Trends In Premarital Childbearing PDF Download

This report summarizes the current status and trends in nonmarital childbearing in the United States, and presents a series of supplemental papers by experts from social science disciplines. "Nonmarital Childbearing in the United States" (Kristin A. Moore) introduces the topic, indicating that nearly a third of all births in the country occurred outside of marriage in 1993. However, Americans are not having more babies; they are having fewer marriages. "The Demography of Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing" (Stephanie J. Ventura, Christine A. Bachrach, Laura Hill, Kelleen Kaye, Pamela Holcomb, and Elisa Koff) provides the statistics that support the discussion. The following expert papers provide commentary on aspects of the situation: (1) "The Retreat from Marriage and the Rise in Nonmarital Fertility" (Daniel T. Lichter); (2) "Family Structure and Nonmarital Fertility: Perspectives from Ethnographic Research" (Linda M. Burton); (3) "The Effect of the Welfare System on Nonmarital Childbearing" (Robert A. Moffitt); (4) "How Nonmarital Childbearing Is Affected by Neighborhoods, Marital Opportunities and Labor-Market Conditions" (Greg J. Duncan); (5) "Access to and Utilization of Preventative Services: Implications for Nonmarital Childbearing" (Martha R. Burt); (6) "Attitudes, Values, and Norms Related to Nonmarital Fertility" (Arland Thornton); (7) "Risk Factors for Adolescent Nonmarital Childbearing" (Brent C. Miller); (8) "The Consequences of Nonmarital Childbearing for Women, Children, and Society" (Sara S. McLanahan); and (9) "Strategies To Reduce Nonmarital Childbearing" (Theodora Doms). Appendixes present data tables and tables of fertility ratios. (Contains 68 figures, 58 references, 28 appendix tables, 4 tables, and 1 chart in the expert papers.) (SLD)