Does the Field of Study Affect Entry into Motherhood? Evidence from Italy
- * Population Review
- * Vol. 59, Number 1, 2020
Differences in the transition to first motherhood in Italy have usually been explained using women’s educational attainment, income, or employment instability. Our aim is to analyse whether, and how, entries into motherhood also vary by field of study. Drawing on the Indagine Longitudinale delle Famiglie Italiane (ILFI) up to 2005, we ran discrete-time hazard rate models. The results show that in Italy highly educated women trained in science and technology are not the least prone to enter into motherhood. Rather, three distinct groups of women emerge: a) those with a general upper secondary diploma and with a degree in medicine, who are the least likely to become first-time mothers; b) those with a degree in teaching and psychology, who are the most likely to become mothers; c) those trained in all other fields, who show no difference in timing to first birth. Thus, the woman’s level and type of education seem to matter much less than what has been found in other countries. In a context with still relatively traditional gender roles and family formation processes, and with relatively weak returns to education, education appears to matter most in the transition to first union.
Population Review
Type: Article, pp. 1-25
Does the Field of Study Affect Entry into Motherhood? Evidence from Italy
Authors: Cristina Solera, Teresa Martín-García
Affiliations: University of Turin and Collegio Carlo Alberto, Italy (Solera); Spanish Council for Scientific Research, Spain (Martín-García)
Corresponding author/address: Cristina Solera, University of Turin, Department of Culture, Politics and Society, Lungo Dora Siena 100/A, 10153 Turin (Italy); email: [email protected]
Abstract
Differences in the transition to first motherhood in Italy have usually been explained using women’s educational attainment, income, or employment instability. Our aim is to analyse whether, and how, entries into motherhood also vary by field of study. Drawing on the Indagine Longitudinale delle Famiglie Italiane (ILFI) up to 2005, we ran discrete-time hazard rate models. The results show that in Italy highly educated women trained in science and technology are not the least prone to enter into motherhood. Rather, three distinct groups of women emerge: a) those with a general upper secondary diploma and with a degree in medicine, who are the least likely to become first-time mothers; b) those with a degree in teaching and psychology, who are the most likely to become mothers; c) those trained in all other fields, who show no difference in timing to first birth. Thus, the woman’s level and type of education seem to matter much less than what has been found in other countries. In a context with still relatively traditional gender roles and family formation processes, and with relatively weak returns to education, education appears to matter most in the transition to first union.
Keywords
Fertility, first-birth, education, field of study, Italy
© 2020 Sociological Demography Press
MLA
Solera, Cristina and Teresa Martín-García. “Does the Field of Study Affect Entry into Motherhood? Evidence from Italy.” Population Review, vol. 59 no. 1, 2020. Project MUSE muse.jhu.edu/article/747561.
APA
Solera, C., & Martín-García, T. (2020). Does the Field of Study Affect Entry into Motherhood? Evidence from Italy. Population Review 59(1), https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/747561.
Chicago
Solera, Cristina, and Teresa Martín-García. “Does the Field of Study Affect Entry into Motherhood? Evidence from Italy.” Population Review 59, no. 1 (2020) https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/747561.
Endnote
TY – JOUR T1 – Does the Field of Study Affect Entry into Motherhood? Evidence from Italy A1 – Solera, Cristina A1 – Martín-García, Teresa JF – Population Review VL – 59 IS – 1 PY – 2020 PB – Sociological Demography Press SN – 1549-0955 UR – https://muse.jhu.edu/article/747561 N1 – Volume 59, Number 1, 2020 ER –
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