Ronald R. Rindfuss

Cohabitation: A Precursor to Marriage or an Alternative to Being Single?

Using data from the U.S. National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 the article compares noncohabiting singles cohabitors and married individuals in terms of such characteristics as marriage and childbearing plans participation in the labor force home ownership and financial independence from parents. In almost all comparisons the cohabitors are substantially more similar to the singles than to the married. The increased popularity of cohabitation can be viewed as another indicator of the long-term rise of individualism in modern society. (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA) (EXCERPT)

Why do people postpone parenthood? Reasons and social policy incentives

BACKGROUND Never before have parents in most Western societies had their first children as late as in recent decades. What are the central reasons for postponement? What is known about the link between the delay of childbearing and social policy incentives to counter these trends? This review engages in a systematic analysis of existing evidence to extract the maximum amount of knowledge about the reasons for birth postponement and the effectiveness of social policy incentives. METHODS The review followed the PRISMA procedure, with literature searches conducted in relevant demographic, social science and medical science databases (SocINDEX, Econlit, PopLine, Medline) and located via other sources. The search focused on subjects related to childbearing behaviour, postponement and family policies. National, international and individual-level data sources were also used to present summary statistics. RESULTS There is clear empirical evidence of the postponement of the first child. Central reasons are the rise of effective contraception, increases in womens education and labour market participation, value changes, gender equity, partnership changes, housing conditions, economic uncertainty and the absence of supportive family policies. Evidence shows that some social policies can be effective in countering postponement. CONCLUSIONS The postponement of first births has implications on the ability of women to conceive and parents to produce additional offspring. Massive postponement is attributed to the clash between the optimal biological period for women to have children with obtaining additional education and building a career. A growing body of literature shows that female employment and childrearing can be combined when the reduction in work-family conflict is facilitated by policy intervention.

Disorder in the Life Course: How Common and Does It Matter?:

In this paper we explore the patterning of early adulthood by examining the ordering of activities that make up nonfamily careers and how that ordering affects the timing of family transitions in particular the transition to parenthood. Data are from the U.S. National Longitudinal Survey of the High School Class of 1972 and its follow-ups. (EXCERPT)

Education and the changing age pattern of American fertility: 1963-1989.

Using pooled data from the 1980, 1985, and 1990 Current Population Surveys, we describe fertility trends by age and education for the period 1963–1989. Interest focuses on whether the effects of education have changed across this period. We show that women with college degrees experienced dramatic shifts toward later ages of childbearing. This shift is consistent with arguments we develop about the increased opportunity for women to pursue careers and about changes in the availability of child care

First births in America: changes in the timing of parenthood.

Americans today are becoming parents at older ages; more of them are also remaining childless. This book addresses what causes some members of the population to choose delay or permanent childlessness how far they pervade American society and how their parenthood schedules compare with those in other developed countries. The authors bring a wide variety of data sources to bear on the question of whether these delays will be greater and permanent childlessness more widespread in the future; they employ vital registration data cross-sectional studies and longitudinal surveys. It is concluded that few young Americans intend to remain childless but that the competition of educational and career goals and the presence of unfavorable economic conditions lead to postponement of childbearing. Similar parenthood schedules were recorded during the Great Depression. The authors refute the prediction that present trends will continue in the future. Strong period effects have occurred and are likely to occur again; they are unpredictable by their very nature. Although period changes in parenthood timing appear to affect virtually all sectors of the American population there are also important exceptions. Recent divergence between white and black behavior is 1 and the persistence of very early parenthood in both good and poor times is another. Contrasts with Japan show that the parenthood schedules of contemporary Americans are not an inevitable outcome of the forces of economic development and modernization. Rather the American pattern is 1 possible response that is consistent with its culture institutions and past history.

Education and fertility: implications for the roles women occupy.

The interplay between education and fertility has a significant influence on the roles women occupy, when in their life cycle they occupy these roles, and the length of time spent in these roles. The overall inverse relationship between education and fertility is well known; but little is known about the theoretical and empirical basis of this relationship. This paper explores the theoretical linkages between education and fertility and examines the relationships between the 2 at 3 stages in the life cycle. It is found that the reciprocal relationship between education and age at 1st birth is dominated by the effect from education to age at 1st birth with only a trivial effect in the other direction. Once the process of childbearing has begun, education has essentially no direct effect on fertility; but it has a large indirect effect through age at 1st birth.

