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In this context, how individuals perceive their own and their partner\u2019s reproductive potential may carry important implications for well-being and relationship stability, long before clinical infertility is diagnosed. Drawing on 13 waves of longitudinal data from the German Family Panel (pairfam), this study uses individual fixed-effects models to examine how within-person changes in perceived fecundity \u2013 both one\u2019s own and one\u2019s partner\u2019s \u2013 are related to life satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, and union dissolution. By capturing both individual and partner assessments, this approach emphasizes the couple as the key unit of reproductive experience. Declines in both own and partner\u2019s perceived fecundity are associated with lower life and relationship satisfaction. However, perceptions of a partner\u2019s fecundity exert a stronger influence on relationship outcomes than self-perceptions. In particular, decreases in partner-perceived fecundity increase the risk of separation, a pattern not observed for changes in one\u2019s own fecundity. These associations do not vary significantly by gender but are moderated by parental status and age, with effects being weaker among parents and older individuals. By integrating both self- and partner assessments of fecundity, this study advances a dyadic, life course perspective on fertility. It shows that subjective reproductive potential functions as a relational stressor with meaningful consequences for emotional well-being and relationship trajectories.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1017\/s0021932026100625","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,9]],"date-time":"2026-07-09T10:33:31Z","timestamp":1783593211000},"page":"268-292","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Subjective biology: how perceived fecundity influences relationship satisfaction and stability"],"prefix":"10.1017","volume":"58","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3763-2568","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zafer","family":"Buyukkececi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00jzwgz36","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Ko\u00e7 University"},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02jgyam08","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Max-Planck-Institute for Demographic Research"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mine","family":"K\u00fchn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Tilburg University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Siri Eldevik","family":"Haberg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Norwegian Institute of Public Health Centre for Fertility and Health"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cecilia","family":"Ramlau-Hansen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Aarhus Universitet"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mikko","family":"Myrskyl\u00e4","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02jgyam08","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Max-Planck-Institute for Demographic Research"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"56","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"S0021932026100625_ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/humrep\/deh845"},{"key":"S0021932026100625_ref39","volume-title":"Childlessness in Europe: Contexts, Causes, and Consequences","author":"Konietzka","year":"2017"},{"key":"S0021932026100625_ref37","volume-title":"Whither the Child?","author":"Kohler","year":"2013"},{"key":"S0021932026100625_ref28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/3583213"},{"key":"S0021932026100625_ref52","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0192513X07300710"},{"key":"S0021932026100625_ref74","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0002716214531384"},{"key":"S0021932026100625_ref71","first-page":"499","article-title":"Is human fecundity changing? 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