The family lives of children of immigrants in Norway

New groups of young migrant-background individuals are entering family formation ages each year. Using register data, this project addresses the family behaviors of the children of immigrants (i.e., the second generation and childhood migrants). We investigate pathways into families, patterns of partner choice, and demographic and socioeconomic consequences of these behaviors. Cohabitation is currently the most common pathway to first partnerships for all groups: 57% of the second generation and three-quarters of childhood migrants choose cohabitation, compared with more than 9 in 10 of natives and those with one immigrant and one native parent. The native-born children of one or two immigrants, and those immigrating as small children, are less likely to marry directly than teen migrants. Those originating from Asia, Middle East and North Africa, and Eastern Europe are most marriage prone, whereas South-Americans and Europeans are most cohabitation prone. Women of most origins and generations more often marry compared with men, and this gender gap is largest among those originating from Middle East and North Africa. The chance of marrying decreased across the study period (2005-2019) for all groups. Among the children of immigrants, cohabitation became more prevalent. The children of immigrants from the ten largest countries of origin present in Norway are more likely than natives to form families via a marriage than a nonmarital first birth, the modal pathway into family life in Norway. However, those who form families via a nonmarital first birth also follow the majority timing pattern, regardless of background or generation. Second-generation individuals originating from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Iran and Vietnam and men of Turkish origin, more often follow the Nordic late marriage pattern than immigrants from the same countries. Comparable analyses from Sweden confirmed this pattern among the daughters of immigrants from Asia, Middle East and North Africa, and Eastern Europe. Nonmarital childbearing is followed by lower incomes among migrant-background men. Among women income differences by family formation types are small. In Norway and Sweden, the children of immigrants who marry natives postpone first marriage compared to those who marry endogamously (spouse originating from the same world region). However, among those who marry endogamously, those with one or two immigrant parents postpone first marriage compared to immigrants. The children of immigrants who cohabit more often have a majority partner than those who marry directly. Second-generation individuals and immigrants arriving as small children are less likely to form endogamous (same country background) first unions, and more likely to form exogamous first unions (different country background or majority partner), than teen migrants. The children of immigrants residing in counties with a higher share of people originating from the same country have lower chances of forming exogamous, and higher chances of forming endogamous, first unions. Further, less traditional marital behavior in the country of origin increases the chance of choosing cohabitation and reduces the chance of marrying endogamously. Norms and behaviors in countries of origin are, in other words, still important, even among the native born and those who arrived in Norway as children. Endogamous cohabiting couples are less likely to separate than exogamous couples. Cohabiting couples involving natives are least likely to marry, confirming that cohabitation often is as an alternative to marriage among majority Norwegians. Endogamous married migrant-background couples have lower divorce rates than exogamous couples. The chance of a first birth is highest for the children of immigrants in endogamous unions. While there is generally a positive correlation between one's own and the partner's labor market participation and first births, we do not find such a pattern among the children of immigrants. Among second-generation women, fertility is high even among those who themselves or their partner are not employed nor under education. Second-generation individuals of non-Western origin, especially women, who "brought" a spouse from their country of origin, have lower annual incomes than those who marry a person from the country of origin who was already a Norwegian resident. The children of immigrants partnering natives have higher individual and household incomes than those with a migrant-background partner, especially those in endogamous unions. We find a similar pattern in marital and cohabiting unions, but the association between partner choice and earnings was stronger among the married. Having an immigrant-background partner negatively affects the income development of female descendants. Among male descendants there is a positive effect of having an immigrant-background partner on the household income in the years following union formation.

Prosjektet har gitt ny kunnskap om hele populasjonen av barn av innvandrere i Norge. Vi har i tillegg brukt registerdata om samboerskap, en så langt lite utnyttet datakilde i forskning og statistikkproduksjon. Samboerskap er i dag den vanligste veien inn i samliv for alle grupper, og samlivstypen har blitt mer utbredt blant barn av innvandrere i løpet av 2000-tallet. Dette peker i retning av at barn av innvandrere i økende grad følger det rådende norske samlivsmønsteret. At norskfødte med innvandrerforeldre oftere inngår samliv med en majoritetspartner enn innvandrere, tyder på økende tilpasning over tid. Terskelen for å krysse grenser i valg av partner er lavere i samboerskap enn i ekteskap. Samtidig har det å ha en majoritetspartner en positiv effekt på inntektsutviklingen til barn av innvandrere. Dette understreker at samboerskap og eksogame partnervalg ikke bare er tegn på sosial integrering, men også kan være gunstig for økonomisk integrering.

To date, European studies of the immigrant population's family formation behavior have mostly considered first-generation immigrants. The children of immigrants born in their countries of residence, on the other hand, have been so young that only a vague impression of their patterns of family formation has been gained so far. Although Norway is a comparatively "new" country of immigration, large groups of children of immigrants born in Norway are currently entering family formation ages. To better understand the adaptation of migrant-background populations, this project addresses the family behavior of second-generation immigrants using all-encompassing Norwegian register data, providing new insights by including unmarried cohabitation and immigrant-background individuals from a wide array of countries-of-origin. By comparing the behaviors of the second-generation with those of their parental generation, we aim to increase our understanding of changes across time. We propose three research topics, each dealing with different aspects of the family behavior of the second-generation and their demographic and socioeconomic implications, grasping the increasing diversity of family life in Norway. First, we investigate the timing and mode of entry into family life and subsequent partnership transitions, as well as partner choice in marital and cohabiting unions, thus getting closer to a complete picture of the family lives of the children of immigrants. In a second research topic, we assess the importance of exogamous and endogamous partner choices for fertility behavior and union dissolutions. Finally, as family behavior is not only a measure of social integration, but also potentially influences economic integration processes, we address socioeconomic implications of early family formation and endogamous partner choices. Notably, we assess differences across migrant generations and gender, providing essential knowledge about mechanisms of integration.