In recent decades, many European countries have witnessed both a rise in ultimate childlessness and increasing diversity in partnership trajectories. This paper investigates patterns of partnership trajectories associated with childlessness in Belgium and Finland from a life-course perspective. Using sequence and cluster analysis on register data, we examine the partnership histories of Belgian (N=19,590) and Finnish (N=13,368) men and women born in 1975, following them from age 18 to 45. We identified five typical partnership clusters among the Belgian childless and four among the Finnish. Three clusters—Never Partnered, Partnership Instability, and Marriage—are common to both countries. Most childless individuals in both countries remain unpartnered or face partnership instability. A turbulence index was then computed to assess the difference of turbulence of the sequences between the two countries. This paper contributes to the literature on childlessness by examining the heterogeneity of partnership biographies and cross-country differences using high-quality administrative data.

Introduction: Union dissolution is a major life course transition with well-documented links to poor mental health, yet the role of post-separation residential mobility remains underexplored. Methods: This study uses linked administrative data from the Belgian Socialist Health Insurance Fund and the National Register to analyse 68,048 individuals aged 20–64 in opposite-sex partnerships in 2008 who separated between 2009 and 2018. Antidepressant use (≥90 defined daily doses/year) served as an objective indicator of treated depression. Results: Random-effects logistic regression models showed that changing municipality during or shortly after separation was not, on average, associated with higher antidepressant use than staying in the shared location. However, anticipatory effects emerged for women: those who moved during separation had higher antidepressant use before the event, suggesting pre-existing distress. Repartnering was associated with lower antidepressant use among women, particularly when combined with moving. By framing mobility as a socially embedded process shaped by gendered economic inequalities, housing market pressures, and life course dynamics, this study advances understanding of the social determinants of mental health. Discussion: Findings highlight the need for housing, welfare, and gender equity policies to support individuals during and after separation, with lessons relevant to diverse welfare state contexts.

Abstract In countries like Belgium, a high-quality registration system is an asset for demographic studies on family transitions, union formation and dissolution, and residential mobility, as it provides the necessary longitudinal data for the entire resident population. This technical report explores Register-based datasets from the Demobel database, developed and supplied by Statbel (Statistics Belgium). Our first contribution is to propose a new typology of household composition that pays more attention to complex categories, such as non-married partners, same-sex unions/families and multigenerational households. Our second contribution is the detailed description of our strategy to identify union formations and dissolutions based on administrative data. In sum, this report provides an example of how partnership biographies can be reconstructed based on the residential information in administrative data, documenting both the challenges and strengths of this dataset and the choices made. Résumé : Dans des pays tels que la Belgique, l’existence d’un système d’enregistrement d’excellente qualité est un véritable atout dans les études démographiques portant sur les transitions familiales, les formations et les ruptures d’union ou la mobilité résidentielle, notamment dans un contexte où ces recherches se font rares du fait d’un manque de données longitudinales. Ce rapport technique présente une exploration des sources de données basées sur des registres de population, à partir de la base de données Demobel, construite et mise à disposition par Statbel. Notre premier objectif est de proposer une nouvelle typologie de composition des ménages, qui donne plus de visibilité, dans le registre de poulation, aux catégories moins usuelles, tels que les couples non-mariés, les unions et les parentalités de personnes de même sexe, et les ménages multigénérationnels. Notre seconde contribution consiste à identifier les formations et ruptures d’union sur base de ces données administratives. Ce document ne fait pas office de règle absolue, mais il délivre un exemple de reconstruction des parcours d’unions à partir de données administratives et il met en lumière les défis et forces relatifs à l’utilisation de ce type de données.

ObjectiveTo document gender differences in income trajectories before and after forming a single-parent household following separation in Belgium between 2005 and 2018.BackgroundPrevious research has shown that the economic consequences of partnership dissolution are less severe for fathers than for mothers because of the greater likelihood for women to live with children after separation than men. However, it remains unclear how economic conditions change when men live with children after partnership dissolution.MethodCombining information from the Belgian National Register and the Tax-register over 14 years, we estimate time-distributed fixed effects (TDFE) models on a sample of 47,496 men and 151,389 women to investigate how the transition into a single-parent household after separation impacts equivalized household income, as well as other income measures, from 5 years before to 5 years after the event.ResultsOverall, there is an economic disadvantage related to becoming a single parent co-residing with children after separation for both men and women. Hence, single fathers are at risk of economic vulnerability, but, after transitioning into a single-parent household, men lose less in terms of partner income and are faster to recover in terms of couple and equivalized household income than women do.ConclusionMen experience important drops in income after becoming a single parent co-residing with children, but drops in income are greater for women.

