German Family Panel Pairfam Research Articles

Norms about parental employment in Eastern and Western Germany: Results of a factorial survey experiment

Objective: This study analyzes norms in Germany toward mothers’ and fathers’ work hours, with a focus on differences between Eastern and Western Germany. Background: Maternal labor force participation has increased in many Western countries, and norms toward parents’ division of paid work and care have changed over the past decades. Most literature, however, focuses on maternal labor force participation without considering paternal work hours, based on the dichotomy of a traditional male-breadwinner model versus a model with two adults working full time and comprehensive institutionalized childcare, leaving out other potential arrangements. This focus limits the understanding of differences between Eastern and Western Germany. Method: This study investigates normative judgments regarding both mothers’ and fathers’ employment in a factorial survey experiment implemented in the German Family Panel pairfam in 2019/2020 (N=6,285). Results: The analysis reveals that in Western compared to Eastern Germany shorter working hours are indicated for both fathers and mothers, and judgments regarding working hours vary more and are more affected by job-related variables (relative incomes, career prospects, and family-friendliness of employer). Conclusion: These results imply that in Western Germany, normative judgments of both parents’ work hours are mainly based on the individual level, taking the family’s specific situation into account, whereas in Eastern Germany, judgements are more strongly influenced by a general norm that both parents should work (near to) full-time.

Depression, Contraception, and Ambivalence Concerning Fertility

Individuals suffering from depression exhibit a higher rate of unintended pregnancies, which are associated with negative outcomes for both parents and children. Often, unintended pregnancies result from contraceptive mistakes. Here, we examine the relationship between depression and the consistency of contraceptive behavior, testing ambivalence as a possible mediator. The analyses were based on cross-sectional data from the second and third waves of the German Relationship and Family Panel Pairfam. A German-speaking sample without children (N = 190; 117 female, 73 male), who reported not attempting to conceive or become pregnant during the last 12 months, was analyzed in comparison with a propensity score matched sample. Ambivalence was operationalized as the difference between the ideal and realistic number of children in wave 2. Data from wave 3 were used to assess contraceptive behavior. Depressed mood in wave 2 and consistency of contraceptive behavior in wave 3 were negatively correlated. After including ambivalence in wave 2 as a mediator in the model, the direct path between depressed mood and consistency of contraceptive behavior remained significant, with no significant mediation found. For men only, we observed a significant negative association of ambivalence with the consistency of contraceptive behavior in the last 3 months. No significant relationship was found between depressed mood and ambivalence. We conclude that future research aiming to better understand the consistency of contraceptive behavior should incorporate measures of ambivalence.

Partner’s unemployment and subjective well-being: The mediating role of relationship functioning

Unemployment affects not only the subjective well-being of the individual, but also that of the partner. Based on the life course perspective and the spillover-crossover-model, we examine the mediating role of relationship functioning for such crossover effects of partner’s unemployment on subjective well-being. We also test whether gender differences in the mechanism of relationship functioning can explain the larger overall crossover effects on women compared to men. We use data from the German Family Panel pairfam (2008/09–2018/19), which provide more direct and comprehensive measures of relationship functioning than previous research, and allow us to examine couples’ communication and interactions, their conflict styles and behaviors, relationship satisfaction, and perceived relationship instability as mediators. To analyze the impact of the partner’s transition to unemployment on subjective well-being, we use fixed effects panel regression models and the product method of mediation analysis to estimate the indirect effects of relationship functioning. The results show that a partner’s transition to unemployment has a negative impact on one’s own well-being. The effects are more pronounced for women than men which can be partly explained by gender-specific effects of the partner’s unemployment on various aspects of relationship functioning, rather than by differential effects of the latter on one’s own well-being.

To be or not to be a perfect parent? How the striving for perfect parenting harms employed parents

More and more employees aim to be perfect parents. However, it is largely unclear what implications this striving might have. Drawing on central theoretical principles of family-work research, we studied parenting perfectionism and its possible implications for employees' own and their intimate partners' family and work lives. In detail, we investigated how employees' parenting perfectionism relates to overprotection in their role as a parent and whether this overprotection, in turn, relates to employees' own family-work conflict (i.e., spillover) as well as to their partners' family-work conflict (i.e., crossover) via co-parenting conflicts. We also examined whether parenting perfectionism indirectly relates to employees' and partners' reduced well-being, family satisfaction, and weekly working hours over time. To test our hypotheses, we analyzed multi-wave (T1, T2 = one year later, T3 = two years later) survey data of 541 employed couples with parental obligation participating in The German Family Panel pairfam. Results from structural equation modeling showed that parenting perfectionism was indirectly related to employees' family-work conflict at T2 via overprotection at T1 and, ultimately, to their reduced well-being and family satisfaction at T3. Parenting perfectionism was also indirectly related to partners' family-work conflict at T2 via overprotection at T1 and co-parenting conflicts at T2. Our results highlight perfectionism's potential impact on oneself and others. Particularly, parenting perfectionism can permeate boundaries between family and work life and can affect both employees and their intimate partners. We discuss key theoretical insights of our findings for family-work and perfectionism research as well as implications for organizational practice.

