JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND THE FAMILY

United States of America (Minneapolis) 93

FEBRUARY 1996 - VOLUME 58, NUMBER 1

97.93.1 - English - Renate M. HOUTS, Department of Psychology, Kent State University, P. O. Box 5190, Kent, OH 44242-0001 (U.S.A.), Elliot ROBINS, The McGregor School of Antioch University, 800 Livermore St., Yellow Springs, OH 45387-1609 (U.S.A.), and Ted L. HUSTON, Department of Human Ecology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712-1097 (U.S.A.)

Compatibility and the development of premarital relationships (p. 7-20)

This study contributes to the literature on compatibility in courtship by seeking to identify empirical links between social homogamy, similarity in leisure interests and role performance preferences, and the dynamics of premarital relationships. Data were collected from 168 working-class and middle-class couples married for the first time in central Pennsylvania during the early 1980s. The more similar individuals' role performance preferences and .. leisure interests were to those of the other sex in the sample, the more compatible they were with the person they married. Assortative mating also was found with regard to social characteristics (age, education, religion), but such social similarity was related neither to similarity in couples' leisure interests nor to their role preferences, and, with one exception, social similarity was not significantly related to their courtship experiences and evaluations. Similarity in leisure interests and compatible role preferences however, were related both to partners' subjectives evaluations of their courtships (i.e., love, ambivalence) and to how they reportedly interacted with each other (i.e., conflict, efforts to enhance the quality of the relationship). In the conclusion, we place our findings within the context of previous writings on compatibility and mate selection and argue for the importance of establishing empirical linkages between various combinations of the partners' social and psychological attributes and their courtship experiences. (UNITED STATES, MATE SELECTION, SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY)

97.93.2 - English - Renata FORSTE, Department of Sociology, Brigham Young University, 852 Spencer W. Kimball Tower, Provo, UT 84602 (U.S.A.) (rtforste@acdl.byu.edu), and Koray TANFER, Battelle Memorial Institute, Center for Public Health Research and Evaluation, P. O. Box 5395, 4000 N. E. 41st St., Seattle, WA 98105-5428 (U.S.A.) (tanfer@battelle.org)

Sexual exclusivity among dating, cohabiting, and married women (p. 33-47)

Using sexual exclusivity as an indication of commitment to a partner, we examine commitment within dating, cohabitation, and marriage. Employing data from the National Survey of Women (1991), we find that cohabitation, in terms of sexual commitment, is more similar to dating than marriage, and that cohabitation, relative to marriage is selective of less committed individuals. In addition, limiting our analyses to currently married women, we find that the characteristics emphasized in partner selection by those who cohabit before marriage differ from the characteristics emphasized, by those who do not cohabit before marriage, and that these characteristics influence sexual exclusivity among prior cohabitors. (UNITED STATES, WOMEN, SEXUAL PERMISSIVENESS, MARRIAGE, PREMARITAL COHABITATION)

97.93.3 - English - R. S. OROPESA, Department of Sociology and Population Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, 601 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA 16802-6211 (U.S.A.)

Normative beliefs about marriage and cohabitation: A comparison of non-Latino Whites, Mexican Americans, and Puerto Ricans (p. 49-62)

Contemporary research on union formation in the United States largely focuses on how economic deprivation impinges upon union formation decisions by race. Union formation among specific Latino subgroups, particularly Mexican Americans, is relatively understudied. Mexican Americans are of special interest because they exhibit marriage behavior similar to that of non-Latino Whites, and have a relatively precarious economic existence. This directs attention to the normative foundations of marriage. Using the 1987-88 National Survey of Families and Households, this research examines normative beliefs about marriage and cohabitation among non-Latino Whites, Mexican Americans, and mainland Puerto Ricans. The results indicate that Mexican Americans tend to be more pronuptial than non-Latino Whites. They evaluate marriage more positively relative to singlehood, and marriage intentions significantly boost their approval of cohabitation. The former is particularly evident among the foreign born. Such differences cannot be explained fully by socioeconomic background or beliefs about nonmarital sex and childbearing. Puerto Ricans are least disapproving of cohabitation in the absence of plans to marry, primarily because of their beliefs about nonmarital sex and childbearing. (UNITED STATES, ETHNIC GROUPS, COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS, MARRIAGE, COHABITATION, SOCIAL NORMS)

97.93.4 - English - Wendy D. MANNING, Department of Sociology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403 (U.S.A.), and Nancy S. LANDALE, Department of Sociology and Population Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, 601 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA 16802 (U.S.A.)

Racial and ethnic differences in the role of cohabitation in premarital childbearing (p. 63-77)

The research reported in this article focuses on the role of cohabitation in premarital childbearing among U.S. women. Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households and the New York Fertility, Employment and Migration Survey, we examine the influence of cohabitation on the likelihood of premarital pregnancy and the decision to marry between premarital conception and birth. Our analyses show marked racial and ethnic differences in the role of the cohabiting union in family building. Although cohabitation increases the rate of premarital pregnancy for all women, its effect is much greater among Puerto Rians than among non-Hispanic Whites and African Americans. Cohabitation accelerates the transition to marriage among premaritally pregnant White women, but has no effect among Blacks and has a strong negative effect among Puerto Ricans. We interpret our findings in terms of long-standing family patterns and cultural traditions within each group. (UNITED STATES, ETHNIC GROUPS, COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS, COHABITATION, PREMARITAL CONCEPTIONS)

97.93.5 - English - Joe F. PITTMAN and David BLANCHARD, Department of Family and Child Development, 203 Spidle Hall, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849 (U.S.A.)

