Parents whose eldest child is a girl are more likely to divorce

De nombreuses raisons peuvent provoquer une séparation et, pour les couples qui sont parents, les désaccords sur l'éducation des enfants jouent parfois un rôle important. Ce serait d'autant plus le cas si le premier enfant est une fille, indiquent deux économistes dans une étude publiée dans la revue The Economic Journal.

Having a daughter first increases the risk of separating

The two researchers have gathered several American and Dutch studies.In the Netherlands, we see that having a daughter first rather than a son increases the probability of 5 % on average when the child is between 13 and 18 years old.There is a peak when the teenager is 15 years old, since the risk then increases by 9 %.In the United States, the authors did not find so much data, but they could still see that the risk of separation was doubled.

Disputes on education at the heart of the problem

Previous studies have shown that the personal choices of a teenager (clothing, frequentations...) were a subject of tension for parents.Questioned by The Economist, Jan Kabatek, economist at the University of Melbourne (Australia) and editor of this new research, advances a track to explain for the parents of a teenager are more likely to separate.According to him, parents would argue more about education methods when they have a daughter than when they have a boy.And more particularly, when one of them considers that they should not educate a child in the same way according to his sex.

Fathers communicate more when they have a sister

In couples whose eldest child is a girl, the risk of separation increases.On the other hand, in this same situation, he decreases if the father has a sister.In this case, it would seem that this facilitates the dialogue between him and his partner, as well as with his daughter.