The intersection of partnership and fertility trajectories of immigrants and their descendants in the United Kingdom: a multilevel multistate event history approach

We study the interrelationship between partnership and fertility trajectories of immigrants and their descendants. Although there is a growing body of literature examining immigrant families in Europe, previous studies have analysed partnership changes and fertility separately. Using longitudinal data from the UK, we analyse the outcomes of unpartnered, cohabiting, and married women. We propose a multistate event-history approach, which allows for the joint analysis of repeated partnership and fertility transitions and the incorporation of different ‘clocks’. We found that the relationship between the partnership and fertility behaviours of immigrants and their descendants from geographically close countries (Europe/West) is similar to that of natives: many cohabit first and then have children and/or marry. By contrast, those from countries with conservative family behaviours (South Asia) marry first and then have (often three) children. Women from the Caribbean region exhibit the weakest link between partnership changes and fertility: some have births outside unions, some form a union and have children thereafter. Surprisingly, family patterns have remained relatively stable across migrant generations and birth cohorts. Our findings on immigrants support the socialisation hypothesis, whereas those on their descendants are in line with the minority subculture hypothesis.