The effects of work history and timing of marriage on the division of household labour: A life-course perspective (p. 78-90)

First-married couples (n = 1,467) interviewed for the National Survey of Families and Households were studied to evaluate how two life-course measures, work history and marital timing, predicted the time each spouse spent doing mundane housework. Housework time estimates of each spouse were regressed on life-course measures, background factors, sex role attitudes, and work-based resources in hierarchical regressions. Direct relations were found for each spouse's work history on husbands' contributions to housework. Only indirect relations, however, were supported for marital timing and employment histories with wives' housework contributions. Timing of marriage was related to family composition, which, in turn, affected women's housework. In addition, women's employment history predicted the types of jobs women were likely to have, which influenced their time spent doing housework. (UNITED STATES, DOMESTIC WORK, SEXUAL DIVISION OF LABOUR, OCCUPATIONAL LIFE, MARRIAGE)

97.93.6 - English - Jeroen SMITS, Wout ULTEE, Department of Sociology, and Jan LAMMERS, Department of Research Methodology, University of Nijmegen, P. O. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen (Netherlands)

Effects of occupational status differences between spouses on the wife's labor force participation and occupational achievement: Findings from 12 European countries (p. 101-115)

Effects of occupational status differences between spouses on the wife's employment and on her occupational achievement are studied for the countries of the European Union. The results show a tendency towards similarity in occupational status within marriages. Labor force participation of a wife is highest when her potential occupational status equals her husband's occupational status. Furthermore, the husband's occupation produces both a ceiling effect and a facilitating effect on the wife's occupational achievement. The strength of these effects differs somewhat between the countries. For a wife's participation in the labor force, these differences are related to the country's dominant religion. (WESTERN EUROPE, LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION, COUPLE, SEX DIFFERENTIALS)

97.93.7 - English - Martine CORIJN, Center for Population and Family Studies, Markiesstraat 1, 1000 Brussels (Belgium), Aart C. LIEFBROER and Jenny DE JONG GIERVELD, Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute, P. O. Box 11650, 2502 AR The Hague (Netherlands)

It takes two to tango, doesn't it? The influence of couple characteristics on the timing of the birth of the first child (p. 117-126)

Empirical research on factors influencing fertility behavior usually focuses on characteristics of women only. In this study, the timing of the first childbirth is studied using information about characteristics of both partners. The context specificity of the determinants of childbearing is examined by comparing couples with and without cohabitation experience. The sociocultural specificity is studied using data from the Netherlands and Flanders. Results from hazard models based on a representative sample of young couples (N = 1,438) show, in general, that in Flanders a sphere-of-interest rule of decision making and in the Netherlands an egalitarian rule are at play in the decision on the timing of the first birth among couples. Contextual differences show that more specific theories on factors influencing the family formation process are needed. (NETHERLANDS, BELGIUM, FIRST BIRTH, DECISION MAKING, HOMOGAMY)

97.93.8 - English - Colleen L. JOHNSON and Lillian TROLL, Medical Anthropology Program, University of California-San Francisco, 1350 Seventh Ave. #317, San Francisco, CA 94143-0850 (U.S.A.)

Family structure and the timing of transitions from 70 to 103 years of age (p. 178-187)

Using a cross-sectional analysis of 250 White individuals, 70-103 years of age, this article questions whether a vertical family structure is found with increasing age. Findings indicate, first, that at least until age 90 the proportion of individuals with a vertical family structure with four generations never exceeds the numbers of those with no descendants. Second, widowhood and relocation are occurring among those in their seventies, some years before the onset of disability. Third, in the aggregate, family size does not increase in older age groups because of the high proportion of elderly childless. In fact, a bimodal pattern exists, with two thirds having three or more generational families and one third at the end of their lineage and having an attenuated family form. (UNITED STATES, AGED, FAMILY COMPOSITION, LIFE CYCLE, FERTILITY)

97.93.9 - English - Timothy J. BIBLARZ, Vern L. BENGTSON and Alexander BUCUR, Department of Sociology, University of Southern California, University Park, Los Angeles, CA 90089-2539 (U.S.A.)

Social mobility across three generations (p. 188-200)

This article examines differences in patterns of social mobility experienced by three generations (grandparents, parents, and children) within the same family lineages. Using data from the Longitudinal Study of Generations, we found that each successive generation of offspring has had higher occupational attainment than the one before. However, the rate of upward mobility has slowed across generations. Moreover, the association between parents' socioeconomic stratum and children's socioeconomic stratum has weakened across the generations in our sample (independent of structural shifts in the distributions of occupations), suggesting a decline in the family transmission of social position to offspring. Finally, in terms of female social mobility, the level of broad occupational segregation faced by every successive generation of women remained constant. (UNITED STATES, INTERGENERATIONAL SOCIAL MOBILITY, SEX DISCRIMINATION)

97.93.10 - English - Daniel R. MEYER and Judi BARTFELD, Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1180 Observatory Drive, 3412 Social Science Building, Madison, WI 53706 (U.S.A.)

Compliance with child support orders in divorce cases (p. 201-212)

This article examines compliance with child support orders by divorced fathers in Wisconsin during 1981-1989. The father's ability to pay is strongly related to compliance: Compliance increases as the father's income increases. The "burden" of orders does not affect compliance unless the order is for more than 35% of the father's income. More stringent enforcement systems also increase compliance. Our analysis of the characteristics of fathers who are not paying child support suggests that although these fathers are not a high-income group, they are generally not so poor that they could not afford to pay at least some support. (UNITED STATES, DIVORCE, ALIMONY, FATHER)

97.93.11 - English - F. L. JONES, Sociology Program, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra 0200 (Australia)

Convergence and divergence in ethnic divorce patterns: A research note (p. 213-218)

Studies of divorce among ethnically heterogeneous couples are rare. However, a recent longitudinal study of marriages in Hawaii showed that the divorce rate was higher among ethnically mixed marriages compared with ethnically homogeneous ones. On the other hand, the same study found no easily discernible pattern of group differences in the relationship of intermarriage to the risk of divorce. Jones (1994) uses Australian data from the 1970s to show that such risks are consistent with a modified model of behavioral convergence in which divorce rates for mixed marriages are largely a function of revealed group preferences for divorce and convergence between them. This note shows that an equivalent model also accounts for the Hawaiian data. A convergence model may offer a useful point of departure for understanding similar behaviors in other sociocultural settings. (AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES, DIVORCE, MIXED MARRIAGE, ETHNIC GROUPS, MODELS)

97.93.12 - English - Vaughn R. A. CALL, Center for Studies of the Family, Brigham Young University, 840 SWKT, Provo, UT 84602 (U.S.A.), and Jay. D. TEACHMAN, Department of Human Development, Washington State University, 311 Hulbert Hall, Pullman, WA 99164 (U.S.A.)

