The change in single mothers’ educational gradient over time in Spain
Anna Garriga and
Clara Cortina
Additional contact information
Anna Garriga: Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Clara Cortina: Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Demographic Research, 2017, vol. 36, issue 61, 1859-1888
Abstract:
Background: Family structures changed enormously during the latter decades of the 20th century, with the diffusion of less-common family forms, especially among low-educated women. Previous research suggests that in Spain these changes have taken place in a very short period of time. Objective: The aim of this paper is, specifically, to analyse the educational gradient of single-mother families and its evolution in recent decades, focusing on age differences. Methods: We use the 1991, 2001, and 2011 Spanish population censuses and apply logistic regression analysis. Our investigation focuses on non-widowed mothers with children under 18. Results: Results show how the educational gradient of single motherhood reversed between 1991 and 2011. Our analyses reveal differences by age. While mothers younger than 30 present a consistent and even increasingly negative educational gradient across the whole period, the reversal applies to older mothers. It is this reversal that has resulted in changing a positive to a negative or neutral educational gradient. Conclusions: The diversification of educational profiles of Spanish mothers’ family structures is a process that is here to stay. Contribution: The article contributes to understanding the consequences of the diversification of family structures in the context of an economic crisis in which education is becoming increasingly important in determining mothers’ and children’s opportunities.
Keywords: family; single motherhood; divorce; repartnering; education; Spain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J1 Z0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)
Downloads: (external link)
https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol36/61/36-61.pdf (application/pdf)
Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.
Export reference: BibTeX
RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan)
HTML/Text
Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:dem:demres:v:36:y:2017:i:61
DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2017.36.61
Access Statistics for this article
More articles in Demographic Research from Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Editorial Office ().