Different mental health disorders and childlessness: the importance of partnership status

Mental health problems are increasing, while childlessness is becoming more common. We examine how mental health disorders (MHD) of varying prevalence, severity, and symptoms (common, severe, and behavioural and addiction-related disorders) are related to childlessness, and whether these associations are explained by partnerships and the partner’s mental health. We use Finnish total population register data on cohorts born between 1977 and 1980 and follow individuals from the age of 18 to 39. We estimate discrete-time event history models for the annual likelihood of having a child for men and women, with MHDs, co-residential partnership, and the partner’s MHDs as the main explanatory variables. We measure MHD by using both diagnose information (ICD-10 codes) from the special health care registers and medication information (ATC-codes). All types of MHDs predicted lower likelihood of having a child, the annual probability being 0.8–1.3%-points lower for women and 1.0–1.8 %-points for men in age-controlled models. The strongest association was observed for severe mental disorders. Co-residential partnerships explained part of the difference between those with and without MHD (for any MHD 13% for women and 36% for men compared to age-controlled model). When both partners have an MHD, the likelihood for childlessness was higher compared to partners where only one of the partners had an MHD. We conclude that partnerships and partner’s mental health are important factors in explaining the relationship between mental health disorders and childlessness, particularly among men. Keywords: mental health, childlessness, partnerships, partner, fertility