Did You Like the Interview? Interviewer Effects on Respondents’ Interview Pleasantness Ratings

Although it has long been acknowledged that interviewers play a crucial role in the survey data collection process, there is little research concerning interviewer effects on how respondents perceive the interview. We investigate whether interviewer effects exist regarding how much respondents report having enjoyed the interview and whether these effects can be explained by interviewer characteristics. We use data from wave 9 of the German Family Panel pairfam, combined with data from an interviewer survey conducted prior to this wave. Applying multilevel models, we find large interviewer effects that can be explained only partly by interviewers’ sociodemographic characteristics, attitudes, and behavior. Interviewers’ gender, intrinsic work motivation, and their attitude toward respondents significantly affect how much respondents enjoy the interview.

Religiosity and trajectories of lifetime fertility intentions – Evidence from a German panel study

Much of the literature on fertility intentions has shown that they are broadly predictive of fertility behaviour. Fertility intentions tend to change over a person’s life. How religiosity affects these changes over time has rarely been the subject of investigation. In this paper, we focus on whether and how religiosity affects trajectories of lifetime fertility intentions. Specifically, we examine whether highly religious people start with higher fertility intentions and are more likely to sustain them during their life course compared to their less religious counterparts. We apply random and fixed effects growth curve models to data from the German family panel pairfam, using a sample of 6214 women and 5802 men aged 14–46. We find that religiosity mainly contributes to explain the starting level at teenage years but not the trajectories of lifetime fertility intentions as people get older. Highly religious people start with higher intentions than less religious people. However, similarly to less religious people they experience a decline in their fertility intentions with age. This study demonstrates that religiosity is an important variable in research on fertility intentions but with changing relevance over the life course.

Parental separation and children’s well-being: Does the quality of parent-child relationships moderate the effect?

A considerable body of literature takes a deficit perspective and shows that children who experience a parental separation have more disadvantages than children who live in a two-biological-parent family. This article argues that not all children respond identically to their parents’ separation, and examines whether there are heterogeneous effects based on parent-child relationship quality. We expect that having a good relationship with the resident parent can buffer the potentially negative effects of parental separation on a child’s well-being. Using longitudinal data from waves 2 to 13 (2009/2010 – 2020/2021) of the German Family Panel pairfam, we estimate fixed-effects models based on a sample of 2,057 children aged 7 to 15, 99 of whom experienced the separation of their parents. We find that children who had a high level of conflict with the resident parent had significantly more emotional problems after parental separation, whereas children who had few conflicts with the resident parent had significantly fewer emotional problems after separation. Similarly, we find that only children in a parent-child dyad with a low level of intimate disclosure had more behavioral problems after parental separation than before.

Resolving relationship dissolution-What predicts emotional adjustment after breakup?

Relationship dissolution is a critical life event individuals have to cope with. Factors like relationship duration and relationship quality or having a new partner are likely to affect how people recover emotionally from a separation, which is linked to long-term adjustment. However, prospective evidence on the role of these factors is scarce. Hence, this study aims to investigate predictors of emotional recovery following relationship dissolution. Pooled data of the German Family Panel pairfam on 3734 separation events of 2709 individuals aged 18 to 48 were used, applying a statistical model called seemingly unrelated regressions to predict emotional outcomes (relief, anger, guilt, and sadness) and the general emotional state regarding separation. Sociodemographic and relationship characteristics, indicators of relationship quality, conditions of the separation, and features of the current situation were considered as potential predictors. Regression analyses evidence strong links of initiator status, having a new partner, time since separation, and satisfaction with the social network to less negative emotional outcomes following separation. Relationship quality or serious problems before the separation only affected some of the investigated emotional outcomes. Interestingly, the predictors investigated were less powerful in explaining respondents' feelings of guilt compared to the other emotions. Overall, these findings provide deeper insight into short-term adjustment to separation. Understanding these processes may help to assess risk factors for negative coping mechanisms and improve tailored counseling strategies.

