Gender and Re-partnering after Divorce in Four Central European and Baltic Countries

• Published in: Sociologický časopis Vol. 51; no. 6; pp. 1023 - 1046
• Main Authors: Maslauskaite, Ausra, Baublyte, Mare
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Prague AV ČR Czech Academy of Sciences - Institute of Sociology 01.01.2015; AV ČR - Akademie věd České republiky - Sociologický ústav; Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences; Institute of Sociology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic
• Subjects: Age; Attractiveness; Baltic states; Central Europe; Divorce; Families & family life; Gender; Mothers; Parents & parenting; Partnering; Sex roles; Sexes; Sociology; Studies; Trends; Women; Baltic states; Central Europe; divorce; repartnering; gender culture; Central European countries; Baltic countries
• ISSN: 0038-0288; 2336-128X
• DOI: 10.13060/00380288.2015.51.6.227

This article analyses the demographic and social determinants of repartnering after divorce in four Baltic and Central European transition countries (Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, and Hungary), which, despite their common transition paths after the 1990s, developed distinct political economies and have different gender and family cultures. The article explores how the re-partnering chances of divorced women and men are shaped by the social divisions of gender, parenthood, age, and education within various transition- society contexts. In general, the findings support the argument about the relevance and mediating role of the societal context in the process of re-partnering. Although we found an overall gender disadvantage in re-partnering across all countries, in more traditional contexts, parenthood undermines the chances of re-partnering for women but not for men. The negative effect of older age for re-partnering after divorce is almost universal for men, but is context-sensitive for women. Education does not affect women’s chances of re-partnering, but it does play a significant role in the attractiveness of men in more traditional settings. The analysis is based on the partnership and parenthood histories recorded in the Generations and Gender Survey.