Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review 2021, 57(5): 531-555 | DOI: 10.13060/csr.2021.041

Is There a Declining Trend in the Intergenerational Transmission of Divorce?

Marcela Trávníčková, Martin Kreidl
Fakulta sociálních studií, Masarykova univerzita, Brno

This study investigates changes in the effect of parental divorce on the odds of union dissolution in children in the Czech Republic. Using survival analysis and Czech GGS data, it shows that the intergeneration transmission of divorce varied over marital cohorts to a significant degree. While parental divorce had insignificant effect in the oldest marriage cohort, it subsequently grew. In the 1980–1989 marriage cohort, the risk of divorce was 3.7 times higher among children of divorced parents than among children whose parents did not divorce. In the most recent marriage cohort (1990–2005), the parental divorce effect weakened but was still significant: children of divorced parents experienced a divorce risk that was twice as high that of children from intact families. This convergence of divorce risks resulted from two parallel trends: the rising divorce risk among children from non-divorced families and the declining divorce risk among children of divorce.

Keywords: divorce, intergenerational transmission of divorce, population change, survival analysis

Received: October 8, 2020; Revised: November 1, 2021; Accepted: November 2, 2021; Prepublished online: November 22, 2021; Published: December 2, 2021  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Trávníčková, M., & Kreidl, M. (2021). Is There a Declining Trend in the Intergenerational Transmission of Divorce? Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review, 57(5), 531-555. doi: 10.13060/csr.2021.041
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Amato, P. R. 1996. "Explaining the Intergenerational Transmission of Divorce." Journal of Marriage and the Family 58 (3): 628-640, https://doi.org/10.2307/353723. Go to original source...
    2. Amato, P. R. 2000. "The Consequences of Divorce for Adults and Children." Journal of Marriage and the Family 62: 1269-1287, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2000.01269.x. Go to original source...
    3. Amato, P. R., J. Cheadle. 2005. "The Long Reach of Divorce: Divorce and Child Well-Being across Three Generations." Journal of Marriage and Family 67 (1): 191-206, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-2445.2005.00014.x. Go to original source...
    4. Booth, A., J. N. Edwards. 1985. "Age at Marriage and Marital Instability." Journal of Marriage and Family 47 (1): 67-75, https://doi.org/10.2307/352069. Go to original source...
    5. Cleves, M. A., W. W. Gould, Y. Marchenko. 2014. An Introduction to Survival Analysis Using Stata. United States of America: Stata Press.
    6. CVVM. 2017. "Postoje českých občanů k manželství a rodině - únor 2017." Centrum pro výzkum veřejného mínění [online] [cit. 1. 11. 2019]. Dostupné z: https://cvvm.soc.cas.cz/media/com_form2content/documents/c2/a2177/f9/ov170320.pdf.
    7. ČSÚ. 2016. "Sňatky a bilance manželství v letech 1920-2017." Český statistický úřad [online] [cit. 1. 11. 2019]. Dostupné z: https://www.czso.cz/documents/10180/45948568/130055170405.pdf/de7764a5-b572-4a08-803c-fb5c610e7cfb?version=1.0.
    8. ČSÚ. 2018. "Rozvody podle počtu nezletilých dětí v letech 1957-2017." Český statistický úřad [online] [cit. 1. 11. 2019]. Dostupné z: https://www.czso.cz/documents/10180/61546938/130055180506.pdf/655ece0d-1d09-4a55-8990-c880d28d120a?version=1.0.
    9. ČSÚ. 2019. "Pohyb obyvatelstva v Českých zemích 1785-2018." Český statistický úřad [online] [cit. 21. 8. 2019]. Dostupné z: https://www.czso.cz/documents/10180/91917340/1300701901.xlsx/f4296412-eb78-48af-89fc-87f01c2fe8cb?version=1.1.
    10. Diekmann, A., K. Schmidheiny. 2013. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Divorce: A Fifteen-Country Study with the Fertility and Family Survey." Comparative Sociology 12: 1-14, https://doi.org/10.1163/15691330-12341261. Go to original source...
    11. Dronkers, J., J. Härkönen. 2008. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Divorce in Cross-national Perspective: Results from the Fertility and Family Surveys." Population Studies 62 (3): 273-288, https://doi.org/10.1080/00324720802320475. Go to original source...