Life-course timing and sequencing of marriage and military service and their effects on marital stability (p. 219-226)

We examine the life-course sequencing hypothesis that marriage before military service has a greater disruptive effect on marital stability than marriage during or after military service. Using event-history data from a 13-year panel study of 2,857 White males from Washington State high schools in 1966, we found that Vietnam combat veterans (n = 610) and Vietnam-era veterans (n = 581) married at the same rate as nonveterans (n = 1,666). Marriages initiated before or during military service in Vietnam did not have a significant negative impact on long-term marital stability. Marrying for the first time after military service, however, increased marital stability. (UNITED STATES, MILITARY SERVICE, MARRIAGE, DIVORCE, FAMILY STABILITY)

97.93.13 - English - Laura DUBERSTEIN LINDBERG, The Urban Institute, 2100 M Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20037 (U.S.A.)

Women's decisions about breastfeeding and maternal employment (p. 239-251)

This analysis extends the concept of role incompatibility to examine the potential incompatibilities between breastfeeding and maternal employment. I hypothesize that women may face both structural and attitudinal conflicts between these behaviors. To test this hypothesis, this analysis uses data from Cycle IV of the National Survey of Family Growth to examine the relationship between women's postpartum employment and breastfeeding behaviors in the U.S. from 1980 to 1986. Analyses find that significantly more women who are employed part-time are likely to breastfeed and for longer durations than women employed full-time, suggesting that conflicts between breastfeeding and working at a job vary by the intensity of the employment. Further, a discrete-time hazard model finds that women are more likely to stop breastfeeding in the month they enter employment, suggesting that these behaviors constraint each other. The policy implications of these constraints are examined. (UNITED STATES, BREAST FEEDING, FEMALE EMPLOYMENT)

MAY 1996 - VOLUME 58, NUMBER 2

97.93.14 - English - Scott J. SOUTH, Department of Sociology, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, NY 12222 (U.S.A.). E-mail : s.south@albany.edu

Mate availability and the transition to unwed motherhood: A paradox of population structure (p. 265-279)

Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth are merged with 1980 census data and information on respondents' secondary school to examine the influence of mate availability on the timing of young women's first marriage and premarital childbearing. Event history models that treat first marriage (prior to first birth) and first birth (prior to first marriage) as competing risks reveal modest but statistically significant effects of mate availability on the timing of both lifecourse events. These effects work in opposite directions in influencing the likelihood that a young woman will become an unwed mother. For White women, an abundance of eligible males in the local marriage market increases the rate of exit from the single, childless state both by hastening entry into marriage and by increasing the risk of nonmarital childbearing. For Black women, the percentage of males in the local marriage pool who are employed accelerates the transition to marriage, while the percentage of males in the respondent's secondary school significantly elevates the risk of a premarital birth. (UNITED STATES, MARRIAGEABLE POPULATION, SEX RATIO, FIRST MARRIAGE, PREMARITAL BIRTHS, RACES)

97.93.15 - English - Zheng WU, Department of Sociology, The University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3050, MS 7572, Victoria, BC, V8W 3P5 (Canada). E-mail : zwu@uvvm.uvic.ca

Childbearing in cohabitational relationships (p. 281-292)

Evidence suggests that the presence of children has a positive impact on the stability of both marital and nonmarital relationships. It is, therefore, important to understand the determinants of childbearing decisions made by couples in both types of relationships. However, while the trend and determinants of marital fertility have been well documented in Canada and other postindustrial countries, little is known about childbearing behavior within cohabitational relationships. Using data from the 1990 Friends and Family Survey and employing an uncertainty reduction model, this article attempts to shed light on the childbearing experiences of cohabiting women after their entry into a cohabitational relationship. We find that the hazard rate of a cohabiting woman bearing a child within the union is associated with her age at the start of cohabitation, her educational status, nativity, number of siblings, heterogamy in cohabiting unions, the year of the start of cohabitation, and geographic region. (CANADA, CONSENSUAL UNION, ILLEGITIMATE FERTILITY, FERTILITY TRENDS)

97.93.16 - English - William S. AQUILINO, Department of Child and Family Studies, University of Wisconsin, 1430 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706 (U.S.A.). E-mail : aquilino@ssc.wisc.edu

The life course of children born to unmarried mothers: Childhood living arrangements and young adult outcomes (p. 293-310)

This study explores the complex sequences of living arrangements among children born to unmarried mothers and the impact of childhood living arrangements on the young adult life course. Retrospective life history data from the National Survey of Families and Households are used to construct each respondent's trajectory of household and family transitions from birth through age 15. The analysis documents the wide diversity of household types experienced by children born to unwed mothers. Only 1 in 5 spent their entire childhood in a single-parent family, and nearly half coresided with grandparents or relatives while growing up. Multivariate analyses show that living arrangement trajectories after birth to a single mother influenced the likelihood of high school completion and enrollment in postsecondary school, the timing of residential independence, and the timing of entry into the labor force. (UNITED STATES, ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN, FAMILY COMPOSITION, LIFE CYCLE, YOUTH)

97.93.17 - English - Jodi R. SANDFORT and Martha S. HILL, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248 (U.S.A.). E-mail : jsand@umich.edu; hillm@isr.umich.edu

Assisting young, unmarried mothers to become self-sufficient: The effects of different types of early economic support (p. 311-326)

This article examines a sample of young, unmarried mothers from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and considers how different types of economic support received soon after their first child is born contributes to the later self-sufficiency of young, unmarried mothers. It expands conventional categories of income support -- AFDC, food stamps, child support -- to include shared housing and relatives' assistance. The model also contains various behaviors of young mothers after the birth of their first child. The findings suggest that certain economic supports assist these mothers and that life choices they make after their child's birth are important to self-sufficiency. (UNITED STATES, UNMARRIED MOTHERS, FAMILY ALLOWANCES, MATERNITY BENEFITS, LIVING CONDITIONS)

97.93.18 - English - Kerry RICHTER, Population Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, 601 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA 16802 (U.S.A.). E-mail : richter@pop.psu.edu

Living separately as a child-care strategy: Implications for women's work and family in urban Thailand (p. 327-339)

