It's all in the Past? Exploring the Repercussions of Parents' Early Conjugal and Parental Histories on the Family Life Course of their Children

Executive Summary

Issue

It has long been accepted that well-adjusted children grow up in healthy families. Creating a healthy, stable and secure home life has always been a challenge for parents, but is even more so today. Thirty years ago, the arrival of another child was the only major family change that most children experienced. Today, many children face radical changes in their family environment as parents separate and create new families. With lone-parent or stepfamily life becoming commonplace, more parents and children are facing the challenge of adapting to increasing numbers of family transitions.

Research Objective

To analyze whether characteristics of parents' conjugal history (e.g. whether parents are married or common law, number of previous conjugal unions) affect the likelihood that those parents will separate.
To explore whether parents' previous parental history (having children from an earlier union) affects what happens to children later in life.
To define variables about family history that can be used in future research about children "outcomes." (what happens to the child later in life)

Data

The NLSCY provides a unique opportunity for increasing our understanding of the links between parents' and children's family life course. Detailed data on the children's family history, including the conjugal and parental life of both parents before the child's birth and, where applicable, after separation, permit a detailed classification of family trajectories.

Key Research Findings

The kind of union parents have when their children are born is a predictor of the stability of their relationship. In all regions of Canada, including Quebec though to a lesser extent, children whose parents were not married when they were born are much more likely to see their parents separate than other children.
The fact that one or both parents lived with previous partner(s) increases the risk that they will separate. Less than one quarter of Canadian children have parents who had previous common law relationships or marriages, but forty percent of all separations happen to the parents of these children. In general, the more previous relationships parents have had, the more likely it is that their current relationship won't last.
The presence of half-siblings has a significant impact on family stability — 13.5 percent of children aged 0-11 years in 1994-95 were born into families with half-siblings. Compared with children without half-siblings, children with maternal half-siblings present in the family, and children with paternal half-siblings living elsewhere, are twice as likely to see their parents separate.

Potential Impacts on Future Research, Policy and Practice