Authors
Daniel T Lichter, Katherine Michelmore, Richard N Turner, Sharon Sassler
Publication date
2016/6
Journal
Population Research and Policy Review
Volume
35
Pages
377-399
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Description
This study analyzes the stability of cohabiting and marital unions following a first birth. But unlike previous research, it compares the subsequent trajectories of unions that began with a pregnancy to those in which conceptions came after coresidence. The U.S. data from the 2006–2010 and 2011–2013 cross-sectional files of the National Survey of Family Growth indicate that roughly 1-in-5 first births were associated with rapid transitions from conception into either cohabitation or marriage. Moving in together following a pregnancy—especially an unintended one—is unlikely to lead to marital success or union stability. Compared with marital unions, dissolution rates following birth were particularly high for couples who entered a cohabiting union following conception. Only a small minority of these couples married (i.e., less than one-third), and these marriages experienced high dissolution rates. The results …
Total citations
20172018201920202021202220232024279994215
Scholar articles
DT Lichter, K Michelmore, RN Turner, S Sassler - Population Research and Policy Review, 2016