How premarital children and childbearing in current marriage influence divorce of Swedish women in their first marriages

By using a Swedish register data set and applying hazard models with unobserved heterogeneity, this study demonstrates that the partners’ childbearing history plays an important role in predicting the divorce risks of families with various combination of premarital children. Families with premarital children definitely have a higher risk of divorce than do those without premarital children. Producing a common child reduces the divorce risk, but as the youngest common child gets older, his or her role in maintaining family bond weakens. Families which the wife has premarital children by another man decidedly have a higher risk of divorce than do families with other combinations of premarital children. Other findings deviate from what has been reported in the literature. 1 Max-Planck-Institute for Demographic Research, Doberaner Strasse 114, Rostock, Germany. Phone: +49 381 2081 189, Fax: +49 381 2081 489, email: [email protected] Demographic Research – Volume 7, Article 10 http://www.demographic-research.org 390