British Parents’ Trajectories of Partnership and Fertility and Midlife Mental Health

Yan Zhang , University of Southampton
Ann Berrington, University of Southampton
Seb Stannard, University of Southampton

Individuals increasingly follow diverse partnership and fertility trajectories, which often entail greater exposure to stressors for mental health. Using data collected from birth to age 51 in the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) we employ sequence analysis and logistic regression to identify partnership and fertility trajectories between ages 16 and 46 and explore whether different trajectory typologies are associated with depression and anxiety in mid-life. Our study contributes to the literature in three ways. First, we focus on the intersection of partnership formation, dissolution, re-partnering and childbearing to identify trajectories in terms of the partnership context of childbearing. Second, we draw on prospective birth cohort data and a life course framework to examine the parental and childhood attributes that select individuals into different trajectories and in turn be associated with midlife mental health. Third, we examine how family background buffer or exacerbate mental health risks associated with complex trajectories. Individuals in less stable family life trajectories, such as serial cohabitation or multi-partner fertility (MPF), report more mental health issues than those in stable marriages. However, these associations are attenuated when parental background, childhood circumstances, and adolescent health are taken into account. Family background plays a crucial role: individuals from more advantaged families are less vulnerable to the negative effects of complex family trajectories, whereas those from disadvantaged origins face greater risks. These findings highlight that while non-standard family trajectories correlate with poorer midlife mental health, much of this disadvantage reflects long-standing social stratification rather than family trajectory type alone.

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 Presented in Session 18. Health and Wellbeing across the Life Course