Gina Potarca

University of Geneva | UNIGE · Institute of Demography and Socio-Economics/ NCCR LIVES

Using a large-scale sample of online daters in eight European countries (N = 196,777), we examine willingness to stepparent among divorcees in relation to both gender and number of children, as well as a set of contextual determinants. We find evidence that having one’s own resident children increases the readiness to partner someone with children....

There is currently little knowledge about what gay men and lesbians seek in a romantic relationship. This study extends the literature on gay men and lesbians' partnership preferences by engaging in the first large-scale empirical study of the long-term dating intentions and monogamy beliefs of gay and lesbian online daters across 53 regions in 8 E...

Knowledge about how race governs partner selection has been predominantly studied in the United States, yet it is unclear whether these results can be generalized to nations with different racial and immigration patterns. Using a large-scale sample of online daters in nine European countries, we engage in the first cross-national analysis of race-r...

This study examines family formation trajectories as a manifestation of the second demographic transition (SDT) in three countries, comparing and contrasting two post-socialist countries (Romania and the Russian Federation) with France as benchmark country advanced in the SDT. By examining combined partnership and fertility sequences and transcendi...

Online dating has modified how people find and select partners. In addition to outcomes already observed (e.g., exogamy), we argue that by subverting normative dating scripts, online courtship practices may set the course for partnerships that display more egalitarian divisions of routine household labor. This may be particularly true for the marri...

Both public social assistance and private child and spousal support reduce the poverty risks of single parent households. However, research on system interactions has highlighted that social assistance eligibility is often denied for households that have a private support order. Such public‐private substitution reduces social expenditures but under...

Owing to educational expansion, women are now increasingly over-represented in higher education. Faced with diminished opportunities to homogamously match, a rising number of women opt for lower educated partners (female hypogamy). Up to now, patterns of women’s mental health across educational sorting configurations have remained largely undocumen...

Digital technologies govern a large part of our social lives, including the pursuit of a romantic partner. Despite recent inquiries into the social consequences of meeting online, what remains unclear is how the link between education and union formation varies in online versus offline meeting contexts, particularly on the backdrop of growing educa...

Research on the consequences of intermarriage is almost exclusively looking at immigrants’ labour market outcomes, with little attention given to non-economic indicators. Drawing from set-point theory and taking on a dynamic approach, the authors examine whether having a different- versus a same-origin partner is subject to a selection on life sati...

Within the span of almost ten years, phone dating apps have transformed the dating scene by normalizing and, according to some voices, gamifying the digital quest for a partner. Despite amplified discussion on how swipe-based apps damage the fabric of intimate ties, scientific accounts on whether they have led to different relationship patterns are...

Several factors explain the native-immigrant gap in well-being frequently found among adolescents and young adults. First, discrimination and integration challenges impact the psychological health of immigrants of all ages. Though rarely studied, low parental well-being is transmitted thereby also deteriorating youth well-being. Second, individuals...

Background: Immigrants and their descendants often marry a co-ethnic partner despite the abundance of native-born marriage candidates. The prevalence of co-ethnic marriages and intermarriage among migrants is influenced by their integration level and cultural background as much as individual preferences and structural factors. Objective: This paper...

The current evidence on immigrant health in Europe is mixed, with some studies indicating a healthy migrant effect, and others pointing out that immigrants experience worse health outcomes compared to natives. Very few studies however have investigated the potential existence of a migrant health paradox in Switzerland, a country with one of the hig...

p>Background The Swiss context Trends across origin groups Marital union formation Marital dissolution Trends across birth cohort Marital union formation Marital dissolution 3 Data and methods 3.1 Data source 3.2 Measurement of variables 3.3 Analytical plan 4 4.1 4.2 4.2.1 4.2.1.1 4.2.1.2 4.2.2 4.2.2.1 4.2.2.2 4.3 Results Descriptive results Multiv...

p>The current evidence on immigrant health in Europe is mixed, with some studies indicating a healthy migrant effect, and others pointing out that immigrants experience worse health outcomes compared to natives. Very few studies however have investigated the potential existence of a migrant health paradox in Switzerland, a country with one of the h...

According to status-caste exchange theory, intermarriages involve transactions in which higher educated immigrants trade status for the ethnic advantage of the less-educated native partners. Looking at 2 836 currently married Swiss immigrants, we find that the highly skilled “exchange” their status only when pairing with a medium-educated native. R...

Whether having children improves our well-being is a long-standing topic of debate. Demographic and sociological research has investigated changes in individuals’ overall well-being and partnership satisfaction when they become parents. However, little is known about how becoming parent may produce vulnerability—observable as an enduring decrease i...

Mixed marriages are defined as marriages between two individuals of different origins. The predominance of such marriages indicates the social and cultural distance between the native population, on the one hand, and different immigrant groups, on the other. In this report, we examine how common and how stable mixed marriages are in Switzerland by...

p>The Cross-Cutting Issue 1 (CCI1 Dynamics of stress and resources across life domains) hosted a one-day workshop that aimed to bring together researchers in the field of interdependent life domains and well-being to share ideas and experiences of work in this topic. The session specifically explored: - the changes that certain life course transiti...

p>This study investigates the formation of mixed marriages in seven European countries: the United Kingdom, France, Romania, Switzerland, Estonia, Belgium and Spain. While there is a growing interest in the spread and stability of mixed marriages, little research investigates inter-ethnic unions from a comparative perspective. Using individual-leve...

Although finding a partner online has surged, there is limited knowledge about the characteristics and preferences of individuals. In particular, racial background is a strong determinant of partner selection and a barometer of race relations. The aim of this study is to extend existing research on interracial unions by examining racial homophily a...

The aim of this study is to extend existing research on interracial unions by examining racial homophily and exclusion in online dating preferences. We analyze data from 9 countries (Germany, The Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, Spain, France, and Poland) (N= 100,817), distinguishing between majority- (i.e., European) and minority-...

This study examines family formation trajectories as a manifestation of the second demographic transition (SDT) in three countries, comparing and contrasting two post-socialist countries (Romania and the Russian Federation) with France as benchmark country advanced in the SDT. By examining combined partnership and fertility sequences and transcendi...