Enduring links
Mental health effects of ex-partner’s life events among separated parents
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24146136 |
|---|---|
| Authors | P Dierker (0000-0002-5038-7157, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research), Marlu Kühn (0000-0001-8252-7903, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research), Sanna Kailaheimo-Lönnqvist (0000-0001-5238-0277, Helsinki Institute for Demography and Population Health, University of Helsinki , Helsinki), Mikko Myrskylä (0000-0003-4995-027X, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-09-22 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Forces (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0037-7732 • E-ISSN: 1534-7605 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1093/sf/soag141 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 81 |
Union dissolutions between parents do not necessarily end interdependencies between them. This study examines whether life events of ex-partners with a shared child affect each other’s mental health, extending life course theory on linked lives beyond intact families. Using Finnish population register data from 1987 to 2020 and panel data methods, including two-way fixed effects and dynamic difference-in-differences models, the analysis follows separated parents of minor children and tracks psychotropic medication purchases as an indicator of mental health. The findings reveal that ex-partners’ stepfamily formation events, like re-partnering and childbirth, are followed by modest improvements in mental health, whereas adverse health events experienced by the ex-partner, including cancer diagnosis and death, lead to declines in mental health, particularly among mothers. More distant life events, like the ex-partner’s parent’s death, show no consistent associations. The results demonstrate that parents’ lives remain interdependent after union dissolution, thereby extending the linked lives concept within the life course framework to encompass post-separation family ties.
The life course cube
Families as Systems
Difference-in-Differences with multiple time periods
Estimating dynamic treatment effects in event studies with heterogeneous treatment effects
Post-separation Care Arrangements and Parents’ Life Satisfaction
Cumulative Stress of Single Mothers - An Exploration of Potential Risk Factors
Shared Care and Mothers’ Post-separation Economic Wellbeing in Finland and Wisconsin, US
Joint Physical Custody and Adolescents’ Life Satisfaction in 37 North American and European Countries
Bereavement & mental health
The Emergence and Development of Life Course Theory
Gender, Emotions, and Mental Health in the United States
Parental union dissolution and children’s emotional and behavioral problems
Stepfamily formation and the educational outcomes of children in Sweden
Relationality and linked lives during transitions to parenthood in Europe
Joint physical custody and mothers’ life satisfaction in Belgium, Finland, and Germany
Equally, but in our own way”
Widowhood and Depression
Kinkeeping Across Families
The effect of grandparents’ economic, cultural, and social capital on grandchildren's educational success
Sharing care and sharing costs? Child support and child-related expense-sharing post-separation in Finland and Wisconsin, US
Geographical Distances Between Separated Parents
Parental Separation and Children’s Education—Changes Over Time
Understanding Diversity in the Meaning of Cohabitation Across Europe
Does Re-Partnering Behavior Spread Among Former Spouses
De-standardization of Family-Life Trajectories of Young Adults
Wives and ex-wives
Happiness
Lags and Leads in Life Satisfaction
Joint physical custody of children in Europe
Father-Child Relations after Divorce in Four European Countries
A Theory of Social Comparison Processes
Family Relationships and Well-Being
Time, Human Agency, and Social Change
New Partners, More Kids
Toward a Theory of Role Accumulation
Divorce and changes in the prevalence of psychotropic medication use
The effects of marriage and separation on the psychotropic medication use of non-married cohabiters
Take a sad song and make it better
Role-Accumulation and Mental Health across the Life Course
The Ties that Bind
Mental and Physical Health Trajectories of Norwegian Parents and Children before and after Union Dissolution
Couples' Subjective Well-Being Around Live Birth and Pregnancy Loss
The Role of Family Complexity in Mental and Physical Health in Mid-Adulthood
Life-table representations of family dynamics in the 21st century
Trajectories of Paternal Contact After Parental Separation
Postdivorce Coparenting Relationships and Parent-Youth Relationships
New Intimate Relationships in Later Life
Parental Death and Mid-adulthood Depressive Symptoms
Social Relationships and Health
Selective re-partnering? Mental health and life satisfaction among separated single mothers in Germany and the UK
Social Relationships and Health Behavior Across the Life Course
Re-partnering and single mothers' mental health and life satisfaction trajectories
Rethinking maternal gatekeeping from a life-course perspective
Gender Gap in Repartnering
Repartnering Following Divorce
Families in the Life Course
Parental union dissolution and the gender revolution
Non-resident Father-Child Contact across Divorce Cohorts
Revisiting the Relationships among Gender, Marital Status, and Mental Health
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |