Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS
Content archived on 2024-06-18

Nonmarital childbearing in comparative perspective: trends, explanations, and lifecourse trajectories

Objective

Over the past several decades, childbearing within cohabitation has risen sharply throughout most of Europe, Australia, and the U.S. This project aims to study the diffusion of childbearing within cohabitation using a number of analytic levels and methodological perspectives. We will explore the following questions:

1) Trends: How does fertility differ by union status, and how do these differences change over time? Are there differences by parity, age pattern, or timing? How does the decline in marital fertility contribute to the increase in share of nonmarital births?

2) Explanations: What are the underlying reasons for increasing childbearing within cohabitation? What has produced variation across countries? How do policies impact and/or respond to childbearing within cohabitation? How do societal-level perceptions of cohabitation, marriage, and childbearing differ across countries?

3) Lifecourse trajectories: How do the lifecourse trajectories for women who bear children differ by union status? Are women who give birth within cohabitation more likely to experience changes in family structure? Is childbearing within cohabitation associated with future negative social, emotional, or economic outcomes?

To answer these questions, we will use an innovative mixed-methods strategy that 1) analyzes a unique database of harmonized reproductive and union histories, 2) conducts qualitative research into the role of policies and general perspectives on nonmarital childbearing, and 3) examines longitudinal surveys in comparative perspective. Ultimately, we aim to develop a new theoretical framework for understanding the diffusion of family change. This research will provide insights into whether lifecourse trajectories are diverging, potentially exacerbating social inequality.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

ERC-2010-StG_20091209
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

ERC-SG - ERC Starting Grant

Host institution

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON
EU contribution
€ 1 131 600,00
Address
Highfield
SO17 1BJ SOUTHAMPTON
United Kingdom

See on map

Region
South East (England) Hampshire and Isle of Wight Southampton
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

No data

Beneficiaries (1)

My booklet 0 0