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Changes in Family Demography: Partnership Diversity in Later Life
👤Speaker: Huijing Wu (Assistant Research Fellow, Institute of European and American Studies, Academia Sinica)
👤Moderator: Chi-Tsun Chiu (Associate Research Fellow, Institute of European and American Studies, Academia Sinica)
📅Time: 23-6-2026 (Tue) 11:30
📍Venue: 1F, Conference Room, Institute of European and American Studies, Academia Sinica
🧾Abstract: Family demography explores broad issues such as changes in union formation, childbearing, and kinship ties, all of which are closely linked to population dynamics. Over the past decades, rapid changes in family demography have led to greater diversity in partnerships and family structures. For example, delayed marriage, declining fertility rates, and the rise of cohabitation reflect the increasing complexity of contemporary families. Moreover, the meanings and experiences of union formation and childbearing may differ between younger and older adults, suggesting diverse life-course trajectories. Together with various sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors, these demographic and family changes may influence individuals’ well-being, health, and social policies. This talk will first introduce key topics in family demography and discuss why studying family change is important for understanding challenges in contemporary society. Second, I will present a recently developed research project that examines how partnerships vary across the life course. Using data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, this research investigates partnership trajectories from young adulthood to later life, with a focus on individuals who have experienced nontraditional relationships in later life. Finally, the talk will discuss future research directions and propose a potential framework for comparing Western societies and Taiwan.