Maria Lyster Andersen

• Ponkilainen, Maria; Einiö, Elina; Kolk, Martin; Fallesen, Peter; Torvik, Fartein Ask & Andersen, Maria Lyster [Vis alle 7 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2026). Changing Landscapes of Parenthood: Childbearing Among Same‐Sex and Different‐Sex Couples in the Nordic Countries. Population and Development Review. ISSN 0098-7921. doi: 10.1111/padr.70068. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Abstract The Nordic countries of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland were among the first countries to acknowledge same‐sex couples’ partnership and parenthood rights in their legislation. We explore trends over time in the share of female same‐sex and different‐sex couples that have children following their legal union and variation by socioeconomic status. Using harmonized register data, we assess couples’ likelihood of having a child over time, with a focus on education and income. We find strong increases in female couples’ likelihood of having a child, resulting in a sharply increasing prevalence, approaching near parity with different‐sex couples in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway around 2010. Finland diverges from the other countries in terms of its later and less steep increase. Higher education is associated with a higher likelihood of having a child, whereas we find a less clear gradient by income level. The results suggest that legal changes, together with more supportive wider cultural and normative societal environments, have made same‐sex parenthood more achievable in the Nordic countries. These changes are concurrent with the observed increase in parenthood. Following this increase, female couples today are nearly as likely as different‐sex couples to have children within a legal union.

• Andersen, Maria Lyster; Hart, Rannveig Kaldager; Sunde, Hans Fredrik; Davies, Neil Martin & Torvik, Fartein Ask (2026). The cost of caring: Gendered health and labor market effects of grandparenthood. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). ISSN 0027-8424. 123(22). doi: 10.1073/pnas.2535409123. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  While the effects of the transition to parenthood are well researched, less is known about how the transition to grandparenthood affects health and labor market outcomes. Using comprehensive Norwegian register data covering the entire population born between 1950 and 1960, we examine the effects of first-born grandchildren born during 2007–2018. Employing event-study models with person-year records, we compare grandparents to not-yet grandparents. Our findings reveal a sharp increase in the likelihood of respiratory infections during the first two years of grandparenthood, with infections increasing by 56% for women and 31% for men. Additionally, grandparenthood modestly reduces the likelihood of doctor’s visits related to mental disorders (4.5%) and cardiovascular health (3.3%). Grandmothers also see a decline in musculoskeletal-related visits (3.8%). These health-related changes coincide with notable gendered effects on labor market participation. Ten years after the birth of their first grandchild, employed women are 12% less likely to hold full-time positions compared to a 2% reduction for men. Overall, our findings demonstrate that the transition to grandparenthood significantly reshapes health and economic outcomes for both women and men. The larger effects observed for women likely reflect their greater involvement in informal childcare provision. Our results underscore the intersection of health, family dynamics, and gendered labor market behaviors in late adulthood.

• Andersen, Maria Lyster; Sunde, Hans Fredrik; Hart, Rannveig Kaldager & Torvik, Fartein Ask (2026). Parenthood and mental health throughout the life course: A total population study. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. ISSN 0933-7954. s. 1–14. doi: 10.1007/s00127-026-03091-7. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Do parents or childless adults have better mental health? The answer could vary by life phases, but past studies exploring the link between parenthood and mental health have not considered the entire life course. This study investigates the association between parenthood and mental health in an entire population and further looks at how parenthood interacts with factors such as age, gender, and socioeconomic status. We used comprehensive Norwegian register data covering the entire population aged 31–80 years old (N = 2,234,087) to explore the relationship between parenthood and mental health conditions from 2006 to 2019. We used logistic regression models for population-wide analyses and conditional logistic models for analyses of discordant same-sex sibling sets and monozygotic twin pairs. Parenthood was associated with a lower risk of mental disorders (OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.67–0.68 for women; OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.59–0.60 for men), including depressive and anxiety disorders. Fathers also had a minor reduction in risk of symptoms related to mental illness (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.97–0.98), while mothers had a slightly elevated risk of symptoms (OR 1.09, 95% CI 1.09–1.10). Overall, mental health disparities between parents and non-parents persisted throughout life and were more pronounced among men and those with low educational attainment. Our findings were consistent in sibling- and twin-matched analyses. Our findings highlight parenthood as a significant indicator of mental health inequalities throughout adulthood and old age.

