Ruth Eva Jørgensen

• Akimova, Evelina T.; Fauske, Agnes; Jørgensen, Ruth Eva; Havdahl, Alexandra; Corfield, Elizabeth Claire & Mills, Melinda C. [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2026). When children shape their families: Evocative effects analysis of 40,000 trios from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). ISSN 0027-8424. 123(30). doi: 10.1073/pnas.2532642123. Full text in Research Archive
• Jørgensen, Ruth Eva; Hootegem, Arno Van & Lyngstad, Torkild Hovde (2025). Parental Divorce and Children's Partnership Dynamics. Journal of Marriage and Family. ISSN 0022-2445. doi: 10.1111/jomf.70050. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Objective This study investigates the consequences of parental divorce on offspring's likelihood of entering and dissolving marital or cohabiting partnerships, assessing whether intergenerational associations are driven by causal processes, selection factors, or both. Background Children of divorced parents tend to enter partnerships earlier, are less likely to marry, and are more likely to dissolve their partnership. While environmental explanations often presume a causal impact of parental divorce, intergenerational transmission may also arise from selection factors, such as shared traits within families. Ignoring such confounding could overestimate intergenerational associations. Method Using longitudinal Norwegian population register data, this study triangulates two research designs. First, the adoption design compares relationship outcomes of adopted children (N = 2152) to a matched sample of Norwegian-born peers (N = 2152). Second, the children-of-twins design (N = 28,535) contrasts outcomes among offspring of monozygotic and dizygotic twins, leveraging variation in divorce status between and within twin pairs. Results Parental divorce has minimal influence on offspring's partnership formation but increases their risk of partnership dissolution. Both designs reveal selectivity in who experiences dissolution. The Children-of-Twin analysis provides evidence for a causal intergenerational transmission of partnership dissolution, while results from the adoption analysis do not provide clear support for a significant causal effect. Conclusion Parental divorce affects offspring's family behavior through both environmental and genetic pathways, contributing to the intergenerational transmission of divorce. Future research should specify and test the diverse causal mechanisms linking parental divorce to family dynamics.

• Jørgensen, Ruth Eva; Cheesman, Rosa Catherine Gillespie; Andreassen, Ole & Lyngstad, Torkild Hovde (2025). The Genetics of Partnership Dissolution. Sociological Science. 12, p. 76–96. doi: 10.15195/V12.A4. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  There is a genetic component to divorce risk, but little is known about which and how genetically influenced traits are involved. This study makes three major contributions to address these gaps. First, we link genetic data from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) to population register data and estimate the total influence of common genetic variants on partnership dissolution (N = 121, 408). Then, we identify heritable traits associated with partnership dissolution using event-history analysis and a broad set of polygenic indices. Finally, we assess whether associations are robust to controls for confounding in within-sibling models. Significant heritability estimates were found for both females (h2SNP = 0.09; SE = 0.01; p < 0.0001) and males (h2SNP = 0.03; SE = 0.01; p < 0.0001). Genetic dispositions for educational attainment and other sociodemographic factors decrease the probability of partnership dissolution, whereas dispositions for internalizing symptoms and risk behavior increase the likelihood of partnership dissolution. Integrating genetics and sociodemographic approaches can shed new light on the causes of partnership dynamics by helping us understand what drives the selection processes throughout the life course.

• Jørgensen, Ruth Eva & Lyngstad, Torkild Hovde (2024). Too little within-unit variation for fixed-effects analysis? – Authors’ reply. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. ISSN 1403-4948. doi: 10.1177/14034948241291130. Full text in Research Archive
• Jørgensen, Ruth Eva & Lyngstad, Torkild Hovde (2022). Does local income and wealth inequality affect mortality? A register-based fixed effects study of 58 million person-years. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. ISSN 1403-4948. doi: 10.1177/14034948221126264. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Aim: The Income Inequality Hypothesis asserts that income inequality causes negative health burdens within wealthy nations. We aimed to test the hypothesis in Norway, examining the relationship between both income and wealth inequality, net of individual economic resources, and individual all-cause mortality. To this day, little is known about the association between wealth inequality and mortality. In Norway, wealth is far more unequally distributed than income and can be a more prevalent indicator of long-term financial security. Methods: We estimated discrete-time event history models from Norwegian register data, covering all Norwegian-born men and women aged 25–84 years during the period 1993–2013. We include fixed effects at the municipal level, adjusting for time-invariant characteristics in the local area. Our data contain approximately 58.5 million person-year observations after sample restrictions. Results: Overall, increased income and wealth inequality (measured using Gini coefficients of individuals’ pensionable income and net worth) is not associated with higher mortality risk in Norway. With a one percentage point increase in income inequality, odds ratio (OR) for mortality was estimated at 0.998 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.996–1.001) for men and 1.002 (95% CI 0.999–1.006) for women. Corresponding OR from increased wealth inequality was 0.998 (95% CI 0.997–1.000) for men and 0.999 (95% CI 0.998–1.001) for women. Conclusions: Our results raise further doubts about the existence of a contextual effect of economic inequality on health, at least in a Nordic setting. Extensive health policies, relatively generous benefits and high levels of trust could potentially function as a buffer against negative health consequences of increased economic inequality in Norway.

