IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jorssa/v185y2022i3p1344-1369.html

Life‐course perspective on personality traits and fertility with sequence analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Letizia Mencarini
  • Raffaella Piccarreta
  • Marco Le Moglie

Abstract

We investigate the link between personality traits (PTs) and fertility, accounting for the possible interplay with other key life course events. Using data from German Socio‐Economic Panel survey, we build sequence‐type representations of fertility, union and job careers between the ages of 20 and 40. We rely on multichannel sequence analysis (MSA) and on the Partitioning around Medoids algorithm to cluster individuals with similar experiences, and relate clusters to PTs via multinomial regression. We also develop a procedure to apply standard and MSA to truncated trajectories. This enables inclusion of individuals whose trajectories were otherwise observed for a limited age span, notably belonging to younger cohorts. We show that PTs relate to these (portions of) life‐course trajectories, of which fertility is only one outcome.

Suggested Citation

  • Letizia Mencarini & Raffaella Piccarreta & Marco Le Moglie, 2022. "Life‐course perspective on personality traits and fertility with sequence analysis," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 185(3), pages 1344-1369, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jorssa:v:185:y:2022:i:3:p:1344-1369
    DOI: 10.1111/rssa.12832
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/rssa.12832
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/rssa.12832?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Matthias Studer & Gilbert Ritschard, 2016. "What matters in differences between life trajectories: a comparative review of sequence dissimilarity measures," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 179(2), pages 481-511, February.
    2. Guido Heineck, 2011. "Does it Pay to Be Nice? Personality and Earnings in the United Kingdom," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 64(5), pages 1020-1038, October.
    3. Gary Pollock, 2007. "Holistic trajectories: a study of combined employment, housing and family careers by using multiple‐sequence analysis," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 170(1), pages 167-183, January.
    4. Lee Lillard & Linda Waite, 1993. "A joint model of marital childbearing and marital disruption," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 30(4), pages 653-681, November.
    5. Nyhus, Ellen K. & Pons, Empar, 2005. "The effects of personality on earnings," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 363-384, June.
    6. Shelly Lundberg, 2012. "Personality and marital surplus," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 1(1), pages 1-21, December.
    7. Warren Miller, 1992. "Personality traits and developmental experiences as antecedents of childbearing motivation," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 29(2), pages 265-285, May.
    8. Jule Specht & Boris Egloff & Stefan C. Schmukle, 2011. "Stability and Change of Personality across the Life Course: The Impact of Age and Major Life Events on Mean-Level and Rank-Order Stability of the Big Five," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 377, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    9. Cygan-Rehm, Kamila & Maeder, Miriam, 2013. "The effect of education on fertility: Evidence from a compulsory schooling reform," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 35-48.
    10. J. Gower & P. Legendre, 1986. "Metric and Euclidean properties of dissimilarity coefficients," Journal of Classification, Springer;The Classification Society, vol. 3(1), pages 5-48, March.
    11. Gert G. Wagner & Joachim R. Frick & Jürgen Schupp, 2007. "The German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) – Scope, Evolution and Enhancements," Schmollers Jahrbuch : Journal of Applied Social Science Studies / Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin, vol. 127(1), pages 139-169.
    12. Lara Patrício Tavares, 2016. "Who Delays Childbearing? The Associations Between Time to First Birth, Personality Traits and Education," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 32(4), pages 575-597, October.
    13. Gerrit Mueller & Erik Plug, 2006. "Estimating the Effect of Personality on Male and Female Earnings," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 60(1), pages 3-22, October.
    14. Le Moglie, Marco & Mencarini, Letizia & Rapallini, Chiara, 2015. "Is it just a matter of personality? On the role of subjective well-being in childbearing behavior," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 453-475.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Steffen Peters, 2025. "The Prospective Power of Personality Factors for Family Formation and Dissolution Processes Among Males: Evidence from Swedish Register Data," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 41(1), pages 1-61, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Matthias Collischon, 2020. "The Returns to Personality Traits Across the Wage Distribution," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 34(1), pages 48-79, March.
    2. Gensowski, Miriam, 2018. "Personality, IQ, and lifetime earnings," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 170-183.
    3. Flinn, Christopher J. & Todd, Petra E & Zhang, Weilong, 2018. "Personality traits, intra-household allocation and the gender wage gap," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 191-220.
    4. Terhi Maczulskij & Jutta Viinikainen, 2015. "Personality characteristics and long-term labor market outcomes: Evidence from twins," Working Papers 299, Työn ja talouden tutkimus LABORE, The Labour Institute for Economic Research LABORE.
    5. Gensowski, Miriam & Gørtz, Mette & Schurer, Stefanie, 2021. "Inequality in personality over the life cycle," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 46-77.
    6. Viinikainen, Jutta & Kokko, Katja, 2012. "Personality traits and unemployment: Evidence from longitudinal data," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 1204-1222.
    7. Shelly Lundberg, 2011. "Psychology and Family Economics," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 12(s1), pages 66-81, May.
    8. Susan L. Averett & Cynthia Bansak & Julie K. Smith, 2021. "Behind Every High Earning Man is a Conscientious Woman: The Impact of Spousal Personality on Earnings and Marriage," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 29-46, March.
    9. Mosca, Irene & McCrory, Cathal, 2016. "Personality and wealth accumulation among older couples: Do dispositional characteristics pay dividends?," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 1-19.
    10. Brenzel, Hanna & Laible, Marie-Christine, 2016. "Does personality matter? : the impact of the big five on the migrant and gender wage gaps," IAB-Discussion Paper 201626, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    11. Schnitzlein, Daniel D. & Stephani, Jens, 2016. "Locus of Control and low-wage mobility," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 164-177.
    12. Collischon & Matthias, 2018. "Can Personality Traits Explain Glass Ceilings?," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 965, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    13. Alderotti, Giammarco & Rapallini, Chiara & Traverso, Silvio, 2023. "The Big Five personality traits and earnings: A meta-analysis," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    14. Budría, Santiago & Ferrer-i-Carbonell, Ada, 2012. "Income Comparisons and Non-Cognitive Skills," IZA Discussion Papers 6419, IZA Network @ LISER.
    15. Wazah Pello-Esso & Ulf Gerdtham & Sara Larsson Lönn & Jan Sundquist & Kristina Sundquist, 2025. "Immigrant-Native Wage Gap in Sweden: Do Personality Traits Matter?," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 467-489, March.
    16. Eva M. Berger & Luke Haywood, 2016. "Locus of Control and Mothers’ Return to Employment," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 10(4), pages 442-481.
    17. Mehrzad B. Baktash & Uwe Jirjahn, 2026. "Are Managers More Machiavellian Than Other Employees?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 79(3), pages 379-407, May.
    18. Cuesta, Maite Blázquez & Budría, Santiago, 2017. "Unemployment persistence: How important are non-cognitive skills?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 29-37.
    19. Sarah Dahmann & Silke Anger, 2014. "The Impact of Education on Personality: Evidence from a German High School Reform," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 658, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    20. Powdthavee, Nattavudh & Boyce, Christopher J. & Wood, Alex M., 2011. "Can Money Change Who We Are? Estimating the Effects of Unearned Income on Measures of Incentive-Enhancing Personality Traits," IZA Discussion Papers 6131, IZA Network @ LISER.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jorssa:v:185:y:2022:i:3:p:1344-1369. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/rssssea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.