Table 2.
Characteristics of couples with a first birth together, by country
| United States | Norway | Sweden | United Kingdom | Austria | France | Italy | Spain | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Respondent Education | ||||||||
| Low/moderate | 0.71 | 0.54 | 0.50 | 0.46 | 0.82 | 0.59 | 0.86 | 0.75 |
| High | 0.29 | 0.46 | 0.50 | 0.54 | 0.18 | 0.41 | 0.14 | 0.25 |
| Respondent Had Prior Childless Union | 0.15 | 0.23 | 0.35 | 0.13 | 0.17 | 0.14 | 0.03 | 0.06 |
| Respondent had prior childless marriage | 0.04 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.04 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.02 |
| Respondent had prior childless cohabitation | 0.11 | 0.21 | 0.34 | 0.11 | 0.14 | 0.12 | 0.01 | 0.04 |
| Respondent or Partner Had Children at Union Start | 0.37 | 0.23 | 0.15 | 0.29 | 0.21 | 0.18 | 0.03 | 0.15 |
| Respondent had children | 0.26 | 0.15 | 0.08 | 0.20 | 0.12 | 0.11 | 0.03 | 0.10 |
| Partner had children | 0.22 | 0.12 | 0.09 | 0.16 | 0.11 | 0.10 | 0.00 | 0.06 |
| Respondent Age at Focal Birth | ||||||||
| <22 | 0.24 | 0.08 | 0.05 | 0.14 | 0.13 | 0.09 | 0.03 | 0.10 |
| 22–25 | 0.25 | 0.22 | 0.16 | 0.20 | 0.25 | 0.24 | 0.10 | 0.14 |
| 26–29 | 0.24 | 0.35 | 0.31 | 0.26 | 0.30 | 0.33 | 0.33 | 0.32 |
| 30+ | 0.27 | 0.35 | 0.48 | 0.40 | 0.32 | 0.33 | 0.54 | 0.44 |
| Duration From Union Start to Birth (in months) | 35.05 | 41.63 | 49.37 | 40.66 | 46.39 | 44.55 | 39.18 | 43.35 |
| Couple Had Another Child Together (t) | 0.35 | 0.38 | 0.43 | 0.37 | 0.32 | 0.34 | 0.26 | 0.26 |
| Respondent Foreign-born | 0.17 | 0.10 | 0.15 | 0.03 | 0.27 | 0.09 | 0.05 | 0.15 |
| Respondent Lived With Both Biological Parents Through Age 15 | 0.59 | 0.85 | 0.71 | 0.75 | 0.77 | 0.84 | 0.97 | 0.92 |
| N (unions) | 5,232 | 1,142 | 710 | 628 | 817 | 795 | 689 | 1,281 |
| N (union-months) | 244,529 | 66,065 | 40,721 | 34,933 | 44,375 | 44,941 | 41,147 | 67,641 |
Notes: Ns are unweighted. All means are weighted using SVY procedures in STATA 12. Time-invariant characteristics are measured in the month of the couple’s first birth together (i.e., the first month of the union-month file). Couples’ (time-varying) subsequent childbearing is estimated from the full union-month sample. Parental separation was not available at age 15 for Italy and Spain. For those countries, we evaluated whether the parents ever separated rather than by age 15.
Source: Harmonized Histories and the 2006–2010 and 2011–2013 National Survey of Family Growth (women only, under 45 years). Sample is limited to couples with a first child together within 10 years of interview.