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Childbearing Following Marital Dissolution in Britain

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Abstract

This paper investigates the subsequent fertility of British women who have experienced the dissolution of their first marriage in recent decades. Data for 7739 women from the 1990–1995 General Household Surveys are used to examine the socio-demographic factors associated with experiencing a post-dissolution birth. Just under one half of women who had experienced marital dissolution went on to experience a conception within twelve years. A women's age and her repartnering status are shown to be the factors most strongly associated with the probability of a post-dissolution conception. The age of a woman's youngest child is found to be more strongly associated with her likelihood of experiencing a conception than her parity at marital dissolution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Statistics, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom

    Julie Jefferies

  2. Department of Social Statistics, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom

    Ann Berrington

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  1. Julie Jefferies
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  2. Ann Berrington
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  3. Ian Diamond
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Jefferies, J., Berrington, A. & Diamond, I. Childbearing Following Marital Dissolution in Britain. European Journal of Population 16, 193–210 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026529300659

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