Diversität von Familienformen in Ost- und Westdeutschland

Abstract

In this paper data from the first wave of the German family panel (pairfam) is used to study the diversity of living arrangements in Germany. The analyses are restricted to the birth cohorts 1971-1973. These cohorts have entered adulthood after unification, but made significant transitions, like the birth of their first children, until interview in 2008/09. The investigation focuses on the union dynamics after the birth of the first child. We find significant differences in family formation patterns between eastern and western Germany. Respondents in eastern Germany are more often unmarried than western German respondents when the first child is born. Also after family formation, western Germans remain more likely to marry than eastern Germans. Separation rates are higher in eastern Germany in the immediate year after childbirth. A striking feature of the eastern German pattern is that a large fraction of roughly ten percent of the respondents does not have a partner (anymore) when the first child is born. We have also studied how partnership status at first birth relates to separation rates. In line with other studies, we find that cohabiting unions are less stable than marital unions. Comparing behavior in eastern and western Germany, we find that marital unions in the West are more stable than in the East. However, cohabiting unions in the eastern part of Germany display lower separation rates than non-marital unions in the western states.