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Expectations to Marry Among American YouthThe Effects of Unwed Fertility, Economic Activity, and CohabitationThe Ohio State University, gassanov.1{at}osu.edu
The Ohio State University
The Ohio State University Since welfare reform in 1996, marriage has been promoted as a means to reduce welfare dependency and out-of-wedlock childbearing. Despite extensive public and academic discourse surrounding marriage promotion, a basic factor preceding and predicting marriage—expectations to marry—has received little attention. Using insights from the life course perspective and data from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we explore the relationship between out-of-wedlock fertility and youths' expectations to marry within 5 years. We also consider the effect of economic activity (school and work) and cohabitation. We find that experiencing an unwed pregnancy or birth significantly increases youths' expectations to marry, as does being employed, out of school, and in a cohabiting relationship.
Key Words: expectations to marry youth parenthood pregnancy life course
This version was published on December
1, 2008 Youth & Society, Vol. 40, No. 2,
265-288 (2008) |
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