Barbora Hubatková

Rising Rates of Cohabitation and the Odds of Repartnering : Does the Gap between Men and Women Disappear?

ABSTRACT Men are more likely to repartner than women. This pattern might reflect gender disparities in barriers to repartnering. When rates of cohabitation increase, the gender disparity might shrink, as cohabitation is a less institutionalized form of coresidential partnership and therefore has lower entry barriers in comparison to marriage. Using event-history models applied to Czech data from the Generations and Gender Survey, we show that the odds of repartnering were indeed higher among men than among women in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. No significant change in the gender effect, however, was found. Similarly, the analysis revealed no change in the effect of gender on the odds of entering cohabitation rather than marriage.

Proč rozvedení dědečkové pečují méně často o svá vnoučata

Grandparents are becoming increasingly important figures in the lives of their grandchildren and are often in the position of care providers. However, divorced grandparents and grandfathers in particular are less likely to provide care for their grandchildren. This article examines the reasons for this. Drawing on the literature on this subject, the authors first argue that divorced grandfathers are less likely than their married counterparts both to provide care and to provide care often. This may be because compared to married grandfathers they tend to: (1) have a larger number of children and grandchildren (because they often repartner after divorce); (2) live farther away from their offspring; (3) have less frequent contact with their offspring; and (4) be in poorer health. Using Czech SHARE (Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe) data from waves two and four, the authors show that divorced grandfathers in the Czech Republic are less likely to care for their grandchildren and provide frequent care primarily owing to the fact that they have less frequent contact with their children. The authors found no support for the assumption that the negative effect of divorce can be explained by the number of children or grandchildren divorced grandparents have, by their geographical distance from offspring or by their subjective health.