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The impact of parent's and spouses' education on divorce rates in Norway

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  • Torkild Hovde Lyngstad

    (Universitetet i Oslo)

Abstract

According to both economic and sociological theory, a couple's divorce rate may be influenced by their own educational attainment, that of their parents, and whether they have taken further education after marriage, although predictions are ambiguous. However, these three variables have never been included simultaneously and few studies have included both partners' characteristics. A discrete-time hazard model based on register and census data on 54178 Norwegian first marriages started 1980-1999 reveals a very strong negative educational gradient in divorce risk and no particularly harmful influence of heterogamy. Parent's education exerts a small positive effect, however. Among couples with the same current level of education, those who have taken education after entry into marriage display the highest divorce rate.

Suggested Citation

  • Torkild Hovde Lyngstad, 2004. "The impact of parent's and spouses' education on divorce rates in Norway," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 10(5), pages 121-142.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:10:y:2004:i:5
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2004.10.5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Kravdal, Øystein, 2008. "A broader perspective on education and mortality: Are we influenced by other people's education?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(3), pages 620-636, February.
    2. Shen, Danqing, 2018. "Better Educated, Fewer Divorces: The Impact of College Education Quality on Marriage Outcomes," MPRA Paper 94198, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Christina A. Houseworth & Barry R. Chiswick, 2020. "Divorce among European and Mexican Immigrants in the U.S," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 1-25, March.
    4. Elina Vinberg & Rannveig Kaldager Hart & Torkild H. Lyngstad, 2015. "Increasingly stable or more stressful? Children and union dissolution across four decades Evidence from Norway," Discussion Papers 814, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    5. Steffen Peters, 2022. "The prospective power of personality factors for family formation and dissolution processes among males: evidence from Swedish register data," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2022-037, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    6. Trude Lappegård & Marit Rønsen, 2013. "Socioeconomic Differences in Multipartner Fertility Among Norwegian Men," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(3), pages 1135-1153, June.
    7. Benson John & Natalie Nitsche, 2022. "Marital life courses in sub-Saharan Africa: all cause union dissolution, its timing, and time spent outside marriage," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2022-017, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    8. Peter Fallesen & Richard Breen, 2016. "Temporary Life Changes and the Timing of Divorce," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(5), pages 1377-1398, October.
    9. Chunlan Guo & Jeremy Ko & Xiaoxian Chen & Chun Kai Leung, 2026. "When the Economy Breaks Down, Do Marriages Follow? Crisis Type and Family Dissolution across 83 Countries (1990–2019)," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 21(2), pages 615-641, April.
    10. Daniele Vignoli & Irene Ferro, 2009. "Rising marital disruption in Italy and its correlates," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 20(4), pages 11-36.
    11. Aiva Jasilioniene, 2007. "Premarital conception and divorce risk in Russia in light of the GGS data," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2007-025, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    12. Anning Hu & Xiaogang Wu & Tao Chen & Dongyu Li, 2023. "Family Socioeconomic Status and Chinese College Students’ Premarital Sexual Attitudes and Behavior," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(3), pages 1-23, June.
    13. 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.
    14. Rebecca Kippen & Bruce Chapman & Peng Yu, 2010. "What's love got to do with it? Homogamy and dyadic approaches to understanding marital instability," CEPR Discussion Papers 631, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research School of Economics, Australian National University.
    15. Johan Dahlberg, 2015. "Social Background and Becoming a Parent in Sweden: A Register-Based Study of the Effect of Social Background on Childbearing in Sweden," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 31(4), pages 417-444, October.
    16. Rannveig V. Kaldager, 2014. "The relationship between earnings and first birth probability among Norwegian men and women 1994-2008," Discussion Papers 787, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    17. Ben Malinga John & Natalie Nitsche, 2022. "Dynamics of Union Dissolution in Sub‐Saharan Africa," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 48(4), pages 1163-1201, December.
    18. Gøsta Esping-Andersen & Francesco C. Billari, 2015. "Re-theorizing Family Demographics," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 41(1), pages 1-31, March.
    19. Lindsay Theunis & Christine Schnor & Didier Willaert & Jan Van Bavel, 2018. "His and Her Education and Marital Dissolution: Adding a Contextual Dimension," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 34(4), pages 663-687, October.
    20. Torkild Hovde Lyngstad, 2011. "Does Community Context Have an Important Impact on Divorce Risk? A Fixed-Effects Study of Twenty Norwegian First-Marriage Cohorts [Le contexte communautaire a-t-il un impact important sur le risque de divorcer? Etude de vingt cohortes norvégiennes," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 27(1), pages 57-77, February.
    21. Elina Mäenpää & Marika Jalovaara, 2014. "Homogamy in socio-economic background and education, and the dissolution of cohabiting unions," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 30(65), pages 1769-1792.
    22. Rannveig Kaldager Hart, 2019. "Union Histories of Dissolution: What Can They Say About Childlessness?," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 35(1), pages 101-131, February.

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    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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