In this article, child-care arrangements that involve mothers living separately from their children under 5 years of age in Bangkok are examined. I focus on how changes in women's roles and family structure may lead to increased dependence on child care outside the maternal household. Is living separately a common feature of the Thai kinship system, or is it predominantly a child-care choice for working women? Event history analysis is used to identify the factors that lead to a child living separately from his or her mother. Living separately is closely related to the mother's work status. This finding is discussed in light of the impact of socioeconomic change on the family in a rapidly industrializing society. (THAILAND, CHILD REARING, FEMALE EMPLOYMENT, FOSTERING)

97.93.19 - English - �rjan HEMSTR�M, Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University, S-10691 Stockholm (Sweden). E-mail : orjan@sofi.su.se

Is marriage dissolution linked to differences in mortality risks for men and women? (p. 366-378)

Is marriage dissolution linked to differences in mortality risks for men and women? This study, based on 44,000 deaths in Sweden, analyzes the impact of the event of marriage dissolution on subsequent mortality using sex-specific intensity regression models. The results show an excess mortality among people who are remarried and cohabiting, especially among women, and provide evidence for a long-term, causal relationship between marriage dissolution and mortality. The results also show that there is a narrower gender mortality difference than expected when work status and number of children are taken into consideration and that women who are not employed, as well as unskilled male workers, are in particularly vulnerable situations at divorce. Aspects of the divorce process, selection, protection, and stress factors may be responsible for the outcome. (SWEDEN, DIVORCE, DIFFERENTIAL MORTALITY, SEX DIFFERENTIALS)

97.93.20 - English - Karen D. PYKE and Vern L. BENGTSON, Gerontology Research Institute, Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Southern California, 3715 McClintock Avenue, Suite 208, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0191 (U.S.A.)

Caring more or less: Individualistic and collectivist systems of family eldercare (p. 379-392)

While previous research has emphasized the commonalities among family caregivers, this study identifies individualistic and collectivist systems of family eldercare and explores their dimensions. We analyzed qualitative interviews with 67 members of 20 three-generation families, categorizing them on an individualistic-collectivist dimension. These categories were assigned on the basis of 3 sets of traits among which there was a high level of congruency: family ethics, levels of contact and interdependence, and caregiving practices and meanings. The data suggest that while individualist families minimize their caregiving and rely on formal supports, collectivists use caregiving to construct family ties, sometimes prompting overcare. We discuss factors that contribute to these caregiving strategies and make predictions concerning future responses to the transfer of eldercare from social services to families. (UNITED STATES, AGED, SOCIAL SECURITY, FAMILY COMPOSITION, VALUE SYSTEMS)

97.93.21 - English - Duane F. ALWIN, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248 (U.S.A.). E-mail : dfa@umich.edu

Coresidence beliefs in American Society - 1973 to 1991 (p. 393-403)

This article examines trends in beliefs about the desirability of coresidence between adult children and their parents in the U.S. between 1973 and 1991. Despite some clear historic tendencies toward independent living arrangements in the population as a whole, data presented from the General Social Surveys actually show a significant trend toward the acceptability of coresidence. The decomposition of these trends into intra- and intercohort patterns reveals important intercohort differences. A multivariate analysis, including variables measuring sociodemographic experiences, indicates that about 20% of the effects of birth year can be accounted for by these factors, particularly greater kinship contact reported by younger cohorts. The article concludes with a discussion of the meaning of these trends. (UNITED STATES, PARENTS, CHILDREN, COHABITATION, ATTITUDE, GENERATION EFFECT)

97.93.22 - English - Barbara S. OKUN, Department of Demography, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt. Scopus Campus, 91905 Jerusalem (Israel). E-mail : bsokun@vms.huji.ac.il

Sex preferences, family planning, and fertility: An Israeli subpopulation in transition (p. 469-475)

Jewish immigrants who came to Israel from Muslim countries of North Africa and the Middle East were transplanted to a radically different, modern society. Their high fertility levels were put critically at odds with changed socioeconomic and mortality conditions. In their countries of origin, high fertility had been consistent with many socioeconomic, cultural, and religious goals, including the survival of male offspring. In Israel, an immediate conflict developed between the desire for male children and high fertility and economic conditions that necessitated a drastic decrease in family size. Previous research has shown that the conflict resulted in a rapid reduction in fertility levels across marriage cohorts of Jewish women of Asian and African origin. We show here that, at the same time, the conflict also led to rapid abandonment of fertility behavior related to the preference for sons. Thus, convergence of the fertility levels of Asian and African immigrants to the lower fertility levels of other Jewish women in Israel -- a factor important in the assimilation process of African and Asian women -- was accompanied by convergence in behavior related to sex preferences -- a further indicator of absorption into modern Israeli society. (ISRAEL, IMMIGRANTS, MIGRANT ASSIMILATION, SEX PREFERENCE, FERTILITY TRENDS)

97.93.23 - English - Anju MALHOTRA, Center on Population, Gender, and Social Inequality, University of Maryland, 3114 Art-Sociology Building, College Park, MD 20742-1315 (U.S.A.), and Amy Ong TSUI, Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina, CB #8120 University Square, Chapel Hill, NC 27516-3997 (U.S.A.). E-mail : anju@bssl.umd.edu

Marriage timing in Sri Lanka: The role of modern norms and ideas (p. 476-490)

This article contributes empirical evidence to the critique of modernization theory, which continues to underpin much social research on non-Western societies despite the frequent and open challenges to its legitimacy and ability in predicting family change. Our analysis employs longitudinal data, focus group information, and event history models to examine the timing of marriage for a cohort of young women in Sri Lanka. We argue that despite the infusion of modern ideational factors, family organization, interests, and cultural prescriptions have a substantial role to play in determining when young Sri Lankan women enter marriage. The results support our contention that the process of social change does not involve a linear shift from a consistent, packaged set of traditional conditions to modern ones, but rather a more complex interaction and coexistence of these two sets of values. Our results indicate that family and cultural factors continue to be important in determining marriage timing for the present generation of young women in Sri Lanka. (SRI LANKA, AGE AT MARRIAGE, WOMEN'S STATUS, MODERNIZATION, VALUE SYSTEMS)

