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From intentions to births: paths of realisation in a multi-dimensional life course

    Maria Rita Testa, Francesco Rampazzo

Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2018, pp. 177-198, 2018/12/19

Broadening demographic horizons

doi: 10.1553/populationyearbook2018s177

doi: 10.1553/populationyearbook2018s177


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doi:10.1553/populationyearbook2018s177



doi:10.1553/populationyearbook2018s177

Abstract

The adult lives of women and men are shaped by a wide range of choices and events pertaining to different life domains. In the literature, however, pregnancy intentions are typically studied in isolation from other life course intentions. We investigate the correspondence of birth intentions and outcomes in a life course cross-domain perspective that includes partnership, education, work, and housing. Using longitudinal data from the Generations and Gender Surveys, we examine the matching processes of individuals’ birth intentions with subsequent outcomes in Austria, Bulgaria, France, Hungary, and Lithuania. The results show that the intention to change residence is directly correlated with having a child among men and women living in a union, and that the intention to enter a partnership is correlated with childbearing among single men, but not among single women. Furthermore, we find that the intention to change jobs is inversely correlated with an intended childbirth, while it is directly correlated with an unintended childbirth. These findings suggest that the transition paths from birth intentions to birth outcomes should encompass a multi-dimensional life course perspective.