Family Size Preferences of Adolescents across Contemporary Family Forms: How Does Parental Dissolution Affect Adolescents’ Fertility Preferences?

Graziela Dekeyser, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
Gray Swicegood, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

We investigate how shifts in family size preferences may be linked with the diversification of family types due to relationship dissolution and subsequent repartnering. First, we examine whether family size preferences of adolescents after parental dissolution are effected by their family structure and by family relationships. Next, we examine how adolescents’ educational aspirations and visions of their own future work life articulate with their family size preferences. We use data from two rounds of the Leuven’s Adolescents and Families Study (LAGO), analyzing the family size preferences of adolescents aged 14 years up to 20 years old with multinomial logistic regression techniques. Preliminary results show that adolescents who experienced parental dissolution seem to prefer small families but not in a straightforward manner. While less likely to favor families of three or more children, they don’t seem more likely than reference respondents to favor childless or one child families.