Europe

Cohabitation across Europe

Catching up with the new normal
In 2016, thousands of couples across Europe will decide to move in together—without getting married first. It makes sense. Sharing expenses cuts costs in an economy characterized by slug­gish wage growth, and living together simply saves time. Plus, cohabitation connotes a certain level of commit­ment without the legal—and social—obligations that come with marriage. You might call it a baby step. Whatever the case, they won’t be alone. By 2010, nearly 40% of French couples between the ages 25 and 44 had chosen the cohabitation route, registered or un­registered.
Falling Out of Love and Down the Housing Ladder

Falling Out of Love and Down the Housing Ladder

Leaving the joint-home after separation
Currently a large share of marriages in Europe ends in separation. Marital separation not only causes psychological and emotional stress, but it also affects residential mobility. This occurs because, generally, at least one of the ex-partners leaves the shared dwelling after separation. In this study, Philipp Lersch and Sergi Vidal analyse residential moves to owned and rented dwellings by relationship status and gender, and examine selection processes between ownership and separation in Britain and Germany.
Fulfilled Expectations, More Children

Fulfilled Expectations, More Children

Egalitarian couples are more likely to have a second child
Diverging expectations about how to divide household tasks between partners can influence the choice to have another child. For example, if a wife expects an egalitarian division of household labour and her husband does not fulfil his equal share of housework, this might influence the relationship in a way that negatively affects the decision to have another child.
Population Europe Inter-Faces: Agnese Vitali

Population Europe Inter-Faces: Agnese Vitali

An interview with Agnese Vitali (University of Southampton) on female breadwinners. Questions: 1. Looking at the income of European families, who is typically the “breadwinner” these days? 2. Are there typical scenarios of how women become the main earner? 3. Are there European countries where the numbers of female breadwinners are especially high, and what are the reasons for this? 4. What has changed the most about the income situation of families over the last decade, and what will the development be like in the next ten years?
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