• Ponkilainen, Maria; Einiö, Elina; Kolk, Martin; Fallesen, Peter; Torvik, Fartein Ask & Andersen, Maria Lyster [Vis alle 7 forfattere av denne artikkelen] (2025). Changing landscapes of parenthood: childbearing among same-sex and different-sex couples in the Nordic countries. Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. doi: 10.4054/mpidr-wp-2025-023. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Andersen, Maria Lyster; Hart, Rannveig Kaldager; Sunde, Hans Fredrik; Davies, Neil Martin & Torvik, Fartein Ask (2025). The Cost of Caring: Gendered Health and Labour Market Effects of Grandparenthood. Social Science Research Network (SSRN). doi: 10.2139/ssrn.5717325. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Andersen, Maria Lyster; Sunde, Hans Fredrik; Hart, Rannveig Kaldager & Torvik, Fartein Ask (2024). Parenthood, Mental Disorders, and Symptoms Through Adulthood: A Total Population Study. medRxiv. doi: 10.1101/2024.10.29.24315908. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv

Se alle arbeider i NVA

• Andersen, Maria Lyster (2026). Bestemor tar rekninga: – Kva skal eg med pengar når eg har barnebarn? [Internet]. NRK. doi: https:/www.nrk.no/vestland/ny-fhi-studie_-bestemodrer-jobbar-mindre-og-far-lagare-inntekt-1.17921211. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Andersen, Maria Lyster (2026). Bestemor tar regninga - FHI. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Bestemødre jobber mindre, får lavere inntekt, og oftere luftveisinfeksjoner. Men hun har færre psykiske plager sammenlignet med de på samme alder som ikke har fått barnebarn enda. Det viser en ny studie fra FHI.

• Andersen, Maria Lyster; Torvik, Fartein Ask; Hanevik, Hans Ivar; Bensnes, Simon Søbstad & Hart, Rannveig Kaldager (2026). Careers on Hold? Earnings, Sick Leave, and Mental Health after Assisted Reproduction. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Andersen, Maria Lyster (2025). The Cost of Caring: Gendered Health and Labour Market Effects of Grandparenthood. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Andersen, Maria Lyster (2024). Parenthood and Mental Health: from adulthood to old age. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Torvik, Fartein Ask; Sunde, Hans Fredrik; Andersen, Maria Lyster; Kinge, Jonas Minet & Nordmo, Magnus (2024). Sosial ulikhet, psykisk helse og genetikk. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Andersen, Maria Lyster; Torvik, Fartein Ask & Hart, Rannveig Kaldager (2026). Family Transitions, Mental Health, and Work: Evidence from Parenthood, Grandparenthood, and Assisted Reproduction in Norway. Universitetet i Oslo. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Many countries have experienced substantial declines in fertility, later transitions to parenthood, and increased use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART). These changes can matter for demographic patterns, but also for health, wellbeing, and labour market trajectories across the life course. Family formation may affect health and employment in different, potentially opposing, ways. Parenthood and grandparenthood can provide meaning and social support, but they may also involve stress, care responsibilities, and economic costs. Similarly, difficulties conceiving and undergoing fertility treatment might affect mental health and working life well beyond the treatment period. Yet we do not fully understand how these different experiences of family formation are associated with health and labour-market outcomes over the life course. Consequently, this thesis examines how different family formation processes relate to health, sick leave, and employment, with a particular focus on gender differences. The three papers of this thesis consider distinct but connected stages of the family life course: parenthood, grandparenthood, and infertility treatment. Paper 1 studies differences in mental health between parents and childless individuals across the full adult life course. Parents have a consistently lower risk of mental disorders than the childless, even when adjusting for important confounders such as socioeconomic status and marital status. We find the lowest risk of mental disorders among individuals who have not yet become parents. This suggests that the observed parent–childless gap at least partly reflects selection into parenthood rather than a protective causal effect of having children on mental health. Importantly, we also find differences in the association depending on the specific mental health condition studied, with certain symptoms such as stress more likely among parents. Paper 2 examines the causal effects of becoming a grandparent on health and labour market outcomes, again with particular attention to gender. The results show that grandparenthood affects both health and employment, although the magnitude and direction of effects vary across outcomes. Becoming a grandparent is associated with an increased risk of respiratory infections, a reduction in cardiovascular-related health care use, and a slightly lower risk of mental disorders. It also marks a clear transition in labour market attachment: both women and men become more likely to work part-time and experience reductions in income. The employment effects are substantially larger among grandmothers. These gender differences may reflect women’s greater involvement in informal childcare. (Paper 3: not published) Taken together, the three papers show that family formation is linked to health and working life in varying ways across the life course. The papers also illustrate how family formation reflects gendered processes. The thesis highlights the importance of selection into parenthood, identifies grandparenthood as a meaningful life-course transition with health and economic consequences, and shows that unsuccessful fertility treatment may have lasting effects on mental health and employment. By examining these processes together, the thesis shows that family formation is not only an isolated reproductive event, but also a potential source of gender differences and inequalities in health and economic wellbeing.

• Andersen, Maria Lyster; Reme, Bjørn-Atle & Wörn, Jonathan (2025). Thematic Issue of the Public Health Report 2025 – Mental Health of Children and Adolescents; Chapter 5: Social Inequalities in Mental Health Among Children and Adolescents. Folkehelseinstituttet. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Barn av foreldre med lav inntekt eller utdanning har økt risiko for å oppleve psykiske helseproblemer. Vi ser størst sosial ulikhet hos barn med ADHD, en diagnose som er vanlig i ung alder og blant gutter.

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