Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-fwgfc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-10T18:27:36.386Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Pioneers of the Modern Lifestyle?

Childless Couples in the Early-Twentieth-Century Netherlands

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 January 2016

Jan Van Bavel  and
Jan Kok
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In many Western countries, including the Netherlands, couples marrying in the interwar period experienced unprecedentedly high levels of childlessness. Only recently do we witness a return to these levels, as part and parcel of the so-called second demographic transition. Looking back on the interwar period, many scholars have attributed the decline of fertility and the increase of childlessness to rampant economic and political instability. However, contemporary social scientists ascribed the phenomenon to individualization, secularization, and the priority newlywed couples gave to a career and a luxurious lifestyle. From this perspective, childless couples in the interwar period could be seen as “pioneers” of the second demographic transition. To disentangle “traditional” and “modern” backgrounds of childlessness, we have studied the fertility histories of nearly 3,000 Dutch couples married between 1919 and 1938. Our results, in particular the strong association of childlessness with religiously mixed marriage, confirm that an important part of childlessness in the interwar period can be associated with a modern, individualized lifestyle.

Type
Articles
Information
Social Science History , Volume 34 , Issue 1 , Spring 2010 , pp. 47 - 72
Copyright
Copyright © Social Science History Association 2010 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agresti, Alan (2002) Categorical Data Analysis. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Google Scholar
Anderton, Douglas L., and Bean, Lee L. (1985) “Birth spacing and fertility limitation: A behavioral analysis of a nineteenth-century frontier population.” Demography 22: 169–83.10.2307/2061176Google Scholar
Beekink, Erik, Boonstra, Onno, Engelen, Theo, and Hans, Knippenberg, eds. (2003) Nederland in verandering. Maatschappelijke ontwikkelingen in kaart gebracht, 1800–2000. Amsterdam: Aksant.Google Scholar
Billiet, Jaak (1997) “Pillarization,” in Shafritz, J. M. (ed.) International Encyclopedia of Public Policy and Administration, vol. 3. Boulder, CO: Westview: 64–81.Google Scholar
Buyst, Erik (2006) “Van industriële grootmacht tot de ‘zieke man’ van West-Europa,” in Van den Wijngaert, M. (ed.) België, een land in crisis, 1913–1950. Antwerp: Standaard: 121–73.Google Scholar
Carr-Saunders, Alexander M. (1936). World Population: Past Growth and Present Trends. Oxford: Clarendon.Google Scholar
Charles, Enid (1934) The Twilight of Parenthood. London: Watts.Google Scholar
Coontz, Stephanie (2005) Marriage, a History: From Obedience to Intimacy; or, How Love Conquered Marriage. New York: Viking.Google Scholar
David, Paul A., and Mroz, Thomas A. (1989a) “Evidence of fertility regulation among rural French villagers, 1749–1789: A sequential econometric model of birth-spacing behavior (part 1).” European Journal of Population 5: 1–26.Google Scholar
David, Paul A., and Mroz, Thomas A. (1989b) “Evidence of fertility regulation among rural French villagers, 1749–1789: A sequential econometric model of birth-spacing behavior (part 2).” European Journal of Population 5: 173–206.Google Scholar
Dykstra, Pearl A. (2009). “Childless old age,” in Uhlenberg, P. (ed.) International Handbook of Population Aging. Berlin: Springer: 671–90.Google Scholar
Dykstra, Pearl A., and Hagestad, Gunhild O. (2007) “Roads less taken: Developing a nuanced view of older adults without children.” Journal of Family Issues 28: 1275–1310.10.1177/0192513X07303822Google Scholar
Frejka, Tomas, and Sardon, Jean-Paul (2004) Childbearing Trends and Prospects in Low-Fertility Countries: A Cohort Analysis. Dordrecht: Kluwer.10.1007/1-4020-2458-4Google Scholar
Hagestad, Gunhild O., and Vaughn, R. A. (2007) “Pathways to childlessness: A life course perspective.” Journal of Family Issues 28: 1338–61.10.1177/0192513X07303836Google Scholar
Hakim, Catherine (2000) Work-Lifestyle Choices in the 21st Century: Preference Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Heaton, Tim B., Jacobson, Cardell K., and Holland, Kimberlee (1999) “Persistence and change in decisions to remain childless.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 61: 531–39.Google Scholar
Historical Sample of the Netherlands (2007) Release 2007.01. Database of life courses.Google Scholar
Hofstee, Evert W. (1981) Korte demografische geschiedenis van Nederland van 1800 tot heden. Haarlem: Fibula-Van Dishoeck.Google Scholar
Hondius, Dienke (2001) Gemengde huwelijken, gemengde gevoelens: Hoe Nederland omgaat met etnisch en religieus verschil. The Hague: Sdu Uitgevers.Google Scholar
Kim, Jae-On, and Mueller, Charles W. (1978) Factor Analysis: Statistical Methods and Practical Issues. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Kirk, Dudley (1946) Europe’s Population in the Interwar Years. Geneva: League of Nations.Google Scholar
