With or without You. Partnership Context of First Conceptions in Hungary

Julia Mikolai, University of Southampton

Using notions from the Second Demographic Transition Theory and theories on economic and social disadvantage, we study how the risk of a first conception within different union types (single, cohabitation, marriage) is influenced by education and family values in Hungary and how these influences changed after the political transition in 1990. Additionally, we examine transition to marriage among women who experienced a non-marital conception. Using the first wave of the Hungarian Generations and Gender Survey we conduct discrete time survival analyses. We find that traditional and higher educated women are more likely to conceive within marriage while liberal and lower educated women are more likely to experience a non-marital conception; the impact of education was more important before 1990. Additionally, higher educated, pregnant, traditional women and those who experienced a single conception are more likely to marry. The role of premarital pregnancy in the transition to marriage was more important before 1990.