This project is a collaboration with Prof. Regina Werum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (USA). Based on time use data for the years 2012 and 2013 surveyed in the US and Germany, we address the question in which ways different welfare states and economic conditions in both countries shape how parents of minor children spend their time and how they invest into the next generation. By analyzing differentiated time use patterns of couples and lone parents, the project aims at a better understanding of gendered and social class reproduction dynamics. It is assumed that family structure and family-based practices play a key role in social reproduction in both societies but in different ways. Since neither the American nor the German Time Use Surveys are (fully) integrated in the Multinational Time Use Study (https://www.mtusdata.org/mtus/about.shtml), a prerequisite for the project is a harmonization of the samples and of the activity schemes in both data sets.

This project uses longitudinal data to analyse family development and partnership dynamics over the life course.

Publications:

Gawron, Annegret and Nadja Milewski (2024), Migration, Partner Selection, and Fertility in Germany: How Many Children are Born in Mixed Unions?, in: European Journal of Population 40(1), article number 24.

Gawron, Annegret and Sarah Carol (2023), Immigrants’ Life Satisfaction in Intermarriages with Natives: A Family Life Course Perspective, in: International Migration Review 57(3), pp. 1069-1098.

Braack, Mirko K., Milewski, Nadja and Heike Trappe (2022), Crossing Social Boundaries in an Immigration Context: Exogamy and Gendered Employment Patterns in Unions in Germany, in: Gender Issues 39(2), pp. 142-176.

Konietzka, Dirk, Feldhaus, Michael, Kreyenfeld, Michaela and Heike Trappe (2021), Family and Intimate Relationships, in: B. Hollstein, R. Greshoff, U. Schimank, A. Weiß (Eds.), Soziologie - Sociology in the German-Speaking World (Special Issue Soziologische Revue 2020). München: De Gruyter Oldenbourg, pp. 99-116.

Köppen, Katjain and Heike Trappe (2019), The Gendered Division of Labor and Its Perceived Fairness: Implications for Childbearing in Germany, in: Demographic Research, 40(48), pp. 1413-1440.

Morosow, Kathrin and Heike Trappe (2018), Intergenerational Transmission of Fertility Timing in Germany, in: Demographic Research, 38(46), pp. 1389-1422.

Kuhnt, Anne-Kristin, Kreyenfeld, Michaela and Heike Trappe (2017), Fertility Ideals of Women and Men Across the Life Course, in: M. Kreyenfeld, D. Konietzka (Eds.), Childlessness in Europe: Contexts, Causes, and Consequences. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 235-251.

Kuhnt, Anne-Kristin and Heike Trappe (2016), Channels of Social Influence on the Realization of Short-term Fertility Intentions in Germany, in: Advances in Life Course Research, 27(1), pp. 16-29.

Trappe, H. (2016). Vom Wunsch zum Kind. Eine stabile Beziehung ist in Deutschland der wichtigste Faktor bei der Entscheidung für ein Kind. Demografische Forschung aus erster Hand, 13(3), 4.

Trappe, Heike, Pollmann-Schult, Matthias and Christian Schmitt (2015), The Rise and Decline of the Male Breadwinner Model: Institutional Underpinnings and Future Expectations, in: European Sociological Review 31(2), pp. 230-242.

Trappe, Heike und Katja Köppen (2014), Familienkulturen in Ost- und Westdeutschland: Zum Gerechtigkeitsempfinden der Arbeitsteilung innerhalb der Partnerschaft, in: A. Steinbach, M. Hennig, O. Arránz Becker (Hrsg.), Familie im Fokus der Wissenschaft. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, S. 257-297.

Gawron, Annegret (2025), Migrant Family Ties and Mixed Unions: The Impact of Selecting Native Partners on Conflicts with Parents, in: Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, pp. 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2025.2481988 

2010 and 2017: This is a teaching research project that was carried out as part of a research internship together with students from the Bachelor's degree programmes in Sociology and Social Sciences at the Institute of Sociology and Demography at the University of Rostock in 2010 and 2017.

