Cohabitation, post-conception unions, and the rise in nonmarital fertility.
The majority of U.S. nonmarital births today are to cohabiting couples. This study focuses on transitions to cohabitation or marriage among pregnant unmarried women during the period between conception and birth. Results using the newly-released 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth show that nonmarital pregnancy is a significant precursor to cohabitation before childbirth (18%), exceeding transitions to marriage (5%) by factor of over three. For pregnant women, the boundaries between singlehood, cohabitation, and marriage are highly fluid. The results also reveal substantial variation in post-conception cohabiting and marital unions; e.g., disproportionately low percentages of black single and cohabiting women transitioned into marriage, even when conventional social and economic risk factors are controlled. The multivariate analyses also point to persistent class differences in patterns of family formation, including patterns of cohabitation and marriage following conception. Poorly educated women, in particular, are much more likely to become pregnant as singles living alone or as partners in cohabiting unions. But compared with college-educated women, pregnancies are less likely to lead to either cohabitation or marriage. This paper highlights the conceptual and technical challenges involved in making unambiguous interpretations of nonmarital fertility during a period of rising nonmarital cohabitation.
['Lichter|Daniel T|DT|', 'Sassler|Sharon|S|', 'Turner|Richard N|RN|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D001741:African Americans D001723:Birth Rate D004522:Educational Status D005191:Family Characteristics D005260:Female D005298:Fertility D005306:Fertilization D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008393:Marriage D015999:Multivariate Analysis D011247:Pregnancy D012111:Residence Characteristics D012747:Sexual Partners D012923:Social Class D014481:United States D055815:Young Adult
Cohabitation Nonmarital fertility Marriage Childbearing Shotgun marriage Union transitions