AUGUST 1996 - VOLUME 58, NUMBER 3

97.93.24 - English - Paul R. AMATO, Department of Sociology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588-0324 (U.S.A.). E-mail : pamato@unlinfo.unl.edu

Explaining the intergenerational transmission of divorce (p. 628-640)

This study uses national longitudinal data to explain the intergenerational transmission of divorce. Parental divorce is associated with an increased risk of offspring divorce, especially when wives or both spouses have experienced the dissolution of their parents' marriage. Offspring age at marriage, cohabitation, socioeconomic attainment, and prodivorce attitudes mediate modest proportions of the estimated effect of parental divorce. In contrast, a measure of interpersonal behavior problems mediates the largest share of the association. The findings suggest that parental divorce elevates the risk of offspring divorce by increasing the likelihood that offspring exhibit behaviors that interfere with the maintenance of mutually rewarding intimate relationships. (UNITED STATES, DIVORCE, PARENTS, CHILDREN)

97.93.25 - English - Lisa S. MATTHEWS, K. A. S. WICKRAMA and Rand D. CONGER, Center for Family Research in Rural Mental Health, Iowa State University, 2625 North Loop Drive, Suite 50, Ames, Iowa 50050 (U.S.A.)

Predicting marital instability from spouse and observer reports of marital interaction (p. 641-655)

This prospective study examines the relationship between the quality of marital interaction, both as perceived by spouses and as reported by outside observers, and marital instability and divorce in a sample of 436 long-time married couples from the rural Midwest. Discriminant function analysis showed that spousal hostility, net of warmth, predicted with 80% accuracy which couples would divorce or not divorce within a year and with 88% accuracy which couples would be in the two most extreme marital groups (most stable and least stable). In a structural equation model with latent constucts, we found that observer reports of behavioral interactions are related to marital instability both directly and indirectly through partners' perceptions of one another's behaviors. (UNITED STATES, DIVORCE, FAMILY STABILITY, INTERSPOUSE RELATIONSHIPS)

97.93.26 - English - Albert CHEVAN, Department of Sociology, University of Massachusetts, Thompson Hall, Box 37525, Amherst, MA 01003 (U.S.A.) -mail : chevan@soc.umass.edu

As cheaply as one: Cohabitation in the older population (p. 656-667)

This study examines the prevalence of cohabitation, observes trends in cohabitation between 1960 and 1990, and investigates the conditions leading older persons to cohabit. An indirect strategy is used to measure cohabitation as a result of a validation study of approaches to its measurement. The trend analysis with Public Use Microdata Samples finds 2.4% of unmarried persons age 60 and older cohabiting in 1990, up from virtually 0% in 1960. By 1990 there were 407,000 elderly cohabitors, compared with 9,600 in 1960. Cohorts with considerably higher levels of cohabitation will shortly enter old age. Variables measuring individual characteristics, economic motivations, and the social context are used to predict cohabitation. (UNITED STATES, AGED, COHABITATION, HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION)

97.93.27 - English - Susan L. BROWN and Alan BOOTH, Department of Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University, 211 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA 16802 (U.S.A.). E-mail : brown@pop.psu.edu

Cohabitation versus marriage: A comparison of relationship quality (p. 668-678)

Using data from the 1987-1988 National Survey of Families and Households, we evaluate the extent to which cohabitation is similar to marriage. The quality of recently formed cohabiting and marital relationships among Black and White Americans ages 19 to 48 is investigated in an effort to advance our understanding of the meaning of cohabitation relative to marriage. Controlling for relationship duration and demographic characteristics of the respondent, we find that cohabitors in general report poorer relationship quality than their married counterparts. However, cohabitors' marriage plans largely explain the difference in relationship quality of cohabitors and marrieds. The majority of cohabitors report plans to marry their partner, and these cohabitors are involved in unions that are not significantly different from marriages. In fact, cohabitors report more frequent interaction with their partners than do marrieds. The relationship quality of marrieds and cohabitors with plans to marry is affected in the same way by the presence of potential sources of stress such as biological children, children from past unions, and prior union experience. (UNITED STATES, MARRIAGE, CONSENSUAL UNION, INTERSPOUSE RELATIONSHIPS, QUALITY OF LIFE, COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS)

97.93.28 - English - Carol L. ROAN, Population Studies Center, University of Michigan, 1225 South University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 (U.S.A.). E-mail : croan@umich.edu

Intergenerational coresidence and contact: A longitudinal analysis of adult children's response to their mother's widowhood (p. 708-717)

In this article, we are interested in seeing how a father's death affects adult children's relationships with their mothers. We also examine whether our understanding of change in intergenerational relationships over the life course is improved by the use of panel data. For this purpose we use the first and second interviews of the National Survey of Families and Households. Our results and those of previous analyses that use cross-sectional data find little relationship between a mother's widowhood and increased intergenerational social support. However, in the longitudinal analysis, we find that widowhood affects contact between mothers and their adult children. This indicates that cross-sectional analyses can produce misleading results. (UNITED STATES, MOTHER, CHILDREN, WIDOWS, COHABITATION)

97.93.29 - English - Russel A. WARD and Glenna SPITZE, Department of Sociology, University at Albany - State University of New York, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12222 (U.S.A.). E-mail : raw84@cnsibm.albany.edu

Gender differences in parent-child coresidence experiences (p. 718-725)

Gender differences in exchanges and parent-child relations for adult children residing in parent households are investigated using data from the National Survey of Families and Households. Daughters report doing more housework, and sons are more likely to pay room and board, but both exchanges are modest and are unrelated to each other and to the reported quality of parent-child relations. There are few differences between sons and daughters in parent-child relations and their predictors. Overall, coresidence appears to be more similar than different for adult sons and daughters. (UNITED STATES, PARENTS, CHILDREN, COHABITATION, SEX DIFFERENTIALS)

97.93.30 - English - Sharon K. HOUSEKNECHT and Jaya SASTRY, Department of Sociology, The Ohio State University, 300 Bricker Hall, 190 North Ova Mall, Columbus, OH 43210 (U.S.A.). E-mail : houseknecht.1@osu.edu

Family "decline" and child well-being: A comparative assessment (p. 726-739)

