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Abstract
In this analysis the ramifications of parents' multiple partner fertility for the trajectories of both married and unmarried stepfamilies are examined. Using a nationally representative sample of births to parents living in large cities, it was found that mother's children by prior partners are unrelated to subsequent relationship transitions within 5 years of a shared birth. However, men's other children are associated with an increase in the odds of dissolution among all couples and decrease the odds of marriage among the unmarried.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I thank Dan Lewis, Greg Duncan, Paula England, Jelani Mandara, and several anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions. In addition, I thank the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University for the support received as this manuscript was prepared.
Notes
Notes: (1) Multiple partner fertility measures are not mutually exclusive.
(2) Hispanic ethnicity is coded as it's own racial/ethnic group, mutually exclusive with black and white.
Notes: (1) Multiple partner fertility measures are not mutually exclusive.
(2) Hispanic ethnicity is coded as it's own racial/ethnic group, mutually exclusive with black and white.
Notes: (1) Multiple partner fertility measures are not mutually exclusive.
(2) Hispanic ethnicity is coded as it's own racial/ethnic group, mutually exclusive with black and white.
Notes: (1) Multiple partner fertility measures are not mutually exclusive.
(2) Hispanic ethnicity is coded as it's own racial/ethnic group, mutually exclusive with black and white.
Notes: (1) Multiple partner fertility measures are not mutually exclusive.
(2) Hispanic ethnicity is coded as it's own racial/ethnic group, mutually exclusive with black and white.
Notes: (1) Multiple partner fertility measures are not mutually exclusive.
(2) Hispanic ethnicity is coded as it's own racial/ethnic group, mutually exclusive with black and white.
The couple's relationship status is taken from constructed variables provided by the Center for Research on Child Well-being at Princeton. The construction of these variables was dependent on information reported by mothers about their marital status, cohabitation status, and, for unmarried mothers, how they describe their current relationship with the baby's father (choices at baseline for this final item included “romantically involved on a steady basis,” “involved in an on-again and off-again relationship,” “just friends,” “hardly ever talk to each other,” and “never talk to each other”). See Bendheim-Thoman (Citation2008) for additional details.
For information on the weights used and their construction, please see Carlson (Citation2008).
The only notable difference is that the interaction of mothers' children by prior partners and marriage is significant at 60 months.
This research was conducted before the author joined the U.S. Census Bureau. As such, the views expressed on statistical, methodological, technical, or operational issues are those of the author and not necessarily those of the U.S. Census Bureau.