Emotional Problems of Children and Adolescents in the COVID-19-Pandemic: Patterns of Change and Predictors

The COVID-19-pandemic showed largely negative, but heterogeneous effects on the psychological well-being of children and adolescents.The present study aimed to (1) identify differential trajectories of emotional problems as young people entered the pandemic, (2) compare pre-pandemic trends to changes one year after its onset, and (3) analyze sociodemographic and social predictors of trajectories. 555 children and adolescents, aged 7 - 14 years at T1 (M = 10.53 years, 46.5 % female), were interviewed in three waves of the German family panel pairfam. Latent class growth analysis (LCGA) revealed four distinct trajectories of emotional problems: an increase after the onset of COVID-19 ("Mean increasing"), a decrease ("Mean decreasing"), no change at low level ("Low stable") or at high level ("Chronic high"), each after a stable trajectory before the pandemic.Multinomial logistic regressions showed that females and youth experiencing an increase in financial deprivation were at higher risk of increasing or chronically high level of emotional problems, while sociability proved protective. Migration background and rejection by peers showed mixed effects. The results emphasize the importance of a differential perspective on how the COVID-19-pandemic affected children's and adolescents' well-being. Besides negative consequences for vulnerable groups, also beneficial aspects of the pandemic should be considered.

Economic hardship and intimate partner violence: An analysis of perpetrators in Germany

Objective: Based on the family stress model, we examine whether respondents are more likely to perpetrate physical IPV when experiencing economic hardship and pressure. Background: Research has demonstrated an association of intimate partner violence (IPV) and economic factors. However, as the bulk of studies is limited to the female victim’s perspective, the picture remains incomplete; factors driving gender-specific effects and perpetration rates have thus far been overlooked. Method: Using data from a large sample of individuals from the German Family Panel pairfam, which covers the period between 2009 and 2019, we employ pooled logistic regression models (n=6,661 individuals with 21,321 observations). Given the rich data source, we are able to control for a number of possible confounding effects. To correct for sample selection, we use calibrated design weights. Results: Our analyses show that IPV perpetration is associated with poverty and economic pressure among women, but not men. When accounting for confounding factors such as the Big 5 personality traits and childhood experiences, these associations become insignificant. For men, unemployment is linked to IPV perpetration, but only when personality traits and childhood experiences are not accounted for. Conclusion: Results imply that the association between adverse economic conditions and IPV perpetration is mainly due to unobserved heterogeneity. Thus, physical IPV perpetration is not primarily caused by the distress of financial strain, but rather by underlying factors such as personality traits and adverse childhood experiences, which are associated with both socioeconomic status, economic pressure, and aggressive behavior in intimate relationships.

Young adults’ labour market transitions and intergenerational support in Germany

AbstractResearch has shown that parents provide considerable support to their children; however, we know little about the influence of young adults’ employment experiences on the support they receive from their parents. We draw on data from the German Family Panel pairfam for birth cohorts 1981–1983 and 1991–1993 and use a first difference panel estimator with asymmetric effects to examine the extent to which young adults’ employment transitions affect material, emotional, and instrumental support from parents. We find stark differences across types of support: parental material support changes in response to transitions in and out of employment, especially when to and from education. Other types of support seem less contingent on labour market transitions. Instrumental support only increases for transitions from education to employment and from employment to NEET. The latter effect is mainly driven by women entering parental leave. We do not find strong evidence of differences between transitions to standard and non-standard work. The association between employment transitions and intergenerational material support flows suggests that families act as safety nets, raising concerns about those whose families are unable to help.

Data From the German Family Panel Pairfam: The Supplementary COVID-19 Survey

The COVID-19 pandemic had major implications for private and family lives. The German Family Panel pairfam conducted an online survey regarding the experiences during the pandemic. The survey was conducted from May to July 2020. It includes instruments introduced in previous pairfam waves as well as new modules on topics that proved particularly relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting dataset encompasses a sample of 3,182 respondents from all German federal states ranging in age from 17–47 years. The data has already been used in a variety of scientific publications and is available for research and teaching purposes.

Analyzing Longitudinal Multirater Data with Individually Varying Time Intervals

Numerous models have been proposed for the analysis of convergent validity in longitudinal multimethod designs. However, existing multimethod models are limited to measurement designs with equally spaced time intervals. We present a new multirater latent state-trait model with autoregressive effects (MR-LST-AR) for designs with structurally different raters and individually varying time intervals. The new model is illustrated using the German Family Panel pairfam. By means of stochastic differential equations, we show how key coefficients of convergent and discriminant validity can be examined as a function of time. We compare the results from continuous and discrete time analysis and provide code to fit the new model in ctsem. Finally, the advantages and limitations of the model are discussed, and practical recommendations are provided.