David Popenoe (1988; 1993a) argues that family "decline" is associated with serious social consequences for child well-being, but, to date, neither he nor others have carried out a systematic empirical assessment of this linkage. The primary objective of this comparative study is to examine the relationship between family decline and child well-being in four industrialized countries: Sweden, the United States, the former West Germany, and Italy. Family decline is a composite of eight variables, and there are six indicators of child well-being. The results, taken as a whole, indicate that family decline is not necessarily associated with the kind of across-the-board deleterious outcomes for child well-being that Popenoe asserted. Although children are better off when they live in a society in which traditional family patterns are strong, when they do not, there are some things that societies can do to mitigate the negative consequences that nontraditionalism has for them. (DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, FAMILY COMPOSITION, INDIVIDUAL WELFARE, CHILDREN)

97.93.31 - English - Haishan FU, Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, 3718 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6298 (U.S.A.), and Noreen GOLDMAN, Office of Population Research, Princeton University, 21 Prospect Avenue, Princeton, NJ 08544 (U.S.A.). E-mail : haishan@ssc.sas.upenn.edu; ngoldman@lotka.princeton.edu

Incorporating health into models of marriage choice: Demographic and sociological perspectives (p. 740-758)

This study uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth to examine how health-related characteristics and behaviors affect first marriage rates among young American adults. The results emphasize the importance of including health variables in models of marriage choice by demonstrating that persons with unhealthy behaviors (such as high levels of alcohol consumption and the use of hard drugs) and with physical characteristics that are typically associated with poorer past and future health statuses (obesity and short stature) have lower marriage rates than their healthier counterparts. (UNITED STATES, HEALTH, NUPTIALITY RATE, CELIBACY)

97.93.32 - English - Daniel GOODKIND, Population Studies Center, University of Michigan, 1225 South University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 (U.S.A.). E-mail : goodkind@psc.lsa.umich.edu

Chinese lunar birth timing in Singapore: New concerns for child quality amidst multicultural modernity (p. 784-795)

In line with traditional folk beliefs, many Chinese societies throughout the world (with the exception of China itseffl began in the 1970s and 1980s to exhibit birth fluctuations during significant lunar zodiac years-baby booms during the auspicious Year of the Dragon and baby busts during the inauspicious (for daughters) Year of the Tiger. This article explores these two inverse natural experiments in multiethnic Singapore. Lunar birth timing has been nwnifested more strongly as family sizes have declined, a reversal of modernization theory, yet consistent with enhanced concerns for child quality. The social, assimilative, and gender-related dynamics of these preferences are illustrated through an analysis of the seasonality and birth order distribution of lunar birth fluctuations as well as birth pattems anwng intermarried Chinese mothers and fathers. The article details how lunar birth fluctuations have been influenced by and have influenced official policies instituted by Singapore's shrinking Chinese majority. None of the assimilative social forces discussed here can be expected to weaken lunar birth timing in the future, although government intervention nwy inhibit its reoccurrence. (SINGAPORE, CHINA, ETHNIC GROUPS, YEAR OF BIRTH, POPULAR CULTURE, MODERNIZATION)

NOVEMBER 1996 - VOLUME 58, NUMBER 4

97.93.33 - English - Wendy D. MANNING, Department of Sociology, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio 43403 (U.S.A.), and Daniel T. LICHTER, Population Research Institute, Pennsylvania State University, 601 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA 16802 (U.S.A.). E-mail : wmannin@opie.bgsu.edu

Parental cohabitation and children's economic well-being (p. 998-1010)

The rise in children's experience in single-parent families is well documented. However, it remains unknown whether their unmarried parents are living alone or coresiding with unmarried partners. Perhaps more importantly, it is unknown how the economic contributions of parent's cohabiting partners influence the economic well-being of children. Using data from the recently released 1990 decennial census PUMS, we provide national estimates of the percentage and socioeconomic characteristics of U.S. children living in cohabiting couple families. Our results reveal that 2.2 million children (3.5%) reside in cohabiting-couple families and that racial differences are substantial. Roughly 1 in 7 children in unmarried-parent families also live with their parent's unmarried partner. Although these children have two potential caretakers and economic providers, our results indicate that parental resources fall short of their counterparts in married-couple families. A cohabiting partner's economic contribution results in a 29% reduction in the proportion of children in cohabiting-couple families living in poverty, but still they fare poorly in comparison with children in married-couple families. (UNITED STATES, ONE-PARENT FAMILY, CHILDREN, POVERTY, COHABITATION)

97.93.34 - English - Antonio McDANIEL and S. Philip MORGAN, Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, 3718 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (U.S.A.). E-mail : antonio@pop.upenn.edu

Racial differences in mother-child coresidence in the past (p. 1011-1017)

The authors argue that racial differences in contemporary family patterns in the United States reflect substantial cultural and historical continuity of African and Western European family patterns. Discussion focuses on the coresidence of mothers and young children. Using data from the Public Use Samples of the 1910 Census, the authors show that African American mothers were much more likely than European American, native-born mothers to have young children who were not coresidents. The authors argue that sending children to live elsewhere is a violation of Western norms. These norms were violated more frequently by European Americans and by African Americans in crisis situations. Nevertheless, racial differences remain strong. African American mothers, compared with European Americans, were especially likely to have young children not living with them when the mothers were enumerated in spouse-present situations. This finding suggests that mother-child coresidence norms were weaker for African Americans than for native-born European Americans. (UNITED STATES, HISTORY, ETHNIC GROUPS, FAMILY COMPOSITION, MOTHER, CHILDREN, COHABITATION, SOCIAL NORMS)

97.93.35 - English - Liset VAN DIJK, Department of Sociology, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 1, 3584 CS Utrecht (Netherlands), and Jacques J. SIEGERS, Economic Institute/CIAV, Utrecht University, Kromme Nieuwegracht 22, 3515 HH Utrecht (Netherlands). E-mail : l.vandijk@fsw.ruu.nl

The division of child care among mothers, fathers, and nonparental care providers in Dutch two-parent families (p. 1018-1028)