Kok, Jan, and Bavel, Jan Van (2006) “Stemming the tide: Denomination and religiousness in the Dutch fertility transition, 1845–1945,” in Derosas, Renzo and van Poppel, Frans (eds.) Religion and the Decline of Fertility in the Western World. New York: Springer: 83–105.10.1007/1-4020-5190-5_5Google Scholar
Kreager, Philip (2004) “Where are the children?” in Kreager, P. and Schröder-Butterfill, E. (eds.) Ageing without Children: European and Asian Perspectives. Oxford: Berghahn: 1–45.Google Scholar
Landry, Adolphe (1934) La révolution démographique: Etudes et essais sur les problèmes de la population. Paris: Sirey.Google Scholar
Lesthaeghe, Ron (1977) The Decline of Belgian Fertility, 1800–1970. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Lesthaeghe, Ron (1995) “The second demographic transition in Western countries: An interpretation,” in Mason, K. O. and Jensen, A.-M. (eds.) Gender and Family Change in Industrialized Countries. Oxford: Clarendon: 17–62.Google Scholar
Lesthaeghe, Ron, and Surkyn, Johan (2007) “When history moves on: The foundations and diffusion of the second demographic transition,” in Jayakody, R., Thornton, A., and Axinn, W. (eds.) International Family Change: Ideational Perspectives. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum: 81–118.Google Scholar
Lesthaeghe, Ron, and van de Kaa, Dick J. (1986) “Twee demografische transities?” in Lesthaeghe, R. and van de Kaa, D. J. (eds.) Bevolking: Groei en krimp. Deventer: Van Loghum Slaterus: 9–24.Google Scholar
Mandemakers, Kees (2000) “The Netherlands: Historical Sample of the Netherlands,” in Hall, P. K., McCaa, R., and Thorvaldsen, G. (eds.) Handbook of International Historical Microdata for Population Research. Minneapolis: Minnesota Population Center: 149–77.Google Scholar
Mattessich, Paul W. (1979) “Childlessness and its correlates in historical perspective: A research note.” Journal of Family History 4: 299–307.10.1177/036319907900400304Google Scholar
McQuillan, Kevin (2004) “When does religion influence fertility?” Population and Development Review 30: 25–56.10.1111/j.1728-4457.2004.00002.xGoogle Scholar
Merlo, Rosangela, and Rowland, Donald T. (2000) “The prevalence of childlessness in Australia.” People and Place 8: 21–32.Google Scholar
Mombert, Paul (1929) Bevölkerungslehre. Jena: Fischer.Google Scholar
Morgan, S.Philip (1991) “Late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century childlessness.” American Journal of Sociology 97: 779–807.10.1086/229820Google Scholar
Myrdal, Alva (1941) Nation and Family: The Swedish Experiment in Democratic Family and Population Policy. New York: Harper.Google Scholar
Neels, Karel (2006) Reproductive Strategies in Belgian Fertility, 1930–1990. NIDI-CBGS Publications no. 38. Brussels: NIDI-CBGS.Google Scholar
Righart, Hans (1988) “Moraliseringsoffensief in Nederland in de periode 1850–1880,” in Peeters, H., Dresen-Coenders, L., and Brandenbarg, T. (eds.) Vijf eeuwen gezinsleven: Liefde, huwelijk en opvoeding in Nederland. Nijmegen: Socialistische Uitgeverij Nijmegen: 194–208.Google Scholar
Rowland, Donald T. (2007) “Historical trends in childlessness.” Journal of Family Issues 28: 1311–37.Google Scholar
Schot, Johan W. (2001) Techniek in Nederland in de twintigste eeuw. Vol. 4, Huishouden, Medische Techniek. Zutphen: Walburg Pers.Google Scholar
Snijders, Tom A. B., and Bosker, Roel J. (1999) Multilevel Analysis: An Introduction to Basic and Advanced Multilevel Modeling. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Szreter, Simon (1996) Fertility, Class, and Gender in Britain, 1860–1940. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Van Bavel, Jan (2003) “Birth spacing as a family strategy: Evidence from 19th-century Leuven, Belgium.” History of the Family 8: 585–604.10.1016/j.hisfam.2003.03.001Google Scholar
Van Bavel, Jan, and Kok, Jan (2004) “Birth spacing in the Netherlands: The effects of family composition, occupation, and religion on birth intervals, 1820–1885.” European Journal of Population 20: 119–40.Google Scholar
Van Bavel, Jan, and Kok, Jan (2005) “The role of religion in the Dutch fertility transition: Starting, spacing, and stopping in the heart of the Netherlands, 1845–1945.” Continuity and Change 20: 247–63.10.1017/S0268416005005473Google Scholar
Van Bavel, Jan, Kok, Jan, and Engelen, Theo (2008) “Hoge kinderloosheid tijdens het interbellum in Nederland: De rol van godsdienst, levensstandaard en economische crisis,” in Maas, I., van Leeuwen, M. H. D. , and Mandemakers, K. (eds.) Honderdvijftig jaar Levenslopen: De Historische Steekproef Nederlandse Bevolking. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press: 51–80.Google Scholar
Van Leeuwen, Marco H. D., Maas, Ineke, and Miles, Andrew (2002) HISCO: Historical International Standard Classification of Occupations. Leuven: Leuven University Press.Google Scholar
Van Leeuwen, Marco H. D.., Maas, Ineke, and Miles, Andrew (2005) Marriage Choices and Class Boundaries: Social Endogamy in History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar