Who Is Most Affected by Stepfamily Formation? Exploring Heterogeneous Effects on Children’s Educational Outcomes

Sandra Krapf , ifb - State Institute for Family Research at the University of Bamberg
Pauline Kleinschlömer, Bundesinstitut für Bevölkerungsforschung

The number of children growing up in stepfamilies has increased considerably across Europe, yet the consequences of stepfamily formation for children’s development remain contested. Previous research has produced mixed findings, which may be related to heterogeneities in how stepfamily formation affects different social groups. Exploring such variation can help to identify both vulnerabilities and sources of resilience within families. This study investigates how children’s educational outcomes change after stepfamily formation and whether these effects differ by parents’ education and child gender. We expect that children of highly educated parents are better prepared for the transition due to parenting styles that emphasise explanation, negotiation, and emotional responsiveness—factors that can mitigate stress and foster acceptance. In contrast, children of lower-educated parents may be more negatively affected by stepfamily formation. With regard to gender, previous research indicates that boys’ academic performance tends to be more sensitive to changes in family circumstances. We therefore expect the negative effects of stepfamily formation to be more pronounced among boys than among girls. We test these hypotheses using Norwegian register data. Employing individual fixed-effects models, we estimate within-child changes in school performance following stepfamily formation. Preliminary findings suggest that the educational gradient varies by parental education, with negative effects concentrated among children of less educated parents. There is also some indication of gender heterogeneity, as the adverse effects appear mainly for boys.

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 Presented in Session 5. Flash Session Parenthood, Childbearing, and Family Formation