Marital disruption: structural and temporal dimensions

Relying heavily on Ryders (1965) argument concerning the central role of cohorts in social change and on Elders (1978) work on life cycles, this paper integrates the disparate threads of the current marital disruption literature and provides an integrated framework for subsequent analysis. We focus on the study of intracohort life cycle development and comparative cohort careers. Our framework incorporates both elements simultaneously. Using 1980 Current Population Survey data and conditional logit analysis, this framework allows us to make refined statements about which marriage cohorts are most affected by given variables and where within the cohorts life cycle they act. For instance, we show that both the timing of the marriage and maritally conceived births affect the likelihood of disruption in all cohorts and at all marital durations observed. In contrast, the wifes level of education and a premarital birth affect the likelihood of marital disruption only at early marital durations. Such variable patterns of effects along the temporal dimensions of cohort and duration provide important clues to the mechanisms by which these variables influence marital disruption.

Childrearing and Fertility

The authors of this book chapter argue that fertility may increase if there is any relaxation or easing of the tension between work responsibilities and child rearing in industrialized countries. This article identifies a variety of factors that are likely to influence the extent to which mother and worker roles are compatible. The review suggests that improved child care arrangements may mediate between work and fertility but may not always result in increased fertility. Costs of child care average in the US about 10% of gross family income for families with children aged under 5 years and 20% for poor single parent families. The emotional costs of relying on an alternative caretaker may be high. Women in the US may be sensitive to the negative attitudes toward working mothers. Comprehensive maternal leave policies and cash benefits do not directly encourage fertility. Both men and women work for a variety of reasons. The article presents empirical evidence largely from the US although there are examples from Germany and France. There are methodological and data availability gaps in childbearing motivation that account for the limited analysis on US fertility-related effects of changes in the social organization of work and child care. It is assumed that there is a motivation to have children and that it varies with changes in the social organization of work and child care. Three types of work-child rearing contexts are distinguished: simultaneous work and child rearing tasks; incompatible work roles and child rearing; and simultaneous market work and other child care arrangements. The coordination of these roles and the impact on fertility are discussed in terms of job characteristics the sequencing of work and family roles costs access to child care attitudes toward working mothers norms on child care and diffusion.

Age and marital status at first birth and the pace of subsequent fertility

Taking care to minimize the truncation bias inherent in cross-sectional data and controlling for other variables, this paper demonstrates the strong effects of both age and marital status at first birth on the pace of subsequent fertility. These effects are particularly strong in the interval immediately following the first birth but persist even into the fourth interval. Important differences are found with respect to the experience of rapid fertility, rather than in the mean lengths of intervals. These results add to the growing attention to the social dimensions of age as a variable in fertility processes.

The changing impact of religion on the sexual and contraceptive behavior of adolescent women in the United States

This study examined the relationship between religion and adolescent sexual and contraceptive behaviors in the US. Data were obtained from the 1982 and 1988 Cycles of the National Survey of Family Growth among a sample of women 15-44 years of age. Models examined the determinants of risk of intercourse and contraceptive use only for women who were virgins at the start of the 4-year period preceding each survey. Findings indicate few religious differences in the likelihood of virginity retention among Whites in 1982. By 1988 there were large religious differences in risk of intercourse. White fundamentalists were able to reverse trends and increase the likelihood of retaining virginity. Among fundamentalist Blacks 50% were more likely to remain virgins regardless of time period. Denomination influenced contraceptive choice at first intercourse and the effects differed by race. White Catholics and fundamentalists were less likely to use any method at first intercourse than other religions. Most women who used a method relied on condoms at first intercourse. Fundamentalists were the most likely to use the pill. Black Catholics were more likely to use the pill and Blacks of other religions tended to use the condom. 62% of Whites and 60% of Blacks aged 15-19 years used contraception especially the pill at the most recent intercourse. 60% of White adolescents and only 46% of Blacks used contraception at first intercourse. Denomination or attendance had little effect on current contraceptive behavior among White teens. Findings suggest that the effects of denomination on the risk of intercourse and contraceptive use initially were not maintained after first intercourse.