The right to custody. Separated fathers who have custody see their child more oftenThis project, which is being carried out jointly with Prof Michaela Kreyenfeld, Dr Esther Geisler (both Hertie School of Governance, Berlin) and Dr Katja Köppen, aims to comprehensively analyse the life situation of fathers who do not live with their biological children. The project is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) (duration April 2015 - June 2018).

This project focuses on fathers who are separated from the mothers of their children. The aims are a) to record the quantitative significance of fathers who have separated in a cross-sectional and longitudinal manner, b) to map the partnership and fertility dynamics of fathers who have separated, c) to determine the influence of partnership and fertility dynamics, as well as the structure of parental care, on the father-child relationship, and d) to analyse paternal well-being as a function of father-child contact. The Relationship and Family Panel (pairfam) and the East German supplementary sample DemoDiff, as well as the microcensus, the socio-economic panel and the study ‘Growing up in Germany: Everyday Worlds’ (AID:A), serve as the main data basis for this project. The motivation for this research project - besides the socio-political relevance of the topic - is the fact that there have been no comprehensive quantitative studies on this subject in Germany to date, whereas it has been comprehensively analysed in English-speaking countries. Against the background of different legal and welfare state frameworks, our project aims to close this research gap.

Publications:

Schneider, J. (2022). Vaterschaft nach Trennung und Scheidung: Eine qualitative Untersuchung für den Großraum Rostock. Baden-Baden: Ergon-Verlag.

Köppen, K. (2020). Das geteilte Kind: Getrennte Eltern sind nicht unbedingt zufriedener, wenn sie ihr Kind im gleichen Umfang betreuen. Demografische Forschung aus erster Hand, 17(3), 4.

Kreyenfeld, M., & Trappe, H. (Eds.). (2020). Parental Life Courses after Separation and Divorce in Europe. Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Kreyenfeld, M., & Trappe, H. (2020). Introduction: Parental Life Courses after Separation and Divorce in Europe. In M. Kreyenfeld & H. Trappe (Eds.), Parental Life Courses after Separation and Divorce in Europe (pp. 3-21). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Köppen, K., Kreyenfeld, M., & Trappe, H. (2020). Gender Differences in Parental Well-being After Separation: Does Shared Parenting Matter? In M. Kreyenfeld & H. Trappe (Eds.), Parental Life Courses after Separation and Divorce in Europe (pp. 235-264). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Köppen, K. (2018). Das Recht zur Sorge. Getrennt lebende Väter, die das Sorgerecht haben, sehen ihr Kind häufiger. Demografische Forschung aus erster Hand, 15(3), 3.

Köppen, K., Kreyenfeld, M., & Trappe, H. (2018). Loose Ties? Determinants of Father–Child Contact after Separation in Germany. Journal of Marriage and Family, 80(5), 1163-1175.

Köppen, K., Kreyenfeld, M., & Trappe, H. (2018). Data Manual for the Construction of Variables from the German Family Panel: Child Residence, Father-Child Contact and Past Union Histories. http://www.pairfam.de/fileadmin/user_upload/redakteur/publis/Dokumentation/Manuals/Manual_Koeppen_et_al._2018_pairfam.pdf.

Geisler, Esther, Köppen, Katja, Kreyenfeld, Michaela, Trappe, Heike und Matthias Pollmann-Schult (2018), Familien nach Trennung und Scheidung in Deutschland, Berlin, Rostock, Magdeburg: Hertie School of Governance, Universität Rostock, Universität Magdeburg https://opendata.uni-halle.de//handle/1981185920/11281).

Kreyenfeld, M., Geisler, E., Castro Martín, T., Hannemann, T., Heintz-Martin, V., Jalovaara, M. Kulu, H., Meggiolaro, S. Mortelmans, D., Pasteels, I., Seiz, M. & Solaz, A. (2017). Social Policies, Separation, and Second Birth Spacing in Western Europe. Demographic Research, 37(37), 1245-1274.

