Contribution of a Couple’s Immigration Status to Union Formation and Dissolution in Finland

Citlali Trigos-Raczkowski , Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR)
Kelsey Wright, University of Helsinki, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Pekka Martikainen, University of Helsinki
Joonas Pitkänen, University of Helsinki
Heta Moustgaard, University of Helsinki
Mikko Myrskylä, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research and London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Recent work has demonstrated the impact of first union dynamics, both formations and dissolutions, on population composition in low fertility contexts. In light of the potential importance of first union dynamics in contexts where it is becoming more urgent to understand the underlying drivers of population change, we examine the nexus between union dynamics and immigration in Finland, a country with a relatively new immigration regime and low cohort fertility projected to continue declining. Using a survival analysis framework and complete Finnish register data spanning 1987-2020 on all women aged 18-65 registered as residents, we compare the heterosexual union dynamic patterns among immigrants and their descendants, by identifying which characteristics, such as education and region of origin, moderate first union (cohabitations and marriages) formations and dissolutions. We distinguish between 1st generation immigrants, 2nd generation immigrants (those with two 1st generation parents), and the 2.5 generation (those with one Finnish and one 1st generation parent). Preliminary work suggests that women in the 2nd and 2.5 generation were overall less likely to enter a first union compared to native Finnish women, and that among the available couple immigrant pairing typologies, couples made of two 1st generation immigrants show the lowest rate of first union dissolution at 44.76%, while couples made up of two 2nd generation immigrants show the highest rate of first union dissolution at 71.40%. Studying these union dynamic patterns offers insights into how subsequent generations in Finland will form, continue in, and dissolve unions.

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 Presented in Session P1. Fertility, Family, Life Course