    12. Dush, C. M. K., C. L. Cohan, P. R. Amato. 2003. "The Relationship between Cohabitation and Marital Quality: Change across Cohorts?" Journal of Marriage and Family 65 (3): 539-549, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2003.00539.x. Go to original source...
    13. Engelhardt, E., H. Trappe, J. Dronkers. 2002. "Differences in Family Policy and the Intergenerational Transmission of Divorce: A Comparison between the Former East and West Germany." Demographic Research 6 (11): 295-324, https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2002.6.11. Go to original source...
    14. Fialová, L. 2006. "Trendy ve sňatkovém chování obyvatelstva České republiky ve 20. století." Demografie 48 (2): 97-108.
    15. Fučík, P. 2013. Rozvod a změny reprodukčních strategií. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, https://doi.org/10.5817/CZ.MUNI.M210-6093-2013. Go to original source...
    16. Fučík, P. 2020. "Trends in Divorce Acceptance and Its Correlates across European Countries." Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review 56 (6): 863-895, https://doi.org/10.13060/csr.2020.053. Go to original source...
    17. Fučík, P., B. E. Chromková Manea, L. Rabušic. 2019. "K problému deinstitucionalizace manželství." Pp. 33-60 in L. Rabušic, Z. Kusá, B. Chromková Manea, K. Strapcová. 2019. Odděleně spolu? Česko a Slovensko optikou vývoje hodnot po roce 1991. Bratislava: Slovart.
    18. Gager, C. T., S. T. Yabiku, M. R. Linver. 2016. "Conflict or Divorce? Does Parental Conflict and/or Divorce Increase the Likelihood of Adult Children's Cohabitating and Marital Dissolution?" Marriage & Family Review 52 (3): 243-261, https://doi.org/10.1080/01494929.2015.1095267. Go to original source...
    19. Gähler, M., J. Härkönen. 2014. "Intergenerational Transmission of Divorce - the Swedish Trend." Families and Societies. Working Paper Series 19 [online] [cit. 1. 11. 2019]. Dostupné z: www.familiesandsocieties.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/WP19GahlerHarkonen2014.pdf
    20. Gähler, M., E.-L. Palmtag. 2015. "Parental Divorce, Psychological Well-Being and Educational Attainment: Changed Experience, Unchanged Effect Among Swedes Born 1892-1991." Social Indicators Research 123 (2): 601-623, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-014-0768-6. Go to original source...
    21. Goode, W. J. 1962. "Marital Satisfaction and Instability. A Cross-Cultural Class Analysis of Divorce Rates." Pp. 377-387 in R. Bendix, S. M. Lipset (eds.). Class, Status, and Power. Social Stratification in Comparative Perspective. New York: The Free Press.
    22. Goode, W. J. 1993. World changes in divorce patterns. New Haven: Yale University Press.
    23. Graaf, P. M., M. Kalmijn. 2006. "Change and Stability in the Social Determinants of Divorce: A Comparison of Marriage Cohorts in the Netherlands." European Sociological Review 22 (5): 561-572, https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcl010. Go to original source...
    24. Härkönen, J. 2014. "Divorce: Trends, Patterns, Causes, and Consequences." Pp. 303-322 in J. Treas et al. (eds.). The Sociology of Families. Wiley: Blackwell, https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118374085.ch15. Go to original source...
    25. Härkönen, J., F. Bernandi, D. Boertien. 2017. "Family Dynamics and Child Outcomes: An Overview of Research and Open Questions." European Journal of Population 33 (2): 163-184, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-017-9424-6 Go to original source...
    26. Härkönen, J., S. Billingsley, M. Hornung. 2020. "Divorce Trends in Seven Countries Over the Long Transition from State Socialism: 1981-2004." Pp. 63-89 in D. Mortelmans (ed.). Divorce in Europe. Cham: Springer, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25838-2_4. Go to original source...
    27. Härkönen, J., M. D. Brons, J. Dronkers. 2020. "Family Forerunners? Parental Separation and Partnership Formation in 16 Countries." Journal of Marriage and Family, https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12682. Go to original source...
    28. Härkönen, J., J. Dronkers. 2006. "Stability and Change in the Educational Gradient of Divorce. A Comparison of Seventeen Countries." European Sociological Review 22 (5): 501-517, https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcl011. Go to original source...