Kreyenfeld, Michaela and Sonja Bastin (2016), Reliability of Union Histories in Social Science Surveys: Blurred Memory, Deliberate Misreporting, or True Tales? in: Advances in Life Course Research, 27(1), 30-42.

Public relations work:

Studie der Uni Rostock: Väter bleiben nach einer Trennung wichtig. Schweriner Volkszeitung am 11.01.2021.

Universität Rostock legt Studie zu „Abwesenden Vätern“ vor. Universität Rostock am 19.06.2020.

Divorce and separation trends in European countries. Hertie School am 10.06.2020.

Social scientists from Rostock, Berlin and Magdeburg analyse separation and divorce patterns of couples with children. University of Rostock on 18 May 2018.

Trennungsväter - die unbekannten Wesen. Ostseezeitung am 25.06.2013.

Collaboration in the working group "Gender-Research" at the University of Rostock in the organisation of interdisciplinary colloquia and publication of conference proceedings. Previous publications:

• Popular culture - Gender - Spaces for action
• Migration - Gender - Life paths
• Body - Gender - Perception
• Gender - Generation - Age(ing)
• Gender differences - and no end?

2007 - 2008: This is a teaching-research-project that was carried out as part of a research internship together with students on the Bachelor's degree programmes in Sociology and Social Sciences at the Institute of Sociology and Demography at the University of Rostock.

2005 - 2007: In this cooperation project with Prof Annemette Sørensen - formerly Stanford University, USA, now retired - the aim was to investigate how the economic position of women and men changes over the course of a partnership and to identify which socio-structural and other factors are decisive for these changes.

Publications:

• Trappe, Heike and Annemette Sørensen (2005), Economic Relations between Women and Their Partners: An East-West-German Comparison after Reunification, in: DIW Discussion Papers 544, Berlin: German Institute for Economic Research.
• Trappe, Heike and Annemette Sørensen (2006), Economic Relations between Women and Their Partners: An East and West German Comparison after Reunification, in: Feminist Economics 12(4), pp. 643-665.
• Trappe, Heike (2009), Der partnerschaftliche Kontext und die Reproduktion von Geschlechterungleichheit, in: H. Ehlers, H. Kahlert u.a. (Hrsg.), Geschlechterdifferenz – und kein Ende? Sozial- und geisteswissenschaftliche Beiträge zur Geschlechterforschung, Berlin: LIT Verlag, S. 231-250.

2012: Co-editor of Special Issue 9 of the Journal of Family Research ‘Family and Partnership in East and West Germany: Similar and yet still different.’

2008 - 2013: In this international comparative project - led by Prof. Lynn Prince Cooke, University of Bath, UK - the effects of the division of employment and family work within partnerships on the risk of separation and divorce are being investigated. Social scientists from 11 countries are involved in the project. The project is funded by the Leverhulme Trust (International Network Grant F/00236/AA).

Publications:

• Schmitt, Christian und Heike Trappe (2010), Die Bedeutung von Geschlechterarrangements für Partnerschaftsdauer und Ehestabilität in Ost- und Westdeutschland, in: P. Krause, I. Ostner (Hrsg.), Leben in Ost- und Westdeutschland: Eine sozialwissenschaftliche Bilanz der deutschen Einheit 1990-2010, Frankfurt/New York, Campus Verlag, S. 227-243.
• Cooke, Lynn Prince, Jani Erola, Marie Evertsson, Michael Gähler, Juho Härkönen, Belinda Hewitt, Marika Jalovaara, Man-Yee Kan, Torkild Hovde Lyngstad, Letizia Mencarini, Jean-Francois Mignot, Dimitri Mortelmans, Anne-Rigt Poortman, Christian Schmitt and Heike Trappe (2013), "Labor and Love: Wives' Employment and Divorce Risk in its Socio-Political Context." Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society.

2010: The issue of the Zeitschrift für Familienforschung focusing on this topic was co-edited by Christian Schmitt and Heike Trappe (Issue 3/2010).

