Imbalance in numbers of eligible men and women created by WWII baby boom –
because women tend to marry older men
Imbalance in number of black men and women
o
Due to black men’s higher mortality rate
11/10/17
Why do people still get married?
Incentives
o
State, federal, and market benefits to those who marry
Social pressure
o
Via family ties, religious communities
Imitation
o
Most eventually marry
The benefits of marriage
Some research indicates that individuals who are married are happier, healthier, and
have more wealth than those who are not married
o
Selection
o
Social control
o
Social support and integration
Cohabitation
Living together as a sexual or romantic couple without being married
Percentage of women who have cohabitated
o
Women with less than high school education are the most likely to have
cohabitated, then high school only education is 2
nd
most likely
o
For all categories, cohabitation has increased since 1987, regardless of education
o
Those with more education are less likely to cohabitate
Relationship status
o
1 year in, most are cohabitating
o
3 years in, about 27% are still cohabitating
o
5 years in, 15% are still cohabitating
11/13/17
Cohabitation before marriage
most common form of cohabitation
seen as acceptable stage in relationship process – gives a chance to practice marriage
some couples may have plans to marry but never reach the economic goals they’ve set
for marriage
cohabitation instead of marriage
most common among economically disadvantaged couples
couples have various reasons for choosing cohabitation over marriage
o
one partner wants to marry the other doesn’t
o
if there are educational or racial/ethnic differences between partners
Cohabitation after marriage
among older adults, cohabitation is becoming more common among those who have
been widowed or divorced
less about viewing viability of relationship before marriage and more about finding long-
term substitute for marriage
Chapter 9: Families and Children
Childbearing in the US
most families have 1 to 3 children
o
average is 2
family size has been in decline but diversity has increased
o
more parents raising kids outside of marriage together
o
more single motherhood
Childbearing: Cohabitation
childbearing trends
o
about a third of unmarried parents are living together (cohabitating) at the time
of the birth
o
while fewer parents are married now than in the past, many children are
involved with more than two parents
o
the number of women reaching age 45 without having any children (20%) has
doubled since the 1980’s
childbearing: terms and concepts
fertility
o
the number of children born in a society or among a particular group
o
there are different ways to quantify fertility in a given society
total fertility rate (TFR)
o
the number of children born to the average woman in her lifetime
o
TFR of 2.1 referred to as
Replacement Fertility
Childbearing: unmarried parents
Unmarried parents
o
