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Stratification in American Family: Single, Cohabiting, or Married at the Birth of a First Child

Cunningham, Anna
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1275500044

Abstract Details

2010, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Sociology.
The latter half of the twentieth century has ushered in substantial changes in the institution of the American family. The declining significance of marriage and the increasing prevalence of cohabitation in recent decades, both features of even broader economic and social shifts, have reshaped the life course pathways of today’s young adults. Through most of the 20th Century, across all socio-economic groups, the normative life course pathway in the U.S. prescribed marriage followed by parenthood. However, as young adults delay or forgo marriage, cohabitation and non-marital childbearing have become more prevalent. Although marriage is still viewed as the ideal entrée to parenthood among most young adults, a substantial share of the population forms families outside of marital unions. Currently, nearly 40 percent of all U.S. births occur outside of marriage, and half of these births are to cohabiting couples (Mincieli et al., 2007). The percentage of those born to single parents or unmarried cohabiting parents raises questions about the present state and future trajectory of American families. Although ample research has addressed the sweeping family changes of the last few decades, cohabitation’s place in U.S. family systems and cycles has been under-explored. I contribute to this research using the life course perspective to compare individuals across cohorts about their family formation behaviors. I explore the mechanisms that may have contributed to different behaviors within and across generations. Specifically, I examine the relationship contexts of never married women’s first conceptions, and their subsequent union transitions following a first non-marital pregnancy. I then explore the correlations between diverse childhood family experiences and adulthood behaviors. My results suggest that cohabitation is beginning to play a prominent role in the stratification of the American family. The life course pathway’s of today’s young adults are increasingly divided by race and educational attainment. While college educated White women mostly follow the traditional pathway of marriage followed by childbearing, less educated Whites are increasingly having children while cohabiting. On the other hand, Black women increasingly have children outside of any co-residential arrangement. Indeed, rapid social change has a profound effect on women’s union choice and timing of childbearing. Because the relationship and family trajectories of today’s young adults continue to evolve and life course pathways are growing more complex, the results of this dissertation suggest the need for additional research into the rapidly changing American family.
Zhenchao Qian (Advisor)
Liana Sayer (Committee Member)
Claire Kamp Dush (Committee Member)
161 p.
Sociology
cohabitation; non-marital childbearing; family change

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Cunningham, A. (2010). Stratification in American Family: Single, Cohabiting, or Married at the Birth of a First Child [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1275500044

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Cunningham, Anna. Stratification in American Family: Single, Cohabiting, or Married at the Birth of a First Child. 2010. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1275500044.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Cunningham, Anna. "Stratification in American Family: Single, Cohabiting, or Married at the Birth of a First Child." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1275500044

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.