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The timing of parenthood and its effect on social contact and support

Author

Listed:
  • Jesper Rözer

    (Universiteit van Amsterdam)

  • Anne-Rigt Poortman

    (Universiteit Utrecht)

  • Gerald Mollenhorst

    (Universiteit Utrecht)

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate how the timing of parenthood affects social contacts and support. Methods: Fixed effects models on 12 waves of the Swiss Household Panel (1999−2010) are used to analyse how social relationships with relatives, friends, and neighbours change after people have children and how these changes depend on the timing of parenthood. Results: The models show that parenthood increases contact with neighbours and decreases contact with friends. However, there are differences based on whether parenthood is early, on time, or late, and based on gender. The earlier men and women have children, the harder it is to keep in contact with friends and to establish contact with neighbours. Later in life the differences between early, ‘on-time’, and late parents tend to decline, except for contact with friends, for fathers. Conclusions: We conclude that the timing of parenthood has a substantial impact on how people’s social networks change, especially shortly after they become parents. Contribution: With this study, we show that the timing of parenthood moderates people’s network changes after they become parents.

Suggested Citation

  • Jesper Rözer & Anne-Rigt Poortman & Gerald Mollenhorst, 2017. "The timing of parenthood and its effect on social contact and support," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 36(62), pages 1889-1916.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:36:y:2017:i:62
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2017.36.62
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Janna Bergsvik & Sara Cools & Rannveig K. Hart, 2023. "Explaining Residential Clustering of Large Families," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 39(1), pages 1-28, December.
    3. Daniel Lois & Oliver Arránz Becker, 2023. "Parental status homogeneity in social networks: The role of homophilous tie selection in Germany," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 48(2), pages 19-42.
    4. Janna Bergsvik & Sara Cools & Rannveig K. Hart, 2020. "Explaining residential clustering of fertility," Discussion Papers 939, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    5. Chakrabarti, Sandip & Joh, Kenneth, 2019. "The effect of parenthood on travel behavior: Evidence from the California Household Travel Survey," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 101-115.
    6. Janna Bergsvik, 2019. "Linking neighbors’ fertility. Third births in Norwegian neighborhoods," Discussion Papers 898, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    7. Hosseini Shoabjareh, Azamsadat & Ghasri, Milad, 2025. "Potential effects of parent–child joint school trips on parents’ wellbeing: A conceptual framework," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).

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    JEL classification:

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

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