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• Jørgensen, Ruth Eva (2026). Partnership Dissolution, Intergenerational Consequences, and Partner Influence: A Sociogenomic Perspective on Family Dynamics. Universitetet i Oslo. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This dissertation investigates relationship dynamics and their intergenerational consequences.The introductory chapters situate the four empirical papers within a multilevel theory of action, foregrounding how individual characteristics and social contexts jointly shape behavior. Drawing on large-scale Norwegian register data, polygenic indices, and quasi-experimental family designs, the studies examine both intra-couple and intergenerational relationships. The first two investigate genetic influences on partnership dissolution (I) and educational spillover effects on partners’ health outcomes (II). The latter two study whether parental partnership dissolution affects children's educational outcomes (III) and their own romantic relationships (IV). Together, the thesis highlights how individual differences and family environments shape life-course trajectories within and across generations, and demonstrates how genetically informed research designs can contribute to distinguishing environmental effects from selection.

• Halrynjo, Sigtona; Jørgensen, Ruth Eva & Vadla, Ingrid Høie (2021). Kjønn, karriere og omsorgsansvar blant jurister. Institutt for samfunnsforskning. ISSN 9788277637044. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Denne rapporten presenterer funn fra en spørreundersøkelse om kjønn, karriere og omsorgsansvar blant jurister, basert på svarene fra rundt 3400 yrkesaktive medlemmer av Norges Juristforbund. Juristene i studien har samme utdanningsbakgrunn, relativt like ambisjoner og et ideal om høy grad av likedeling av arbeid både ute og hjemme. Likevel finner vi et tydelig kjønnsskjevt mønster der juristfedre jobber i andre stillinger og tjener klart mer enn juristmødre. Kjønnsforskjellen kan ikke forklares med ulike ambisjoner eller ulike arbeid–familieidealer. 9 av 10 respondenter svarer at de har et ideal om likestilte småbarnsfamilier, hvor mor og far jobber like mye og deler likt på ansvaret hjemme. Den faktiske balansen mellom arbeid og familieliv ser imidlertid ut til å være kjønnsskjev allerede fra foreldrepermisjonen. Juristmødre svarer fortsatt i langt større grad enn fedre at de har hovedansvaret for omsorgsarbeidet i familien. De opplever også oftere at det er vanskelig å kombinere familiesituasjonen sin med stillinger som innebærer å måtte takle vedvarende høyt arbeidspress, generell arbeidsinnsats utover normalarbeidsuka, levere på kort varsel og være tilgjengelig for kunder. Disse lite familievennlige forventningene er klart mer utbredt i høytlønte jobber i privat sektor og på høyere stillingsnivå, og de er naturlig nok enklere å håndtere om man har en samboer/ektefelle som tar hovedansvaret hjemme. Når vi tar høyde for fordelingen av omsorgsansvaret på hjemmebane, er ikke kjønnsforskjellen i lønn statistisk signifikant lenger. Mønsteret av lite familievennlige forventninger og fortsatt kjønnsdelte betingelser på hjemmebane kan dermed ha betydning for hvem som har mulighet til å lykkes og trives i de krevende og høytlønte jobbene – uavhengig av individuell karriereorientering og preferanser for likedeling. Undersøkelsen kartlegger også juristenes erfaringer med å arbeide under covid-19-pandemien.

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