This article examines the division of child care among mothers, fathers, and nonparental care providers during the hours when at least one parent is at work. Data collected in 1993 from 405 Dutch two-parent households with at least one preschool child show that the mothers' potential wage rates, the number of children in the household, and the norms of the people in the household's network affect the participation of mothers, fathers, and nonparental care providers in child care. The availability of institutionalized care and the parents' judgement of the quality of institutionalized care affect the choice of the mothers' care but not the time fathers spend taking care of their children. (NETHERLANDS, CHILD REARING, DAY CARE CENTRES, FEMALE EMPLOYMENT)

97.93.36 - English - B. Oleko TAMBASHE, Department of International Health and Development, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, 1440 Canal Street, Suite 2200, New Orleans, LA 70112-2737 (U.S.A.), and David SHAPIRO, Department of Economics, Women's Studies Program, The Pennsylvania State University, 416 Kern Graduate Building, University Park, PA 16802 (U.S.A.). E-mail : otambas1@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu; dshapiro@psu.edu

Family background and early life course transitions in Kinshasa (p. 1029-1037)

Drawing on a sample of approximately 2,400 women aged 13-49 surveyed in Kinshasa, Zaire, in 1990, this article examines the impact of aspects of a woman's family background on transitions to sexual activity, marriage, and motherhood. We document how parental education, parental survival status, the number of siblings, and the type of place where a woman grew up are important for these transitions to adult roles. Our findings suggest that continued increases in educational levels should contribute to delays in these life course transitions and ultimately to some reductions infertility. (ZAIRE, WOMEN'S STATUS, LEVELS OF EDUCATION, FAMILY ENVIRONMENT, LIFE CYCLE, NUPTIALITY, FERTILITY)

FEBRUARY 1997 - VOLUME 59, NUMBER 1

97.93.37 - English - Catherine A. SURRA, Department of Human Ecology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712 (U.S.A.), and Debra K. HUGHES, Department of Family Studies and Social Work, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056 (U.S.A.). E-mail : csurra@prc.utexas.edu; hughesdk@msmail.muohio.edu

Commitment processes in accounts of the development of premarital relationships (p. 5-21)

We examined the subjective processes by which premarital partners (n = 113) become more or less committed to wed over time. Two commitment processes were identified. In relationship-driven commitments, commitment evolved smoothly with few reversals. To explain changes in commitment, partners focused on their interaction and activities with one another and with their joint network and on positive beliefs about the relationship and about network members. Event-driven commitments had more extreme changes in commitment, with sharp downturns alternating with sharp upturns. Partners attributed changes to episodes of self-disclosure and conflict, negative relationship beliefs, separate interaction with network members, and negative network beliefs. On several measures, event-driven partners reported more negative relationship experiences and were less compatible. Yet the two groups did not differ on love or other indicators of involvement. The implications of the two processes for marital decisions are discussed. (CONSENSUAL UNION, MARRIAGE, DECISION MAKING, INTERSPOUSE RELATIONSHIPS)

97.93.38 - English - Marina A. ADLER, Department of Sociology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Room 355, Academic IV, Baltimore, MD 21250 (U.S.A.). E-mail : adler@umbc2.umbc.edu

Social change and declines in marriage and fertility in Eastern Germany (p. 37-49)

Between 1989 and 1994, the birth rate in Eastern Germany (the former German Democratic Republic) fell from 12.0 to 5.1 per 1,000, while fertility in the West remained stable at around 11.0 per 1,000. In addition, marriage rates in the East have been cut in half. The social and economic conditions surrounding marriage and parenthood have changed significantly since 1989 in postsocialist East Germany (e.g., higher unemployment and less generous family policies). Using a gender perspective, I argue that in the insecure economic times following German unification, East German women are likely to regard the responsibility of getting married and raising children as a risky, long-term commitment they are reluctant to enter. Evidence from various data sources shows that since 1989 changes in the nature of employment and reductions in state support for family leave, child care, and abortion have contributed to declining marriage and birth rates in the new German states. (GERMANY, SOCIAL CHANGE, FERTILITY DECLINE, NUPTIALITY, FERTILITY DETERMINANTS)

97.93.39 - English - Sean-Shong HWANG, Department of Sociology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 237 Ullman Building, 1212 University Boulevard, Birmingham, AL 35294 (U.S.A.), and Rogelio SAENZ, Department of Rural Sociology, Texas A&M University, Special Service Building, College Station, TX 77843 (U.S.A.). E-mail : shwang@sbs.sbs.uab.edu

Fertility of Chinese immigrants in the U.S.: Testing a fertility emancipation hypothesis (p. 50-61)

This study explores our hypothesis that the fertility of Chinese women, which was kept low by the one-child policy implemented in the People's Republic of China in 1979, is likely to bounce back to a higher level once these women emigrate. We test this hypothesis with data from the 1990 U.S. Census of Population 5% Public Use Microdata Samples. Using least squares regression analysis, we find evidence supporting our hypothesis. Our findings indicate that, other things being equal, women from the People's Republic of China have a significantly lower average number of children than Chinese women from other countries. The fertility difference between the two groups of women reverses direction, however, when we shift ourfocus to the average number of U.S. births. Women from the People's Republic of China are able to surpass their counterparts in postmigration births due to their accelerating U.S. fertility rate. These findings corroborate theories of social behavior that suggest that rational individuals adjust their fertility levels when external circumstances affect fertility change. (CHINA, UNITED STATES, WOMEN, IMMIGRANTS, FERTILITY TRENDS)

97.93.40 - English - Lynn K. WHITE and Stacy J. ROGERS, Department of Sociology, University of Nebraska, 711 Oldfather Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0324 (U.S.A.). E-mail : lwhite@unlinfo.unl.edu; srogers@unlinfo.unl.edu

Strong support but uneasy relationships: Coresidence and adult children's relationships with their parents (p. 62-76)

Using data on a sample of 435 young adults who were interviewed in 1992 and their parents who were interviewed in 1988, we examine the effects of coresidence on multiple dimensions of parent-child solidarity. Results show that coresident young adults give, receive, and perceive more support from their parents than nonresident children, but that they report significantly, albeit modestly, lower affective relationships with their parents. The effects of coresidence are more positive when children are more adult and responsible (older, employed, in school). Coresidence and proximity are strongly related to parent-child solidarity, but parents' reports of the quality of prior family relationships have surprisingly little effect on the likelihood of coresidence or on children's reports of current relationships. (COHABITATION, PARENTS, CHILDREN, HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION, INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS)

