Having kids
Beyond the Nuclear Family: Trends in Children Living in Shared Households
Natasha Pilkauskas & Christina Cross
Demography, forthcoming
Abstract:
Using data from the 1996-2008 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation and the 2009-2016 American Community Survey, we examine trends in U.S. children living in shared households (living with adults beyond their nuclear (parent/parent’s partner/sibling) family). We find that although the share of children who lived in a shared household increased over this period, the rise was nearly entirely driven by an increase in three-generation/multigenerational households (coresident grandparent(s), parent(s), and child). In 1996, 5.7 % of children lived in a three-generation household; by 2016, 9.8 % did likewise - more than a 4 percentage point increase. More economically advantaged groups (older, more educated mothers, married households) experienced the largest percentage increase in three-generation coresidence, although correlates of coresidence remained largely stable. Decomposition analyses suggest that the rise in Social Security receipt and changes in parental relationship status (less marriage, more single parenthood) most strongly explained the increase in three-generation households. Given the dramatic rise in three-generation households, more research is needed to understand the consequences of these living arrangements for children, their parents, and their grandparents.
Kids, College, and Capital: Parental Financial Support and College Choice
Allyson Flaster
Research in Higher Education, December 2018, Pages 979-1020
Abstract:
Parents vary in both their willingness and ability to pay for their children’s college expenses, yet there is little research on how adolescents’ expectations of future financial support from parents affect their college enrollment decisions. Using data from the High School Longitudinal Study, I fill this gap in the literature by examining the predictors of parents’ plans to pay for college and estimating the effect of having a parent that plans to pay for college on an adolescent’s probability of college attendance. The results suggest that after parents’ ability to pay is taken into account, social class remains a strong predictor of whether parents plan to pay for their children’s college education. Additionally, parent’s plans to pay for college have a measurable impact on children’s college enrollment as long as the child is aware of or agrees with the parent’s plans. Therefore, it is likely that socioeconomic differences in parents’ pledges of financial support to adolescents contribute to postsecondary stratification. The results from this study suggest that policymakers and researchers who are concerned about educational inequality should pay greater attention to the role of parental financial support in structuring children’s ability to access college.
Adoption: A Strategy to Fulfill Sex Preferences of U.S. Parents
Ashley Larsen Gibby & Kevin Thomas
Journal of Marriage and Family, forthcoming
Method: Using data from the 2016 American Community Survey (n = 1,107,800 children), the authors test the relationships among the sex composition of preceding siblings, child sex, and adoption status.
Results: Children who had same‐sex preceding siblings were more likely to be adopted, as opposed to biologically related to their parents, than children who had mixed‐sex preceding siblings. Furthermore, adopted children were more likely to be of the missing sex (i.e., adopted girls were more likely than were adopted boys to have only preceding brothers).
Twin Birth and Maternal Condition
Sonia Bhalotra & Damian Clarke
Review of Economics and Statistics, forthcoming
Abstract:
Twin births are often construed as a natural experiment in the social and natural sciences on the premise that the occurrence of twins is quasi-random. We present population-level evidence that challenges this premise. Using individual data for 17 million births in 72 countries, we demonstrate that indicators of mother’s health, health-related behaviours and the prenatal environment are systematically positively associated with twin birth. The associations are sizeable, evident in richer and poorer countries, evident even among women who do not use IVF, and hold for numerous different measures of health. We discuss potential mechanisms, showing evidence that favours selective miscarriage.
Inter-Generational Transmission and the 21st Century Rise in Skilled Mothers' Labor Supply
Ariel Binder
University of Michigan Working Paper, October 2018
Abstract:
By most measures, gender progress in the U.S. labor market has stagnated since the 1990s. Yet, this paper reveals that skilled U.S. mothers' full-time employment rate rose by 12 percentage points between 1999 and 2016. After ruling out several standard explanations for such a change, I hypothesize that the surge of skilled mothers entering the full-time workforce in the previous generation has induced a recent shift in household gender norms. I develop a model in which a new mother's ex ante valuation of the disutility of pursuing a career is conditioned by her own mother's prior career behavior, and find empirical support for the model in two-generation datasets constructed from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. An accounting exercise attributes roughly 30 percent of the recent change to the model's inter-generational mechanism. Shifting norms appear to be promoting gender equality in household labor supply in the 21st century.
Attitudes Toward Abortion After Receiving vs. Being Denied an Abortion in the USA
Katie Woodruff et al.
Sexuality Research and Social Policy, December 2018, Pages 452-463
Abstract:
The US public attitudes toward abortion have been studied extensively, but little is known about these attitudes among women who seek abortion. This mixed-methods study explores women’s attitudes about abortion after receiving or being denied an abortion. Data are from the Turnaway Study, a prospective, longitudinal study of women seeking abortions at 30 US facilities. Participants presented just before a facility’s gestational limit and received abortions or just beyond the limit and were denied abortions. Using mixed effects logistic regression, we assessed 812 participants’ attitudes about abortion over 5 years. At 5 years after abortion seeking, we conducted in-depth interviews with 31 participants; this analysis includes the comments of 19 participants who discussed their abortion attitudes in those interviews. We find that 6 months after abortion seeking, nearly all women supported abortion legality in all (80%) or some (18%) situations, yet 20% also believed abortion is morally wrong. Women denied an abortion were significantly less likely to support the legal right to abortion at 6 months (62%) and 4.5 years (77%) after abortion seeking than women who had received a near-limit abortion (78 and 88%, respectively). In open-ended interviews, women expressed nuanced views, including reporting increased empathy for others facing an unwanted pregnancy. Women’s own reproductive experiences impact their views on abortion. Distinguishing between morality and legality of abortion is critical in understanding abortion attitudes.
Pregnancy Intentions, Contraceptive Knowledge And Educational Aspirations Among Community College Students
Marta Cabral et al.
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, forthcoming
Methods: In‐depth interviews were conducted with 57 students aged 18-25, inclusive of all genders, in three community colleges in California in 2015. Content analysis was used to code data and identify themes.
Results: All participants reported strong desires to prevent pregnancy in the next year and perceived their pregnancy risk as low, but many reported unprotected sex with opposite‐sex partners. Participants had specific timelines for completing their degrees and believed pregnancy would make that far more challenging, but would not ultimately prevent them from achieving their goals. Female students expressed concern about the risks of exacerbated poverty, housing instability and unachieved career goals. Participants had little knowledge of their pregnancy risks and of the health benefits, side effects or effectiveness of contraceptives. They held negative beliefs about hormonal contraception (including emergency contraception, IUDs and the implant), fearing long‐lasting effects and infertility. Gay or bisexual students shared concerns about contraceptives, although several were using methods for noncontraceptive reasons.