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Family Dynamics and Child Outcomes: An Overview of Research and Open Questions

Author

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  • Juho Härkönen

    (Stockholm University)

  • Fabrizio Bernardi

    (European University Institute)

  • Diederik Boertien

    (Autonomous University of Barcelona)

Abstract

Previous research has documented that children who do not live with both biological parents fare somewhat worse on a variety of outcomes than those who do. In this article, which is the introduction to the Special Issue on “Family dynamics and children’s well-being and life chances in Europe,” we refine this picture by identifying variation in this conclusion depending on the family transitions and subpopulations studied. We start by discussing the general evidence accumulated for parental separation and ask whether the same picture emerges from research on other family transitions and structures. Subsequently, we review studies that have aimed to deal with endogeneity and discuss whether issues of causality challenge the general picture of family transitions lowering child well-being. Finally, we discuss whether previous evidence finds effects of family transitions on child outcomes to differ between children from different socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds, and across countries and time-periods studied. Each of the subsequent articles in this Special Issue contributes to these issues. Two articles provide evidence on how several less often studied family forms relate to child outcomes in the European context. Two other articles in this Special Issue contribute by resolving several key questions in research on variation in the consequences of parental separation by socioeconomic and immigrant background, two areas of research that have produced conflicting results so far.

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  • Juho Härkönen & Fabrizio Bernardi & Diederik Boertien, 2017. "Family Dynamics and Child Outcomes: An Overview of Research and Open Questions," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 33(2), pages 163-184, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eurpop:v:33:y:2017:i:2:d:10.1007_s10680-017-9424-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10680-017-9424-6
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    Cited by:

    1. Alice Goisis & Berkay Özcan & Philippe Van Kerm, 2019. "Do Children Carry the Weight of Divorce?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(3), pages 785-811, June.
    2. Marco Tosi & Marco Albertini, 2019. "Does Children’s Union Dissolution Hurt Elderly Parents? Linked Lives, Divorce and Mental Health in Europe," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 35(4), pages 695-717, October.
    3. Valerie K. Heintz-Martin & Alexandra N. Langmeyer, 2020. "Economic Situation, Financial Strain and Child Wellbeing in Stepfamilies and Single-Parent Families in Germany," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 238-254, June.
    4. Holm, Mathilde Lund & Fallesen, Peter & Heinesen, Eskil, 2023. "The effects of parental union dissolution on children’s test scores," SocArXiv p2qgk, Center for Open Science.
    5. Dahmann, Sarah C. & Kettlewell, Nathan & Lam, Jack, 2022. "Parental Separation and the Formation of Economic Preferences," IZA Discussion Papers 14993, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Wiebke Schulz, 2022. "Do the consequences of parental separation for children’s educational success vary by parental education? The role of educational thresholds," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 47(28), pages 883-918.
    7. Marika Jalovaara & Gunnar Andersson, 2018. "Disparities in Children’s Family Experiences by Mother’s Socioeconomic Status: The Case of Finland," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 37(5), pages 751-768, October.
    8. Juho H rk nen, 2017. "Diverging destinies in international perspective: Education, single motherhood, and child poverty," LIS Working papers 713, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    9. Sanna Kailaheimo-Lönnqvist & Marika Jalovaara & Mikko Myrskylä, 2023. "Parental separation and children’s education – changes over time?," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2023-036, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    10. 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.
    11. Raffaele Guetto & Francesca Zanasi & Maria Carella, 2022. "Non-intact Families and Children’s Educational Outcomes: Comparing Native and Migrant Pupils," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(5), pages 1065-1094, December.
    12. Sven Alexander Brocker & Anja Steinbach & Lara Augustijn, 2024. "Parent-child Discrepancies in Reporting Children’s Mental Health: Do Physical Custody Arrangements in Post-separation Families Matter?," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 17(1), pages 197-220, February.
    13. Almudena Moreno Mínguez, 2020. "Children’s Relationships and Happiness: The Role of Family, Friends and the School in Four European Countries," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(5), pages 1859-1878, June.
    14. Trude Lappegård & Elizabeth Thomson, 2018. "Intergenerational Transmission of Multipartner Fertility," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(6), pages 2205-2228, December.
    15. 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.
    16. Marcantonio Caltabiano & Silvia Meggiolaro & Valentina Tocchioni, 2023. "The impact of parental separation on the pattern of transition to adulthood in Italy," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2023_07, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".
    17. Laura Cuesta & Sarah Reynolds, 2023. "Does Couples’ Division of Labor Influence Union Dissolution? Evidence from Parents of Young Children in Chile," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 584-601, September.
    18. Diederik Boertien & Fabrizio Bernardi, 2019. "Same-Sex Parents and Children’s School Progress: An Association That Disappeared Over Time," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(2), pages 477-501, April.
    19. Rodríguez Sánchez, Alejandra, 2019. "Family structure effects on U.S. children’s well-being? Re-examining the family instability hypothesis," OSF Preprints 84q56, Center for Open Science.
    20. Diederik Boertien & Juho Härkönen, 2018. "Why does women’s education stabilize marriages? The role of marital attraction and barriers to divorce," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 38(41), pages 1241-1276.
    21. Miri Endeweld & Anat Herbst-Debby & Amit Kaplan, 2022. "Do the Privileged Always Win? Economic Consequences of Divorce by Income and Gender Groups," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 159(1), pages 77-100, January.
    22. Jeylan Erman & Juho Härkönen, 2017. "Parental Separation and School Performance Among Children of Immigrant Mothers in Sweden," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 33(2), pages 267-292, May.
    23. Jing Zhang & Zongye Cai & Huamin Peng & Tom Emery, 2022. "Early Childhood Care Trends and Associations with Child Health Well-being in China: Evidence from the CHNS 1991 to 2011 Data," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(5), pages 2789-2807, October.
    24. Raffaele Guetto & Fabrizio Bernardi & Francesca Zanasi, 2022. "Parental education, divorce, and children’s educational attainment: Evidence from a comparative analysis," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 46(3), pages 65-96.

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