    29. Hašková, H. (ed.), M. Vohlídalová, H. Maříková, R. Dudová, Z. Uhde, A. Křížková, L. Formánková. 2014. Vlastní cestou? Životní dráhy v pozdně moderní společnosti. Praha: Sociologické nakladatelství (SLON).
    30. Cherlin, A. 2017. "Introduction to the Special Collection on Separation, Divorce, Repartnering, and Remarriage around the World." Demographic Research 37: 1275-1296, https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2017.37.38. Go to original source...
    31. Chromková Manea, B. E., L. Rabušic. 2019. "Marriage, Childbearing and Single Motherhood: Trends in Attitudes and Behaviour in Czechia and Slovakia from 1991 to 2017." Sociální studia 16 (2): 25-50, https://doi.org/10.5817/SOC2019-2-25. Go to original source...
    32. Chromková Manea, B. E., L. Rabušic. 2020. "Value Modernisation in Central and Eastern European Countries: How Does Inglehart's Theory Work?" Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review 56 (6): 699-740, https://doi.org/10.13060/csr.2020.033. Go to original source...
    33. Kiernan, K. E., A. J. Cherlin. 1999. "Parental Divorce and Partnership Dissolution in Adulthood: Evidence from a British Cohort Study." Population Studies 53 (1): 39-48, https://doi.org/10.1080/00324720308068. Go to original source...
    34. Klímová Chaloupková, J., H. Hašková. 2020. "The diversity of pathways to childlessness in the Czech Republic: The union histories of childless men and women." Advances in Life Course Research 46, 100363, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcr.2020.100363. Go to original source...
    35. Kreidl, M. 2012. "Educational stratification of marriage entry under different political and economic regimes: evidence from the Czech Republic during the second half of the 20th century." Population Review 52 (2): 151-178. Go to original source...
    36. Kreidl, M., J. Hasmanová Marhánková (eds.). 2012. Proměny partnerství. Životní dráhy a partnerství v české společnosti. Praha: Sociologické nakladatelství (SLON).
    37. Kreidl, M., B. Hubatková. 2017. "Rising Rates of Cohabitation and the Odds of Repartnering: Does the Gap between Men and Women Disappear?" Journal of Divorce and Remarriage 58 (7): 487-506, https://doi.org/10.1080/10502556.2017.1343580. Go to original source...
    38. Kreidl, M., M. Štípková. 2012. "Výskyt a načasování nesezdaných soužití v současné ČR." Demografie 54 (2): 120-137.
    39. Kreidl, M., M. Štípková, B. Hubatková. 2017. "Parental Separation and Children's Education in a Comparative Perspective: Does the Burden Disappear when Separation is More Common?" Demographic Research 36: 73-110, https://doi.org/10.4054/DemRes.2017.36.3. Go to original source...
    40. Kreidl, M., Z. Žilinčíková. 2021. "How does Cohabitation Change People's Attitudes toward Family Dissolution." European Sociological Review 37 (4): 541-554, https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcaa073. Go to original source...
    41. Kuchařová, V. a kol. 2019. Česká rodina na počátku 21. století. Praha: Sociologické nakladatelství (SLON).
    42. Lesthaeghe, R. 2014. "The second demographic transition: A concise overview of its development." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111 (51): 18112-18115, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1420441111. Go to original source...
    43. Li, Lui-Chung A., L. L. Wu. 2008. "No Trend in the Intergenerational Transmission of Divorce." Demography 45 (4): 875-883, https://doi.org/10.1353/dem.0.0030. Go to original source...
    44. Lyngstad, T. H., H. Engelhardt. 2009. "The Influence of Offspring's Sex and Age at Parents' Divorce on the Intergenerational Transmission of Divorce, Norwegian first marriages 1980-2003." Population studies 63 (2): 173-185, https://doi.org/10.1080/00324720902896044. Go to original source...
    45. McLanahan, S., L. Bumpass. 1998. "Intergenerational Consequences of Family Disruption." American Journal of Sociology 94 (1): 130-152, https://doi.org/10.1086/228954. Go to original source...
    46. McLeod, J. D. 1991. "Childhood Parental Loss and Adult Depression." Journal of Health and Social Behavior 32 (3): 205-220, https://doi.org/10.2307/2136804. Go to original source...