This research investigates the role of residential mobility in the relation between union dissolution and antidepressants intake. The dataset gathers information on 20 to 64-year-old individuals affiliated with the Belgian socialist health insurance fund – the largest public health insurance fund in French-speaking Belgium – and who lived in marital or non-marital opposite-sex partnerships in 2008 and separated between 2009 to 2018 (N=68,048). We used antidepressant consumption (>= 90 defined daily doses per year) as a dependent variable and conducted random-effect logistic regression models. Controlling for observed and unobserved individuals’ characteristics, we found that, mobility – defined by a change of municipality – during the year and/or the year following the separation is not associated with higher or lower antidepressants intake than staying on the previously shared place after the separation. However, we observe anticipatory effects for women: women who moved during their separation year had a higher medication use than women who stayed in the previously shared municipality. Repartnership is associated with lower antidepressants consumption for women, especially if they leave the shared place.### Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.### Funding StatementThe main author thanks the Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS-FRS, Belgium) for funding this research.### Author DeclarationsI confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.YesI confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals.YesI understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).YesI have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable.YesAll data produced in the present work cannot be shared. Their protection is ensured by the Socialist Health Insurance Funds.

It is well-documented that residential moves are connected to life events such as separation or widowhood. However, much less is known about the residential choices that follow these events in middle and later life (between ages 50 and 70) and how the location of family members outside the household relates to these choices. Comparing the cases of Belgium and Sweden, this paper addresses (i) the extent to which (im)mobility after separation or widowhood is associated with the presence of older parents and adult children nearby; (ii) the extent to which the choice of destination is associated with the location of older parents and adult children for those separated, widowed, and married individuals who moved, and (iii) how these patterns vary among men and women. We answer these questions employing logistic regression models and discrete-choice models fitted to Belgian and Swedish register data from 2012 to 2014. The results show unique patterns of mobility around separation and widowhood which differ from those of continuously married individuals. Separated and widowed men and women in both countries are generally more likely to make a move towards their parents than continuously married ones. Widowhood is also associated with an increased propensity for a move towards one's children. In contrast, separation is associated with a lower propensity for moving towards one's children, especially among men.

Recent research has analyzed how the geo graphical distance between mothers and adult daughters influenced the daughters' fertility transitions. The inverse relationship has received less attention: that is, whether a daughter's fertility-her pregnancies and the ages and number of her children-is affected by her geographical proximity to her mother. The current study helps to close this gap by considering moves by either adult daughters or mothers that lead them to live nearby again. We use Belgian register data on a cohort of 16,742 firstborn girls aged 15 at the beginning of 1991 and their mothers who lived apart at least once during the observed period (1991-2015). Estimating event-history models for recurrent events, we analyzed whether an adult daughter's pregnancies and the ages and number of her children affected the likelihood that she was again living close to her mother and, if so, whether the daughter's or the mother's move enabled this close living arrangement. The results show that daughters were more likely to move closer to their mothers during their first pregnancy and that mothers were more likely to move closer to their daughters when the daughters' children were older than 2.5 years. This study contributes to the growing literature investigating how family ties shape (im)mobility.

Over the past two decades, scholars have investigated a multitude of different aspects of motherhood. This article provides a scoping review of research published from 2001 to 2021, covering 115 Social Science Citation Index-referenced papers from WEIRD countries, with the aim of reconstructing social norms around motherhood and mothers' responses to them. The analysis is theoretically based on normological and praxeological concepts. The findings reveal five contemporary norms of motherhood that reflect both stability and increasing differentiation, and are related to five types of mothers: the norms of being attentive to the child (present mother), of securing the child's successful development (future-oriented mother), of integrating employment into mothering (working mother), of being in control (public mother), and of being contented (happy mother). Relying on an intersectional lens, we analyze mothers' heterogeneous responses to these norms of motherhood, and examine how neoliberal demands build on and perpetuate inequalities.

Geographic distance between a child and their non-resident parent is a key aspect of the reorganization of the family following parental separation. The increasingly equal involvement of both parents in the upbringing of their children is expected to translate into increasing geographic proximity between children and non-resident parents. So far, there has been no evidence about the time trends in geographical distances between minor children and non-resident parents outside of the Swedish context. In this study, we investigate these trends across Belgian separation cohorts from 1992 to 2018, and the extent to which they differ according to parental socio-economic status and child’s age at separation. Overall, we observed a small decrease in distance between children and their non-resident fathers and a somewhat larger decrease for non-resident mothers. The distance increased for very young children (0–2 years) and children with low-educated fathers. These findings point to inequalities in certain parent–child dyads.

