Marriage or carriage? Trends in union context and birth type by education
Abstract
Using data from 8,951 first-time mothers in the National Survey of Family Growth,
the authors analyzed trends in union contexts during the transition to motherhood
by social class (proxied by maternal education). Conventional classifications of union
contexts as married or cohabiting were extended by classifying births relative to
union status at conception. The most conventional married birth type, in which the
mother was married at conception and at birth, declined sharply, but only among low-
and moderately educated women. Women with lower levels of education were instead more
likely to have a birth in the context of a cohabiting union formed prior to conception.
In 2005-2010, the adjusted probability of a low-educated mother having a conventional
married birth was 11.5%, versus 78.4% for highly educated mothers. The growing disparity
in union type at first birth by social class may have implications for social and
economic inequality. © National Council on Family Relations, 2014.
Type
Journal articlePermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/12434Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1111/jomf.12109Publication Info
Gibson-Davis, C; & Rackin, H (2014). Marriage or carriage? Trends in union context and birth type by education. Journal of Marriage and Family, 76(3). pp. 506-519. 10.1111/jomf.12109. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/12434.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
Collections
More Info
Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Christina M. Gibson-Davis
Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy
Christina M. Gibson-Davis is a professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke
University, with a secondary appointment in sociology. Her research interests center
around social and economic differences in family formation patterns. Her current research
focuses on the how divergent patterns of family formation affect economic inequality.

Articles written by Duke faculty are made available through the campus open access policy. For more information see: Duke Open Access Policy
Rights for Collection: Scholarly Articles
Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info