Giornate di Studio sulla Popolazione (Popdays), Giornate di Studio sulla Popolazione 2017

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Fertility treatments, childbearing and timing of divorce
Anna Barbuscia

Building: Main Venue Building
Room: room 5
Date: 2017-02-09 09:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Last modified: 2017-01-23

Abstract


This study investigates the association between the use of fertility treatments and marital disruption in a sample of American women in their first marriage (N=12,112). The use of fertility treatments has been constantly increasing in the last decades among developed countries, along with concerns about the outcomes for parents and children. The experience of infertility and of the treatment is a very stressful one and might be detrimental for the wellbeing of one or both partners and therefore be connected to higher probability of disruption. On the other side, it has the potential to make partner closer and thus strengthen the relationship. In addition, couples who undertake a treatment are a selective population in terms of demographic characteristics and the willingness to have a child. Survival analysis on data from the National Survey of Family Growth from 2002-2013 show that couples where the woman undertake some kind of fertility treatment have a lower probability of experiencing a divorce. This holds especially when the treatment is successful namely a birth is experienced after the treatment.