The Sociology Seminar: Thursdays, from 12:00 to 1:15 pm

Time: 12:00 am – 1:15 pm
Date: 9th of november 2017
Place: Room 3105, ENSAE.
BARBUSCIA Anna (Oxford University)  – “Fertility Treatments and Divorce: Evidence from the National Survey of Family Growth”
Abstract : The experience of infertility and subsequent treatment is a very stressful one and may lead to lower couple satisfaction and instability, or conversely bring the partners closer together and increase marital stability. High levels of couple satisfaction have been observed among couples during or just after the treatment. However, very little evidence exists on the probability of divorce following a treatment, especially in the longer term. Further, virtually no studies have considered both successful and unsuccessful treatments, which is a crucial distinction since the experience of childbearing is itself a main determinant of marital stability.
This study investigates the association between the use of fertility treatments and divorce in a sample of American women in their first marriage (N=11,498). Discrete-time event history analysis on data from the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) 2002-2013 shows that women who used fertility treatments have overall a lower probability of experiencing divorce. This is especially true when the treatment is successful. However, also women who do not conceive after the treatment have a lower probability of divorce compared to childless women who never started a fertility treatment.​
Organizers :
Marine HADDAD, Nicolas ROBETTE, Sander WAGNER (Laboratoire de sociologie quantitative – CREST)
Sponsors :
CREST