A large population study tracking about 1.75 million people born in the Netherlands between 1970 and 1980 has found strong links between parental divorce and adult family outcomes. The research shows that adults who experienced divorce in childhood tend to have fewer children and shorter marriages or long-term partnerships than those whose parents remained together.

Men from divorced families had about 13 percent fewer children, while women had about five percent fewer. They were also more likely to remain childless. Although women from divorced families had their first child an average of 0.75 years earlier and men 0.30 years earlier, their total number of successful births was still lower overall.

Relationships among adults who experienced parental divorce lasted about one year less on average, contributing to fewer births. The researchers emphasize that the findings show consistent associations but do not prove that divorce directly causes these outcomes. Differences may reflect learned values, conflict styles, attachment patterns, or other factors passed between generations, and the authors note that divorce can in some cases be preferable to remaining in an unhappy partnership.