OBJECTIVE
A comprehensive and thorough investigation of the key trends in family patterns in Western Germany.

METHODS
Descriptive analyses of educational differences in marital status, cohabitation, partnerlessness, and children in the household in Western Germany from 1976 to 2019. We analyze unique data from the German Microcensus with information from more than 1.7 million individuals.

RESULTS
In the 1970s, men with higher education were moderately more likely to live with a partner and be married, and less likely to be divorced. The reverse was mainly the case for women. Over time, higher education levels for men and women became increasingly associated with living with a partner, being married, and living with children; lower levels of education became increasingly associated with divorce, partnerlessness, and single parenthood. Today, men with lower levels of education are least likely to live with a partner, be married, or have children in the household. Women with lower education levels are most likely to be single parents.

CONCLUSIONS
Education is turning more and more into a generalized life resource: those with higher education are not only the winners in the labor market but are also increasingly more likely to achieve those partnership and family outcomes to which the majority of young people aspire – a stable partnership and children.



中文翻译：

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家庭不平等：关于西德家庭模式不断变化的教育梯度（Ansgar Hudde，Henriette Engelhardt）

目标
对西德家庭模式的主要趋势进行全面彻底的调查。

方法
对 1976 年至 2019 年西德在婚姻状况、同居、无伴侣和家庭儿童方面的教育差异进行描述性分析。我们分析了来自德国微型人口普查的独特数据以及来自超过 170 万人的信息。

结果
在 20 世纪 70 年代，受过高等教育的男性更有可能与伴侣同居并结婚，而离婚的可能性更小。相反，主要是女性的情况。随着时间的推移，男性和女性的高等教育水平越来越多地与伴侣生活、结婚和生育孩子联系在一起；较低的教育水平越来越多地与离婚、无伴侣和单亲家庭联系在一起。今天，受教育程度较低的男性最不可能与伴侣同居、结婚或生孩子。受教育程度较低的女性最有可能成为单亲父母。

结论
教育越来越成为一种普遍的生活资源：受过高等教育的人不仅是劳动力市场的赢家，而且越来越有可能实现大多数年轻人渴望的伙伴关系和家庭成果——稳定的伙伴关系和孩子们。