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Is Divorce More Painful When Couples Have Children? Evidence From Long-Term Panel Data on Multiple Domains of Well-being

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  • Thomas Leopold

    (University of Amsterdam)

  • Matthijs Kalmijn

    (University of Amsterdam
    Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI))

Abstract

Theoretical models of the divorce process suggest that marital breakup is more painful in the presence of children, yet little is known about the role of children as a moderator of divorce effects on adult well-being. The present study addresses this gap of research based on long-term panel data from Germany (SOEP). Following individuals over several years before and after divorce, we investigated whether the impact of divorce on multiple measures of well-being varied by the presence and age of children before marital breakup. Three central findings emerged from the analysis. First, declines in well-being were sharper in the presence of children, and these moderator effects were larger if children were younger. Second, domain-specific measures of well-being revealed gender differences in the moderating role of children. Mothers sustained deeper drops in economic well-being than did fathers; the reverse was true for family well-being. Third, most of these disproportionate declines in the well-being of divorced parents did not persist in the long term given that higher rates of adaptation leveled out the gaps compared with childless divorcees.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Leopold & Matthijs Kalmijn, 2016. "Is Divorce More Painful When Couples Have Children? Evidence From Long-Term Panel Data on Multiple Domains of Well-being," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(6), pages 1717-1742, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:53:y:2016:i:6:d:10.1007_s13524-016-0518-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-016-0518-2
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    Cited by:

    1. Tomás Cano & Pablo Gracia, 2022. "The Gendered Effects of Divorce on Mothers’ and Fathers’ Time with Children and Children’s Developmental Activities: A Longitudinal Study," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(5), pages 1277-1313, December.
    2. Trisha Chanda, 2023. "Economic Wellbeing and Labor Supply Patterns of Subsequently Divorcing Mothers in Wisconsin," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(4), pages 821-835, December.
    3. Alessandro Nallo & Daniel Oesch, 2023. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Family Dissolution: How it Varies by Social Class Origin and Birth Cohort," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 39(1), pages 1-33, December.
    4. Abigail Millings & Shannon L Hirst & Fuschia Sirois & Catherine Houlston, 2020. "Emotional adaptation to relationship dissolution in parents and non-parents: A new conceptual model and measure," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(10), pages 1-37, October.
    5. Tosi, Marco & van den Broek, Thijs, 2020. "Gray divorce and mental health in the United Kingdom," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    6. Ansgar Hudde & Marita Jacob, 2023. "There’s More in the Data! Using Month-Specific Information to Estimate Changes Before and After Major Life Events," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 1184, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    7. Christina Boll & Simone Schüller, 2021. "Shared Parenting and Parents’ Income Evolution after Separation: New Explorative Insights from Germany," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 1131, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    8. Zafer Buyukkececi, 2021. "Does Re-Partnering Behavior Spread Among Former Spouses?," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 37(4), pages 799-824, November.
    9. Lara Augustijn, 2023. "Post-separation Care Arrangements and Parents’ Life Satisfaction: Can the Quality of Co-parenting and Frequency of Interparental Conflict Explain the Relationship?," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 1319-1338, April.
    10. Hudde, Ansgar & Jacob, Marita, 2022. "There’s More in the Data! Using Month-Specific Information to Estimate Changes Before and After Major Life Events," SocArXiv vueas, Center for Open Science.
    11. Øystein Kravdal & Jonathan Wörn, 2023. "Mental and Physical Health Trajectories of Norwegian Parents and Children before and after Union Dissolution," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 49(1), pages 71-103, March.
    12. Matthijs Kalmijn, 2023. "Weakened parent–child ties and the well-being of older divorced parents," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 48(21), pages 591-608.
    13. Christina Boll & Simone Schüller, 2023. "The Economic Well-Being of Nonresident Fathers and Custodial Mothers Revisited: The Role of Paternal Childcare," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(4), pages 836-853, December.
    14. Zhang, Zhenmei & Liu, Hui & Choi, Seung-won Emily, 2021. "Marital loss and risk of dementia: Do race and gender matter?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    15. Romane FRECHEVILLE-FAUCON, 2023. "”Defamilializing” how women’s economic independence is measured," Working Papers of BETA 2023-27, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.
    16. Thomas Leopold, 2018. "Gender Differences in the Consequences of Divorce: A Study of Multiple Outcomes," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(3), pages 769-797, June.

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