Pathways to a Stable Union? Pregnancy and Childbearing Among Cohabiting and Married Couples

Daniel T. Lichter (), Katherine Michelmore, Richard N. Turner and Sharon Sassler
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Daniel T. Lichter: Cornell University
Katherine Michelmore: Syracuse University
Richard N. Turner: Mississippi State University
Sharon Sassler: Cornell University

Population Research and Policy Review, 2016, vol. 35, issue 3, No 5, 377-399

Abstract: Abstract 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 also suggest that the most committed cohabiting couples got married after finding themselves pregnant, leaving behind the most dissolution-prone cohabiting couples. The American family system is being transformed by newly emerging patterns of fertility among cohabiting couples.

Keywords: Post-conception union; Shotgun marriage; Cohabitation; Non-marital pregnancy; Unintended pregnancy; Marriage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11113-016-9392-2

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