Parenthood, childlessness and mental health in times of falling fertility
Our overarching aim is to understand how mental health is linked with reproduction among men and women.
About the project
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Project period: 01.08.2023 - 31.07.2027 (Active)
- Coordinating Institution: Norwegian Institute of Public Health
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Project Manager:
- Fartein Ask Torvik, Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
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Project Participants:
- Maria Lyster Andersen, Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
- Hans Fredrik Sunde, Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
- Eivind Ystrøm, Helse-, utviklings- og personlighetspsyk, University of Oslo
- Espen Røysamb, Helse-, utviklings- og personlighetspsyk, University of Oslo
- Kristin Gustavson, Helse-, utviklings- og personlighetspsyk, University of Oslo
- Helga Ask, Helse-, utviklings- og personlighetspsyk, University of Oslo
- Rannveig Kaldager Hart, Mental and Physical Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
- Øystein Kravdal, Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
- Jonas Minet Kinge, Department of Health Management and Health Economics, University of Oslo
- Martin Flatø, Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
- Alexandra Havdahl, Helse-, utviklings- og personlighetspsyk, University of Oslo
- Espen Moen Eilertsen, Helse-, utviklings- og personlighetspsyk, University of Oslo
Summary
Ingress: Finding a partner and having children are life-changing events and positively correlated with mental health. In the last decades, the proportion of childless individuals has increased. The potential consequences of these changes for the mental health of the population are unknown.
Our overarching aim is to understand how mental health is linked with reproduction among men and women. Our specific aims are to understand:
1. How mental health leads to selection into partnership and parenthood
2. The effects of reproduction on mental health
3. How patterns of partner selection influence mental health (assortative mating)
First, mental health may influence the probability of having a partner, the desire to have children, and economic conditions. Mental health as a determinant of fertility is understudied. We investigate how mental diagnoses and broad vulnerabilities influences marriage and parenthood, and how this may have changed over time. Second, reproduction could influence mental health, but studies on the effects of parenthood have short follow-up time or are not causally informative. We therefore triangulating several methods for causal inference and to determine how effects of parenthood and grandparenthood may vary by individual characteristics. Third, having children is a couple level phenomenon, but most intergenerational studies do not account for the fact that partners are often similar. The composition of couples can have consequences for the children through the amount of risk and protective factors they experience. Such effects are largely unexplored. We will therefore assess the consequences of assortative mating on mental health.
We use register data on the entire population of Norway that includes longitudinal information on kinship, mental health, education, and economic activity. In addition, we use survey and genomic data from ~230 000 individuals in The Nord-Trøndelag Health Study. We apply a toolbox of epidemiological, genetic, and econometric methods.
This project will lead to an increased understanding of selection into parenthood and the causes of mental disorders. Of particular importance, we provide knowledge on the mental health of non-parents, a group that is often overlooked.
Project participants
Project leader: Fartein Ask Torvik, NIPH
Start: 01.08.2023
End: 31.07.2027
Project owner: NIPH