IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0228237.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Shorter birth intervals between siblings are associated with increased risk of parental divorce

Author

Listed:
  • Venla Berg
  • Anneli Miettinen
  • Markus Jokela
  • Anna Rotkirch

Abstract

Birth intervals are a crucial component of fertility behaviour and family planning. Short birth intervals are associated—although not necessarily causally—with negative health-related outcomes, but less is known about their associations with family functioning. Here, the associations between birth intervals and marital stability were investigated by Cox regression using a nationally representative, register-based sample of individuals with two (N = 42,481) or three (N = 22,514) children from contemporary Finland (observation period 1972–2009). Shorter interbirth intervals were associated with an increased risk of parental divorce over a ten-year follow-up. Individuals with birth intervals of up to 1.5 years had 24–49 per cent higher divorce risk compared to individuals whose children were born more than 4 years apart. The pattern was similar in all socioeconomic groups and among individuals with earlier and later entry to parenthood. Our results add to the growing body of research showing associations between short birth intervals and negative outcomes in health and family functioning.

Suggested Citation

  • Venla Berg & Anneli Miettinen & Markus Jokela & Anna Rotkirch, 2020. "Shorter birth intervals between siblings are associated with increased risk of parental divorce," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(1), pages 1-17, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0228237
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228237
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0228237
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0228237&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0228237?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. Grundy, Emily & Tomassini, Cecilia, 2005. "Fertility history and health in later life: a record linkage study in England and Wales," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 217-228, July.
    2. 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.
    3. Daniel Nettle, 2010. "Dying young and living fast: variation in life history across English neighborhoods," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 21(2), pages 387-395.
    4. Mäki, Netta & Martikainen, Pekka & Eikemo, Terje & Menvielle, Gwenn & Lundberg, Olle & Östergren, Olof & Jasilionis, Domantas & Mackenbach, Johan P., 2013. "Educational differences in disability-free life expectancy: a comparative study of long-standing activity limitation in eight European countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 1-8.
    5. Nicoletta Balbo & Francesco C. Billari & Melinda Mills, 2013. "Fertility in Advanced Societies: A Review of Research," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 29(1), pages 1-38, February.
    6. Caroline Uggla & Ruth Mace, 2016. "Local ecology influences reproductive timing in Northern Ireland independently of individual wealth," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 27(1), pages 158-165.
    7. Hill Kulu, 2014. "Marriage Duration and Divorce: The Seven-Year Itch or a Lifelong Itch?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(3), pages 881-893, June.
    8. Torkild Hovde Lyngstad & Marika Jalovaara, 2010. "A review of the antecedents of union dissolution," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 23(10), pages 257-292.
    9. Kieron J. Barclay & Martin Kolk, 2018. "Birth Intervals and Health in Adulthood: A Comparison of Siblings Using Swedish Register Data," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(3), pages 929-955, June.
    10. Rafael Lalive & Josef Zweimüller, 2009. "How Does Parental Leave Affect Fertility and Return to Work? Evidence from Two Natural Experiments," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(3), pages 1363-1402.
    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. Bernice Kuang & Hill Kulu & Ann Berrington & Sindhu Vasireddy, 2025. "The changing inter-relationship between partnership dynamics and fertility trends in Europe and the United States: A review," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 52(7), pages 179-228.

    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. Bernice Kuang & Hill Kulu & Ann Berrington & Sindhu Vasireddy, 2025. "The changing inter-relationship between partnership dynamics and fertility trends in Europe and the United States: A review," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 52(7), pages 179-228.
    2. Héctor Bellido & Miriam Marcén, 2019. "Fertility and the business cycle: the European case," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1289-1319, December.
    3. 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.
    4. David M. Wright & Michael Rosato & Dermot O’Reilly, 2017. "Influence of Heterogamy by Religion on Risk of Marital Dissolution: A Cohort Study of 20,000 Couples," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 33(1), pages 87-107, February.
    5. Doepke, Matthias & Hannusch, Anne & Kindermann, Fabian & Tertilt, Michèle, 2022. "The Economics of Fertility: A New Era," IZA Discussion Papers 15224, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Katya Ivanova, 2020. "My Children, Your Children, Our Children, and My Well-Being: Life Satisfaction of “Empty Nest” Biological Parents and Stepparents," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 613-633, February.
    7. Jessica Nisén & Pekka Martikainen & Mikko Myrskylä & Karri Silventoinen, 2018. "Education, Other Socioeconomic Characteristics Across the Life Course, and Fertility Among Finnish Men," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 34(3), pages 337-366, August.
    8. Eva Beaujouan & Anne Solaz, 2019. "Is the Family Size of Parents and Children Still Related? Revisiting the Cross-Generational Relationship Over the Last Century," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(2), pages 595-619, April.
    9. Jac Thomas & Francisco Rowe & Paul Williamson & Eric S. Lin, 2022. "The effect of leave policies on increasing fertility: a systematic review," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-16, December.
    10. 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.
    11. Chelli PLUMMER, 2023. "The Causal Relationship between Measures of Career Salience and the Probability of Having Children: Comparing Commissioned Officers and Enlisted Personnel in the United States Military," RAIS Journal for Social Sciences, Research Association for Interdisciplinary Studies, vol. 7(2), pages 88-103, November.
    12. Monika Obersneider & Jan-Christoph Janssen & Michael Wagner, 2019. "Regional Sex Ratio and the Dissolution of Relationships in Germany," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 35(4), pages 825-849, October.
    13. Zsolt Spéder & Tamás Bartus, 2017. "Educational Enrolment, Double-Status Positions and the Transition to Motherhood in Hungary," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 33(1), pages 55-85, February.
    14. Chia Jung Chang, 2021. "Is the Road to Unemployment Paved with Good Intentions? Labor Market Outcomes of Young Women," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 42(2), pages 244-302, June.
    15. Daniel Nettle, 2010. "Why Are There Social Gradients in Preventative Health Behavior? A Perspective from Behavioral Ecology," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 5(10), pages 1-6, October.
    16. Jones, Kelly & Wilcher, Britni, 2024. "Reducing maternal labor market detachment: A role for paid family leave," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    17. Gordon B. Dahl & Katrine V. Løken & Magne Mogstad & Kari Vea Salvanes, 2016. "What Is the Case for Paid Maternity Leave?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 98(4), pages 655-670, October.
    18. Karimi, Arizo & Lindahl, Erica & Skogman Thoursie, Peter, 2012. "Labour supply responses to paid parental leave," Working Paper Series 2012:22, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    19. Tatiana Karabchuk, 2016. "The subjective well-being of women in Europe: children, work and employment protection legislation," Mind & Society: Cognitive Studies in Economics and Social Sciences, Springer;Fondazione Rosselli, vol. 15(2), pages 219-245, November.
    20. Natalia Danzer & Martin Halla & Nicole Schneeweis & Martina Zweimüller, 2022. "Parental Leave, (In)formal Childcare, and Long-Term Child Outcomes," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(6), pages 1826-1884.

    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:plo:pone00:0228237. 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: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    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.