BACKGROUND Existing studies investigating children's living arrangements after parental separation and geographic distance to the nonresident parent focus primarily on the situation shortly after separation. Little is known about how children's residence with and distance to parents evolve with time elapsed since separation. OBJECTIVE We investigate for the first 10 years following parental separation with which parent the child lives and how far the child lives from the nonresident parent for Belgian children whose parents separated in their early childhood (0 to 6 years). METHODS Data from Demobel (Belgian register-based data; 2010-2020) was analyzed by means of descriptive analysis, sequence index plots, and Kaplan-Meier survival functions. RESULTS For every 10 children who initially registered with their mother (85%), 9.2 stayed registered with their mother in the long term. Geographical distance to the father increased with time elapsed since separation. Children who were initially registered with their father (15%) were more likely to change residency to their mother. On average, the distance between nonresident mothers and their children did not increase. CONCLUSIONS Residential arrangements following separation were mostly stable, even though a switch in the resident parent was not uncommon, especially if the child was initially registered with the father. Compared to residential arrangements, distance to the nonresident parent was more often subject to change.

Background: Death by suicide is particularly high for the middle-aged and for single and/or childless individuals. At the same time, the risk of suicide is higher for tenants than for homeowners. The literature linking housing tenure and suicide according to age, gender, and family configuration is scarce. Objective: This study examines the varying association between housing tenure and suicide risk according to sex, age (for adults), and household composition. Methods: We used data from Belgium's National Register linked to 2001 census data and death certificates. We conducted multinomial logit regression to estimate the mortality relative risk ratios by suicide and by other causes in the population aged 25 to 69 years in 2002, separately by sex. Results: We find that homeownership was negatively associated with suicide risk for both men and women, before and after controlling for age, housing quality, and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Interacting age and housing tenure, we find that renting is associated with a higher risk of suicide among adults in their 40s and 50s, but not among younger and older adults. Among marital and parental statuses, married men and single women with no children at home present a higher risk of suicide in mid-life when renting, compared to owning. Conclusions: Homeownership is associated with a lower suicide risk for middle-aged populations, more specifically for married men, unpartnered women, and individuals living without children. Contribution: Our research provides a better understanding of the role of gender and family norms in the association between housing tenure and suicide mortality.

Background: Research shows that women are more likely to move out after a separation, but the evidence is largely limited to younger ages. Little is known about short-term and medium-term mobility consequences in the case of a ‘grey divorce’. Objective: Focusing on married couples separating at ages 50 to 70, we investigate who leaves the joint home upon separation and in the years immediately following separation. Considering ex-couple characteristics, we contrast the bargaining principle, which predicts higher moving-out rates for women, and the fairness principle, which points to the opposite. Methods: Using Belgian register and census data, we study marital couples who separated in 2002 at ages 50 to 70 after a marriage of at least 15 years’ duration. We follow them for three years and estimate their moving patterns using multinomial logistic regressions and continuous-time models that account for the lagged effect of separation. Results: Older women have a relative advantage in keeping the home at separation and maintain this advantage in the years following the separation. This finding contrasts with prior findings concerning younger ex-couples. Exceptions are women who are significantly younger than their ex-partner, whose children remain with the father, who live at their husband’s birthplace, and who rent rather than own the home. Conclusions: Our findings point to a principle of fairness at play in the moving-out decision among older separating couples. Nonetheless, not all women benefit from this advantage. Contribution: We show that post-divorce moving-out patterns are different at older ages. Looking beyond the immediate moment of separation allows for firmer conclusions to be reached about whether the home is eventually kept.

Christine Schnor, Marika Jalovaara Low-educated persons are especially likely to have their children outside marriage in Finland. While the proportion of people with low education has declined sharply in most countries in recent decades, non-marital childbearing has increased. How can this paradox be explained? In their new study, Christine Schnor and Marika Jalovaara provide the missing link between individual behaviour and macro family trends.

The increase in non-marital childbearing has coincided with educational expansion, although non-marital childbirths are more common among the low-educated population. This article quantifies the contribution of changes in education-specific rates of non-marital childbearing and educational distribution of parents to increases in non-marital childbearing among Finnish first-time parents over the period 1970–2009. Using Finnish register data on first-time mothers ( N = 112,730) and fathers ( N = 108,812), the study decomposes changes in the proportion of non-marital first childbearing in pairwise comparisons of successive decades for four educational segments: low educated (International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 0–2), medium educated (ISCED 3–4), lower tertiary educated (ISCED 5–6) and upper tertiary educated (ISCED 7–8). The findings show that the increase in non-marital first-time births was mainly attributable to the large population of medium-educated women and men and the growing segment of lower tertiary-educated women. The highest proportion of non-marital first-time childbearing remained among the low-educated population, but diminishing group size meant their overall contribution was small. The growing upper tertiary-educated population increased its contribution to non-marital childbearing but still exhibited the lowest non-marital childbearing rates. We conclude that the medium-educated population merits increased scholarly attention for its important contribution to population-level changes.

