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  • Open Access
  • © 2020

Parental Life Courses after Separation and Divorce in Europe

  • This open access book focuses on post-separation families in major European countries
  • Addresses multiple perspectives and interconnected themes of family life
  • Features a rigorous longitudinal perspective that situates post-separation behaviour and well-being in the life course

Part of the book series: Life Course Research and Social Policies (LCRS, volume 12)

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Softcover Book USD 49.99
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  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
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Hardcover Book USD 59.99
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  • Durable hardcover edition
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Table of contents (14 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
  2. Economic Conditions of Divorce and Separation

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. Introduction: Parental Life Courses After Separation and Divorce in Europe

      • Michaela Kreyenfeld, Heike Trappe
      Pages 3-21Open Access
    3. Economic Consequences of Divorce: A Review

      • Dimitri Mortelmans
      Pages 23-41Open Access
    4. Changes in Mothers’ Earnings Around the Time of Divorce

      • Anke Radenacker
      Pages 65-81Open Access
  3. Parent-Child Relationships

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 103-103
    2. The Role of Gatekeeping in Non-Resident Fathers’ Contact with Their Children: Mothers’ and Fathers’ Views

      • Sabine Walper, Stefanie Amberg, Carolin Thönnissen, Sharon L. Christ
      Pages 169-191Open Access
  4. Parent and Child Well-Being

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 193-193
    2. Loneliness in Children Adapting to Dual Family Life

      • Inge Pasteels, Kim Bastaits
      Pages 195-213Open Access
    3. Gender Differences in Parental Well-being After Separation: Does Shared Parenting Matter?

      • Katja Köppen, Michaela Kreyenfeld, Heike Trappe
      Pages 235-264Open Access
  5. Health-Related Consequences of Divorce and Separation

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 265-265
    2. Work Disability and Divorce

      • Daniel Brüggmann
      Pages 289-308Open Access

About this book

This open access book assembles landmark studies on divorce and separation in European countries, and how this affects the life of parents and children. It focuses on four major areas of post-separation lives, namely (1) economic conditions, (2) parent-child relationships, (3) parent and child well-being, and (4) health. Through studies from several European countries, the book showcases how legal regulations and social policies influence parental and child well-being after divorce and separation. It also illustrates how social policies are interwoven with the normative fabric of a country. For example, it is shown that father-child contact after separation is more intense in those countries which have adopted policies that encourage shared parenting. Correspondingly, countries that have adopted these regulations are at the forefront of more egalitarian gender role attitudes. Apart from a strong emphasis on the legal and social policy context, the studies in this volume adopt a longitudinal perspective and situate post-separation behaviour and well-being in the life course. The longitudinal perspective opens up new avenues for research to understand how behaviour and conditions prior or at divorce and separation affect later behaviour and well-being. As such this book is of special appeal to scholars of family research as well as to anyone interested in the role of divorce and separation in Europe in the 21st century.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Hertie School, Berlin, Germany

    Michaela Kreyenfeld

  • Institut für Soziologie und Demographie, Universität Rostock, Rostock, Germany

    Heike Trappe

About the editors

Michaela Kreyenfeld is professor of sociology at the Hertie School. Her research focuses on family behaviour, life course analysis, and social policy. Until 2016, she led the research group Life Course, Social Policy, and the Family at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock. Between 2005 and 2012, she was a junior professor of demography at the University of Rostock.

Heike Trappe is professor of sociology and family demography at the University of Rostock. Her teaching and research interests are in the areas of family demography, gender stratification, and the nexus of work and family life in Germany and other societies.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

Softcover Book USD 49.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access