Julie Jefferies

Childbearing Following Marital Dissolution in Britain

This paper investigates the subsequent fertility of British women who have experienced the dissolution of their first marriage in recent decades. Data for 7739 women from the 1990–1995 General Household Surveys are used to examine the socio-demographic factors associated with experiencing a post-dissolution birth. Just under one half of women who had experienced marital dissolution went on to experience a conception within twelve years. A womens age and her repartnering status are shown to be the factors most strongly associated with the probability of a post-dissolution conception. The age of a womans youngest child is found to be more strongly associated with her likelihood of experiencing a conception than her parity at marital dissolution.