Anstieg depressiver Symptome bei Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen w\xe4hrend des ersten Lockdowns in Deutschland

ZusammenfassungHintergrundDie COVID-19-Pandemie (Corona Virus Disease 2019) hat innerhalb kürzester Zeit das gesellschaftliche Leben grundlegend verändert. Bei politischen Entscheidungen steht oft die Abwägung zwischen der Pandemiebekämpfung und den möglichen negativen wirtschaftlichen Konsequenzen im Vordergrund. Zunehmend finden jedoch auch die psychologischen und sozialen Auswirkungen des Lockdowns Beachtung.FragestellungWie hat sich die psychische Gesundheit von Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen in Deutschland während der ersten Welle der COVID-19-Pandemie und der dadurch bedingten Kontaktbeschränkungen in Deutschland verändert?Material und MethodenDie Analysen basieren auf Längsschnittdaten von bundesweit per Zufallsverfahren ausgewählten Ankerpersonen des Beziehungs- und Familienpanels pairfam. Die hier betrachtete Altersgruppe der Geburtsjahrgänge 2001–2003 wurde im Jahr 2018/2019 erstmalig im Zuge einer Aufstockungsstichprobe befragt und 854 dieser Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen im Alter von 16–19 Jahren nahmen auch an der COVID-19-Zusatzbefragung von Mai bis Juli 2020 (erster Lockdown) teil. Die Depressivität wird mit der State-Trait Depression Scale erhoben.ErgebnisseWährend des ersten Lockdowns zeigte sich bei den jungen Menschen ein deutlicher Anstieg depressiver Symptome: Vor dem Lockdown hatten 10,4 % klinisch relevante depressive Symptome [95 %-KI: 8,4; 12,5], im Frühjahr 2020 stieg dieser Anteil auf 25,3 % [95 %-KI: 22,4; 28,2]. Das Risiko, depressive Symptome zu entwickeln, war bei weiblichen Jugendlichen und jungen Frauen erhöht. Der Migrationshintergrund zeigte sich als ein ähnlich starker Risikofaktor: Die Prävalenz depressiver Symptome stieg bei Migrationshintergrund von 11 % auf 33 %.DiskussionUm diese Risikogruppen zu erreichen, sind flächendeckende, zielgruppenspezifische und niedrigschwellige Angebote der Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung nötig.

Coparenting Problems and Parenting Behavior as Mediating Links Between Interparental Conflict and Toddlers' Adjustment Difficulties in Germany.

Objective: Interparental conflict has long been acknowledged as a major risk factor for the well-being of children. Empirical studies reveal clear associations between children's maladjustment and frequent destructive conflicts between their parents (van Eldik et al., 2020). Existing research suggests that interparental conflict spills over from the couple to the coparental relationship, undermining parents' skills to cooperate and their parenting competencies. This study addresses the effects of interparental conflict on the behavioral and emotional problems of toddlers. Methods: The analyses were based on longitudinal data from the German Family Panel pairfam. The sample comprised information on N = 828 anchor participants (59.9 % female) and their 3- to 5-year-old children. Results: As expected, the effects of interparental conflict on children's behavioral and emotional problems were mediated by coparenting problems and in part also by negative parenting. Further analyses comparing mothers and fathers revealed a stronger direct path of interparental conflict on coparenting for mothers. Conclusions: The findings provide support for the significance of the interparental relationship and coparenting quality for child development, even in this young age group, and point to the importance of early prevention.

Housing density and its consequences for couples in Germany: staying, moving, or breaking up?

High housing density has been considered a stressor that is detrimental to couples’ relationships. However, empirical research on this topic has been mixed, which might be due to the fact that not all couples respond to density in the same way. We contribute to the literature by not only considering separation as a potential reaction to density but also moving to a new place. Moreover, we combine insights from different theoretical models to explain how couples react differently to an overcrowded home, depending upon their resources. For our analyses, we use the German Family Panel PAIRFAM (10 waves, 2008/09 to 2017/18) with a sample of N = 4180 couples, of which 484 experience a move and 488 a separation. Applying competing risk models, we find that vulnerable groups such as the poor and the low-educated are significantly more likely than others to separate when in a dense home rather than to stay in the same dwelling.

The Transition to a Coresidential Partnership: Who Moves and Who Has the Partner Move In?

