Dutch registry study: Children of divorce have fewer children and shorter relationships

Adults who experienced parental divorce tend to have fewer children and shorter marriages or partnerships than peers whose parents stayed together. Men from divorced families have about 13 percent fewer children and women about five percent fewer. Those who grew up with divorced parents are more likely to remain childless. These patterns held across the cohort and when comparing men and women separately.

Marriages and long-term relationships among adults from divorced families last, on average, about one year less than those of others. Shorter relationships translate into fewer births.

Women from divorced families had their first child, on average, 0.75 years earlier, while men did so 0.30 years earlier. Despite this earlier timing, total successful births remained lower for adults with a parental divorce in their background. This is consistent with the finding that their relationships end sooner and that separation risks are higher for them as adults.

The authors stress that the results do not establish a causal relationship. The data show consistent associations, but does not determine whether the divorce itself directly shapes children’s later behavior, or whether the observed differences reflect learned behavior or transmitted values and attitudes from the family of origin.

Factors such as conflict resolution styles, expectations about relationships, and norms around family life could be passed from one generation to the next. Alternatively, the experience of divorce during childhood could affect attachment, trust, or economic trajectories in ways that manifest in shorter partnerships and fewer births.

The study acknowledges that in many cases a divorce can be a better decision for families than remaining together as an unhappy couple.