This project, carried out together with Dr. Nadja Milewski, is dedicated to examining the publication practices of the most renowned German-language sociological journals (Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, Zeitschrift für Soziologie) in relation to gender, status and the proportion of ‘invisible’ work. The background to our interest is the universally perceptible change in the framework conditions of (social) scientific work. Parallel to the increase in the proportion of women at all hierarchical levels, the time required for administrative activities has increased, the scope of scientific services (e.g. evaluations) has risen and committee work has changed. The following question is addressed on the basis of the analysis of a self-generated data set: Is the increase in the proportion of women in the social sciences accompanied by an increase in their visibility as measured by publications and editorships? Are there gender-specific publication practices (e.g. sole authorship, constellation with superiors)? Do women perform a disproportionately high share of ‘invisible’ work (operationalised as reviewing specialist articles)? Are there changes over the last 20 years and differences between the two journals?

Publications:

Trappe, Heike und Nadja Milewski (2023), Vom Alleinautor zum gemischten Doppel? Geschlecht, Status und Sichtbarkeit in der Publikationspraxis führender deutscher Soziologiezeitschriften, in: Zeitschrift für Soziologie 52(3), S. 227-246.

2007 - 2008: As part of this project, an expert report was compiled for the Federal Institute for Population Research on the basis of the Generations and Gender Survey.  In preparation for the project, a workshop was held at the University of Rostock in November 2007 on the topic of ‘Housework and Parenting in Couple Relationships’.

Project manager:

• Prof. Dr. Heike Trappe

Project staff:

• Dipl.-Demogr. Annelene Wengler
• Dipl.-Soziol. Christian Schmitt

Student assistant:

• Anne-Kristin Kuhnt

Duration:

• 2007/2008

Cooperation partner:

• Bundesinstitut für Bevölkerungsforschung (BiB)

Description:

The aim of the project ‘Gendering in parental tasks’ is to take a closer look at the changes in the gender-specific division of labour in the household. Of particular interest here are:

1. Changes over time since the post-war period, across different birth cohorts.
2. Changes in the life course.
3. The extent to which the division of household labour has changed and in which areas.
4. Who takes on which tasks in the household and in bringing up and caring for children.

The underlying ‘Generation and Gender Survey’ (GGS) provides a solid basis for these questions, as relevant information on the division of tasks in the household was collected for the respondents and their respective partners. A representative population sample of women and men aged between 18 and 79 was surveyed for the GGS in 2005. In addition to questions on fertility and intergenerational relationships, questions were also asked about the division of labour in the home and satisfaction with the division of tasks and partnership.

2011: "Marriage and Cohabitation in western Germany and France." This project is the dissertation completed by Katja Köppen at the University of Rostock.

2009: "The Effects of Labour Market Participation on Fertility Decisions: Gender Differences in Cross-National Perspective." This project is the dissertation written by Christian Schmitt at the University of Bielefeld.

2010 - 2013: Fathers receiving parental allowance: This project is dedicated to the parental allowance received by fathers in a couple context. On the one hand, it looks at the reasons why fathers receive parental allowance. Secondly, based on parental allowance data from three selected federal states (Bavaria, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Schleswig-Holstein), the question of how the partnership context of fathers differs in terms of the duration of parental allowance receipt is investigated.

Publications:

• Trappe, Heike (2013), Väter mit Elterngeldbezug: Nichts als ökonomisches Kalkül?, in: Zeitschrift für Soziologie 42(1): 28-51.
• Trappe, Heike (2013), Väterzeit – das Elterngeld als Beschleuniger von Gleichstellung?, in: Zeitschrift für Familienforschung/Journal of Family Research 25(2): 238-264.
• Trappe, Heike (2013), Väter mit Elterngeldbezug: zur Relevanz sozialstruktureller und ökonomischer Charakteristika im Partnerschaftskontext, in: Gender Sonderheft 2: 165-191.
• Trappe, Heike (2013), Alles nur Berechnung? Wenn Väter in Elternzeit gehen, stecken dahinter oft auch materielle Überlegungen, in: Demografische Forschung aus erster Hand 10(3), S. 3.