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Parental Divorce, Psychological Well-Being and Educational Attainment: Changed Experience, Unchanged Effect Among Swedes Born 1892–1991

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  • Michael Gähler
  • Eva-Lisa Palmtag

Abstract

During the last century, the proportion of children and adolescents who have experienced a parental divorce or separation has increased dramatically, in Sweden and elsewhere. Vast research has shown that children in these families fare less well than children in intact families, both in the short and in the long run and on a number of outcomes. Much less is known about whether parental divorce means the same for children and adolescents today as it did a century ago. Have living conditions changed and, if so, how? Moreover, has the association between parental divorce and child well-being changed in magnitude over time? To answer these questions six waves of the Swedish Level of Living Survey were used. The data set contains indicators on childhood living conditions for an entire century of Swedes, born 1892–1991. We show that living conditions for children of divorce have indeed changed on a number of dimensions but there is no evidence of magnitude change in the association between parental divorce/separation and two child outcomes, psychological well-being and educational attainment. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Gähler & Eva-Lisa Palmtag, 2015. "Parental Divorce, Psychological Well-Being and Educational Attainment: Changed Experience, Unchanged Effect Among Swedes Born 1892–1991," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 123(2), pages 601-623, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:123:y:2015:i:2:p:601-623
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-014-0768-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Wolfgang Frimmel & Martin Halla & Rudolf Winter-Ebmer, 2016. "How Does Parental Divorce Affect Children's Long-term Outcomes?," Working Papers 2016-13, Faculty of Economics and Statistics, Universität Innsbruck.
    2. Matthew Gregg & Melinda C. Miller, 2022. "Race and agriculture during the assimilation era: Evidence from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 46(37), pages 1109-1136.
    3. Anna Garriga & Fulvia Pennoni, 2022. "The Causal Effects of Parental Divorce and Parental Temporary Separation on Children’s Cognitive Abilities and Psychological Well-being According to Parental Relationship Quality," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 161(2), pages 963-987, June.
    4. Juho Härkönen & Fabrizio Bernardi & Diederik Boertien, 2017. "Family Dynamics and Child Outcomes: An Overview of Research and Open Questions," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 33(2), pages 163-184, May.
    5. Marcantonio Caltabiano & Silvia Meggiolaro & Valentina Tocchioni, 2023. "The impact of parental separation on the pattern of transition to adulthood in Italy," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2023_07, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".
    6. Jonas Radl & Leire Salazar & Héctor Cebolla-Boado, 2017. "Does Living in a Fatherless Household Compromise Educational Success? A Comparative Study of Cognitive and Non-cognitive Skills," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 33(2), pages 217-242, May.
    7. Christian Kweku Darko & Fiona Carmichael, 2020. "Education of Biological and Fostered Children in Ghana: The Influence of Relationships with the Household Head and Household Structure," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 487-504, May.
    8. Michel Herzig, 2020. "Mediating Factors of Family Structure and Early Home-leaving: A Replication and Extension of van den Berg, Kalmijn, and Leopold (2018)," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 36(4), pages 643-674, September.
    9. 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.
    10. Garriga, Anna & Pennoni, Fulvia, 2017. "The influence of parental divorce, parental temporary separation and parental relationship quality on children’s school readiness," MPRA Paper 82892, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Sanna Kailaheimo-Lönnqvist & Marika Jalovaara & Mikko Myrskylä, 2023. "Parental separation and children’s education – changes over time?," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2023-036, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    12. Martin Kreidl & Martina Štípková & Barbora Hubatková, 2017. "Parental separation and children’s education in a comparative perspective: Does the burden disappear when separation is more common?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 36(3), pages 73-110.
    13. Lonneke Berg & Matthijs Kalmijn & Thomas Leopold, 2018. "Family Structure and Early Home Leaving: A Mediation Analysis," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 34(5), pages 873-900, December.

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