Moving into a joint household is an important step in the process of union formation. While a growing body of literature investigates differences between those couples who start coresidence and those who do not, we know little about the likelihood of moving upon the start of coresidence. The aim of this paper is to investigate how individual and couple-level characteristics are associated with moving, or having a partner move in, at the start of coresidence. We use data from 10 waves of the German Family Panel pairfam for those who started coresidence (n = 983) and estimate logistic regression models of moving versus having a partner move in. The respondents in the sample are quite young with a mean age of 27. For long-distance relationships, those with a higher level of education than their partner and women who were living in close proximity to their parents were less likely to move. In short-distance relationships, respondents living in the parental home or in crowded housing were more likely to move than those living in uncrowded housing. In contrast with previous research, we did not find that women were more likely to move than men. Our results highlight that factors like educational resources, housing demands, and local family ties have differential effects on moving decisions at the start of coresidence depending on the distance moved.

The Interplay of Having an Abortion, Relationship Satisfaction, and Union Dissolution

This study researches the associations between having an abortion, relationship satisfaction, and union dissolution. Empirical evidence on this topic is scarce, and there is a pronounced lack of studies analysing longitudinal data: Most previous studies have used data from women recruited from abortion clinics who are about to undergo an abortion, and therefore do not incorporate a prospective measure of relationship satisfaction pre-pregnancy. Panel studies, on the other hand, collect prospective data on various topics and allow for the estimation of more advanced models that can help identify causal mechanisms. Using data from the German Family Panel pairfam in combination with pooled logistic regressions, discrete-time event history models, as well as fixed effects regression models, this study compares relationships up to nine years before having had an abortion and eight years afterwards. The findings of the analyses can neither confirm that relationship satisfaction acts as a confounding factor that influences both the likelihood of terminating a pregnancy and union dissolution, nor as a mediating factor between having an abortion and union dissolution. A negative effect of having an abortion on relationship satisfaction appears to be only temporary. In the year of an abortion, relationship satisfaction decreases slightly. In the following years, a significant difference in relationship satisfaction to pre-abortion years is no longer visible. By using panel data, the temporal order of events can be retraced, resulting in the discovery that relationship satisfaction and union dissolution do not change drastically from pre-abortion values after having an abortion.
 * This article belongs to a special issue on "Identification of causal mechanisms in demographic research: The contribution of panel data".

Thirty Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall—Do East and West Germans Still Differ in Their Attitudes to Female Employment and the Division of Housework?

Abstract Previous cross-sectional studies highlight persistent East–West differences in gender ideologies after German reunification. This study examines the extent to which gender ideologies in the East and West have converged and whether differences are still relevant for younger cohorts who experienced childhood around the time of reunification, or after 1989. Using data from the German Family Panel pairfam (2008–2019) and differences in regime-specific socialization for three cohorts born before and after reunification, results reveal that different dimensions of gender ideologies have only partly converged 30 years after reunification. Attitudes towards housework and female employment converged particularly, yet, in all cohorts, views on maternal employment remain substantially different between East and West. Observed convergence occurred only partly due to contrasting trends of modernization in West Germany and re-traditionalization in East Germany. Moreover, the results highlight smaller attitude changes with increasing age, particularly for the younger cohorts, contributing to further variations in East–West differences. Overall, the findings confirm the existence of long-lasting ideology differences due to regime-specific socialization, and a persistently altered composition of society in East and West Germany. At the same time, they point towards slow convergence among younger cohorts due to a more similar institutional and socialization context following reunification.

Familial cultural activities and child development – Findings from a longitudinal panel study

ABSTRACT We investigated the associations between parent-child leisure activities and perceived relationships longitudinally during the transition from childhood to adolescence. The German Family Panel (pairfam) covering four biannual waves (N = 1,816 children; age range: 8–15 years; 48.4% female) between 2009 and 2015/16 served as our data base. Frequencies of engaging in book reading (Reading), singing or playing music (Music), and playing computer games (Computer), were entered as independent measures, and children’s views on Intimacy, Prosocial Behaviour and Conduct Problems in their relationships with parents were entered as dependent measures in a series of regression analyses. The results revealed complex associations between parent-child leisure activities and parent-child relationships across waves. Specifically, Reading and Music were found positively associated with Prosocial Behaviour, and Computer was found negatively associated with this variable, and positively associated with Conduct Problems. Gender differences and influences of socioeconomic variables were noted. These findings suggest important and continued roles of parent-child leisure activities to regulate intrafamilial relationships during later childhood and the early stages of puberty. Further research is required to investigate the moderators of these associations and underlying mechanisms.