The aim of this project is to describe and analyse the processes of union formation, union dissolution and family formation in the Netherlands since the early 19th century.
The project encompasses a number of subprojects all of which relate to the various stages of the family formation process: the ages at which couples are formed, the choice of spouse and factors which have an impact on this process, marital dissolution and remarriage, the reproductive process and the changes therein, and consequences for children in the Netherlands in the period 1815-1970. Various data sets are used with information on the individual and macro-level: complete collections of birth, death and marriage certificates, municipal population registers, genealogical data, published statistical data, and secondary literature.
In recent years attention has mainly focussed on
- Long-term changes in the geography of partner choice as an indicator of widening horizons of the Dutch population;
- Changing patterns of age homogamy in Europe;
- Kin networks and marriages between kin;
- Changing household and family structures during the demographic transition and their effects on children;
- Long-term fertility decline and the role of institutions.
Percentage children at age 15 in incomplete families, by year of birth and type of family
