Single Mothers, Single Fathers: Gender Differences in Fertility after a Nonmarital Birth

Author(s)

Karen Guzzo, Bowling Green State UniversityFollow
Sarah Hayford, ASU

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Research on nonmarital fertility has focused almost exclusively on unmarried mothers, due in part to a lack of fertility information for men. Cycle 6 of the National Survey of Family Growth allows exploration of nonmarital fertility for both genders. We compare the characteristics of unmarried first-time mothers (n = 2,455) and fathers (n = 797), use event history techniques to model second birth hazards, and examine the distribution of men’s and women’s second births across types of relationships. Our analysis is motivated by questions about how selection into nonmarital fertility relates to subsequent fertility behavior and by theories of mate selection and the “relationship” market. We find that unmarried mothers are more likely to have a second birth than unmarried fathers, driven largely by a higher hazard of having a noncoresidential second birth.

Copyright Statement

Post-print

Repository Citation

Guzzo, Karen and Hayford, Sarah, "Single Mothers, Single Fathers: Gender Differences in Fertility after a Nonmarital Birth" (2010). Sociology Faculty Publications. 38.
https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/soc_pub/38

Publication Date

2010

Publication Title

Journal of Family Issues

Start Page No.

906

End Page No.

933