    47. Morávková, H., M. Kreidl. 2017. "Partnerské dráhy prvorodiček bez koresidenčního partnera." Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review 53 (4): 565-591, https://doi.org/10.13060/00380288.2017.53.4.358. Go to original source...
    48. Mortelmans, D. (ed.). 2020. Divorce in Europe. New Insights in Trends, Causes and Consequences of Relation Break-ups. Cham: Springer, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25838-2. Go to original source...
    49. Možný, I. 2002. Česká společnost. Nejdůležitější fakta o kvalitě našeho života. Praha: Sociologické nakladatelství (SLON).
    50. Oppenheimer, V. K. 1988. "A Theory of Marriage Timing." American Journal of Sociology 94 (3): 563-591, https://doi.org/10.1086/229030. Go to original source...
    51. Piler, P. 2010. Divorce as Phenomenon of Modernity: Theory and Research. London: Edmund Press.
    52. Rabušic, L., I. Možný. 1998. "Česká rodina, sňatkový trh a reprodukční klima." Pp. 92-110 in J. Večerník, P. Matějů. Zpráva o vývoji české společnosti 1989-1998. Praha: Academia.
    53. Rosenfeld, M. J., K. Roesler. 2019. "Cohabitation Experience and Cohabitation's Association with Marital Dissolution." Journal of Marriage and Family 81 (1): 42-58, https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12530. Go to original source...
    54. Sieben, I., E. Verbakel. 2013. "Permissiveness Toward Divorce: The Influence of Divorce Experiences in Three Social Contexts." European Sociological Review 29 (6): 1175-1188, https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jct008. Go to original source...
    55. Sweeney, M. 2002. "Two Decades of Family Change: The Shifting Economic Foundations of Marriage." American Sociological Review 67 (1): 132-147, https://doi.org/10.2307/3088937. Go to original source...
    56. Šťastná, A. 2005. "Mezigenerační přenos rozvodového chování na příkladu České republiky a v mezinárodním srovnání." Demografie 47 (1): 21-31.
    57. Šťastná. A. 2006. "Rozvody a děti: vliv rozvodu rodičů na životní dráhu dětí." Pp. 175-190 in D. Hamplová, P. Šalamounová, G. Šamanová (eds.). Životní cyklus. Sociologické a demografické perspektivy. Praha: Sociologické nakladatelství (SLON).
    58. Šťastná, A. 2011. "Analýza historie událostí (event history analýza) - možnosti a základní principy při studiu životních drah." Data a výzkum - SDA Info 5 (1): 59-83.
    59. Teachman, J. D. 2002. "Stability across Cohorts in Divorce Risk Factors." Demography 39 (2): 331-351, https://doi.org/10.1353/dem.2002.0019. Go to original source...
    60. Thornton, A. 1991. "Influence of the Marital History of Parents on the Marital and Cohabitation Experiences of Children." American Journal of Sociology 96 (4): 868-894, https://doi.org/10.1086/229611. Go to original source...
    61. Traag, T., J. Dronkers, L.-A. Vallet. 2000. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Divorce Risks in France." ASSR working paper 68. Presented to the Research Committee 28 - Social Stratification of the International Sociological Association in Libourne, France.
    62. Wagner, M. 2020. "On Increasing Divorce Risks." Pp. 37-61 in D. Mortelmans (ed.). Divorce in Europe. Cham: Springer, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25838-2_3. Go to original source...
    63. Wolfinger, N. H. 1999. "Trends in the Intergenerational Transmission of Divorce." Demography 36 (3): 415-420, https://doi.org/10.2307/2648064. Go to original source...
    64. Wolfinger, N. H. 2000. "Beyond the Intergenerational Transmission of Divorce." Journal of Family Issues 21 (8): 1061-1086, https://doi.org/10.1177/019251300021008006. Go to original source...
    65. Wolfinger, N. H. 2003. "Parental Divorce and Offspring Marriage: Early or Late?" Social Forces 82 (1): 337-353, https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2003.0108. Go to original source...
    66. Wolfinger, N. H. 2005. Understanding the Divorce Cycle. Cambridge University Press, https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511499616. Go to original source...
    67. Žilinčíková, Z., M. Kreidl. 2018. "Grandparenting after divorce: variations across countries." Advances in Life Course Research 38: 61-71, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcr.2018.08.003. Go to original source...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content