97.93.41 - English - Frank L. MOTT, Center for Human Resource Research, Department of Sociology, The Ohio State University, 921 Chatham Lane, Suite 200, Columbus, OH 43221 (U.S.A.), Lori KOWALESKI-JONES, Institute for Policy Research, 2040 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208 (U.S.A.), and Elizabeth G. MENAGHAN, The Ohio State University, Columbus (U.S.A.). E-mail : mott@pewter.chrr.ohio-state.edu

Paternal absence and child behavior: Does a child's gender make a difference? (p. 103-118)

This research uses data from the 1979-1990 rounds of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and its complementary child assessment data to explore the shorter and longer implications of a father's absence from the home for the behavior of a national sample of 482 White children who were 9-11 years old in 1990. A particular focus of the research was to explore gender variations in these longer and shorter term effects. More modest effects of a father's absence are generally found for girls than for boys, although the gender differences typically are not statistically significant. This modest behavioral gender distinction appears for both externalization and internalization subscores. The latter finding was contrary to expectations. Additionally, boys and girls appear to respond similarly and negatively to the presence of a new man in the home. (UNITED STATES, FATHER, CHILDREN, ABSENCE, SEX DIFFERENTIALS, PSYCHOLOGY)

97.93.42 - English - Mark W. ROOSA, Family Resources and Human Development, Box 872502, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-2502 (U.S.A.), Jenn-Yun TEIN, Program for Prevention Research, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-1108 (U.S.A.), Cindy REINHOLTZ and Patricia Jo ANGELINI, Arizona Family Planning Council, 2920 North 24th Avenue, Suite 26, Phoenix, AZ 85015 (U.S.A.). E-mail : atmwr@asuvm.inre.asu.edu

The relationship of childhood sexual abuse to teenage pregnancy (p. 119-130)

This study examined whether childhood sexual abuse contributed to a greater risk for teenage pregnancy. Data from the sexual histories of 2,003 young women showed that sexual abuse alone was not related to the incidence of teenage pregnancy, but sexual precocity, alone and in combination with sexual abuse, was related to much higher incidences of teenage pregnancy. Logistic regression showed that social class, ethnicity, age at first coitus, not using birth control at first sex, and sexual abuse by a boy friend were significant predictors of teenage pregnancy. Early coitus and not using contraception at first coitus were the strongest predictors of teenage pregnancy. (UNITED STATES, ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY, WOMEN'S STATUS, SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS, VIOLENCE)

97.93.43 - English - Mike MURPHY, Population Studies, The London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE (U.K.), Karen GLASER and Emily GRUNDY, Age Concern Institute of Gerontology, King's College, London (U.K.). E-mail : m.murphy@lse.ac.uk

Marital status and long-term illness in Great Britain (p. 156-164)

This study investigates the relationship between health and marital status, focusing particularly on older persons, using data on reported longterm illness rates from the Samples of Anonymised Records (SARS) drawn from the British Census. Until about age 70, long-term illness rates are generally lowest for those in first marriage, followed by the remarried, with intermediate values for the widowed and divorced, and highest for the single. Beyond age 75 for both sexes, single people in the private household population report the lowest illness rates, but when the institutionalized population is included, single people at older ages no longer appear to be the healthiest group. This is because at older ages increasingly high proportions of those with long-term illness are in institutions, disproportionately so for single people, explaining why such crossovers have been found in analyses of private household populations. The health status of cohabiters is generally closer to the married than to other groups for both sexes. (UNITED KINGDOM, AGED, MARITAL STATUS, DISEASES)

97.93.44 - English - Jennifer E. GLICK, Frank D. BEAN and Jennifer V. W. VAN HOOK, Population Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin, 1800 Main Building, Austin, TX 78712 (U.S.A.). E-mail : jennifer@prc.utexas.edu

Immigration and changing patterns of extended family household structure in the United States: 1970-1990 (p. 177-191)

The long-term downward trend in the percentage of extended family households in the U.S. came to a halt during the 1980s, a change that coincided with a growing gap between immigrants and natives in the percentages of households adopting extended family structures. Using 1970, 1980, and 1990 census data, this research assesses the degree to which changes in the volume and composition of immigration have contributed both to the increase in the proportion of the U.S. population residing in extended family households and to the widening gap between immigrants and natives. Our results demonstrate that immigration explains only a little of the total increase in extended living arrangements in the total population, but that the increasing differential between immigrants and natives during the 1980s resulted from increases in horizontally extended households among immigrants. Mexican, Guatemalan, and Salvadoran immigrants accounted for most of this increase, primarily because of increases in the proportion of young, single adults living with relatives and increases in poverty rates among immigrants from these countries. (UNITED STATES, IMMIGRANTS, HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION, EXTENDED FAMILY, COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS)

97.93.45 - English - Cynthia M. CREADY, Mark A. FOSSETT, Department of Sociology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843 (U.S.A.), and K. Jill KIECOLT, Department of Sociology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061 (U.S.A.). E-mail : ccready@rsocsun.tamu.edu

Mate availability and African American family structure in the U.S. nonmetropolitan South, 1960-1990 (p. 192-203)

We examine structural determinants of African American marriage and family formation for a sample of nonmetropolitan counties in the U.S. South over three decades. As predicted, higher sex ratios are associated with a higher prevalence of marriage for women, a higher prevalence of husband-wife families, higher percentages of children living in husband-wife families, and higher percentages of marital births. Men's socioeconomic opportunities and status have positive effects on these variables, whereas women's socioeconomic opportunities and status, public assistance levels, and community size have negative effects. Finally, mate availability has different effects on the prevalence of marriage for women and men. Our results show that recent changes in African American family patterns are occurring in nonmetropolitan and metropolitan settings and that the same structural factors operate in similar ways in both contexts. (UNITED STATES, BLACKS, MARRIAGEABLE POPULATION, NUPTIALITY RATE, SEX RATIO, SEX DIFFERENTIALS, FAMILY COMPOSITION)

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