Volume 36 - Article 61 | Pages 1859–1888  

The change in single mothers’ educational gradient over time in Spain

By Anna Garriga, Clara Cortina

This article is part of the Special Collection 21 „Separation, Divorce, Repartnering, and Remarriage around the World“

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.

Author’s Affiliation

• Anna Garriga - Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain EMAIL
• Clara Cortina - Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain EMAIL

Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research

Pathways and obstacles to parenthood among women in same-sex couples in Spain
Volume 50 - Article 35

Mixed marriages between immigrants and natives in Spain: The gendered effect of marriage market constraints
Volume 39 - Article 1

Change and continuity in the fertility of unpartnered women in Latin America, 1980–2010
Volume 38 - Article 51

The contributions of childbearing within marriage and within consensual union to fertility in Latin America, 1980-2010
Volume 34 - Article 29

Mother’s educational level and single motherhood: Comparing Spain and Italy
Volume 33 - Article 42

Changes in educational assortative mating in contemporary Spain
Volume 14 - Article 17

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