This study investigates the magnitude and persistence of elevated post-separation residential mobility (i.e. residential instability) in five countries (Australia, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK) with similar levels of economic development, but different welfare provisions and housing markets. While many studies examine residential changes related to separation in selected individual countries, only very few have compared patterns across countries. Using longitudinal data and applying Poisson regression models, we study the risk of a move of separated men and women compared with cohabiting and married individuals. We use time since separation to distinguish between moves due to separation and moves of separated individuals. Our analysis shows that separated men and women are significantly more likely to move than cohabiting and married individuals. The risk of a residential change is the highest shortly after separation, and it decreases with duration since separation. However, the magnitude of this decline varies by country. In Belgium, mobility rates remain elevated for a long period after separation, whereas in the Netherlands, post-separation residential instability appears brief, with mobility rates declining rapidly. The results suggest that housing markets are likely to shape the residential mobility of separated individuals. In countries, where mortgages are easy to access and affordable rental properties are widespread, separated individuals can rapidly adjust their housing to new family circumstances; in contrast, in countries with limited access to homeownership and small social rental markets, separated individuals experience a prolonged period of residential instability.

BACKGROUND Partnership dissolution can mark an extended period of residential instability for mothers and their children. Location continuity, i.e., the ability to stay in or return to the same neighbourhood after separation, is essential to reduce the negative consequences of separation. OBJECTIVE We focus on mothers' post-separation location continuity in the three years following separation and study the role of socioeconomic resources and local ties (to a home, neighbourhood, and region) in remaining in or returning to their pre-separation neighbourhood. METHODS Using linked Belgian Census (2001) and register data (2001-2006), we estimate multinomial logistic regression models (N = 25,802). Based on the occurrence, frequency, and destination of moves, we distinguish between high, moderate, and low degrees of location continuity. We also study the probability of remaining in, leaving, or returning to the pre-separation neighbourhood. RESULTS Mothers who live at their place of birth (a measure of local ties) tend to stay in or return to their pre-separation neighbourhood or region; if they have more socioeconomic resources they are more likely to remain in the family home. Mothers from disadvantaged backgrounds move further and more often. CONCLUSION If separated mothers lack socioeconomic resources and local ties, they are less likely to maintain location continuity. Policy programmes should target these women in order to provide better opportunities for separated mothers and their children. CONTRIBUTION We introduce the concept of post-separation location continuity and account for separation-induced as well as post-separation residential changes in the first three years after separation.

Educationally hypogamous marriages, where the wife is more educated than the husband, have been expected to be less stable than other educational pairings, in part because they do not conform to social norms. With the reversal of the gender gap in education, such marriages have become more common than in the past. Recent research suggests that this new context might be beneficial for the stability of hypogamous unions compared to other educational pairings. Here, we investigate how educational matches in married couples are associated with divorce risks taking into account the local prevalence of hypogamy. Using Belgian census and register data for 458,499 marriages contracted between 1986 and 2001, we show that hypogamy was not associated with higher divorce rates than homogamy in communities where hypogamy was common. Against expectations, marriages in which the husband was more educated than the wife tend to exhibit the highest divorce rates. More detailed analysis of the different types of educational matches revealed that marriages with at least one highly educated partner, male or female, were less divorce prone compared to otherwise similar couple types.

Research consistently finds that divorced mothers with full-time residential children exhibit lower repartnering rates than mothers whose children also stay with their ex-partners. Yet the selectivity of mothers who take up sole physical custody could have biased the estimations. Using data from the Divorce-in-Flanders study (N=959), the authors model mothers' heterogeneity in the uptaking of sole physical custody as a factor influencing repartnering. They find that failure to account for the endogeneity of sole physical custody leads to a large underestimation of its effect on repartnering. Accounting for its endogeneity, sole physical custody reduced the mother's repartnering rate by 63%, whereas this was just 33% according to the naive estimate. The results suggest that mothers with full-time residential children are disproportionally selected among those who have better chances of repartnering but that sole physical custody itself acts as an important impediment to stepfamily formation following divorce.

Literature usually stresses the link of non-marital childbearing to low maternal education. This study focuses on how changes in the education-specific rates of non-marital childbearing and in the educational distribution of parents contributed to the increase in non-marital childbearing among Finnish first-time parents in 1970–2009. Using register data and decomposition approach, we show that the overall increase in non-marital first births was mostly driven by the large groups of secondary educated women and men, and the growing group of lower tertiary educated women. The lowest educated continued to have highest proportions of non-marital first childbearing, but their contribution to the overall increase was small due to diminishing group size. Contribution of the highest educated increased but they still have lowest rates of non-marital childbearing. We conclude that the medium educated make an important contribution to family changes and should not be neglected in research.