Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health
Volume 34, Number 6, November/December 2002

 

Marriage Among Unwed Mothers:
Whites, Blacks and Hispanics Compared
TABLES

TABLE 1. Odds ratios from event-history regressions examining the effects of selected characteristics on the transition to marriage
Characteristic Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4
No. of yrs. since age 14 1.07** 1.07** 1.07** 1.07**
Race/ethnicity
White (ref) 1.00 .na 1.00 1.00
Hispanic 0.91* .na 1.01 1.18**
Black 0.44** .na 0.53** 0.58**
Nonmarital first-birth cohort
No nonmarital first birth (ref) .na 1.00 1.00 1.00
Before 1985 .na 0.53**,† 0.66**,† 0.89*,†
1985 or later .na 0.40** 0.45** 0.48**
Race and nonmarital first-birth cohort interactions
Hispanic x before 1985 .na .na .na 0.37**,†
Hispanic x 1985 or later .na .na .na 0.69**
Black x before 1985 .na .na .na 0.63**
Black x 1985 or later .na .na .na 0.79
-2 log likelihood 49,146.6** 49,078.1** 48,847.6** 48,777.3**
*p<.05. **p<.01. †Effect differs significantly from that of later cohort at p<.01. Notes: na=not applicable. ref=reference group. N=105,422 person-years. Significance of -2 log likelihood values is determined by comparison to model with intercept only (-2 log likelihood of 50,315.4).

back to text


TABLE 2. Cumulative proportion of women ever marrying by specific age, according to race, ethnicity and nonmarital fertility history
Race/ethnicity and nonmarital fertility history Age
18 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 35 40
White
Had a nonmarital first birth† 4 14 22 28 34 40 48 50 55 58 61 64 76 82
   At age <20‡ 8 28 41 47 55 61 67 69 73 74 77 79 87 89
   At age >=20† na na 4 8 13 18 27 30 36 43 45 50 65 70
   No nonmarital first birth§ 8 25 34 43 52 58 64 68 73 77 80 81 88 89
   Miscarried/aborted nonmarital first pregnancy† 3 17 24 32 38 44 50 56 61 66 71 73 83 85
Hispanic
Had a nonmarital first birth† 3 10 15 20 24 28 32 34 37 40 44 47 59 62
   At age <20† 5 17 26 30 34 41 44 46 49 53 57 60 65 65
   At age >=20†† na na 1 5 10 10 17 18 20 25 29 31 52 55
No nonmarital first birth† 14 33 42 51 59 66 72 76 80 84 86 87 92 93
   Miscarried/aborted nonmarital first pregnancy‡‡ 4 20 26 30 34 37 44 49 55 64 67 67 78 82
Black
Had a nonmarital first birth† 2 9 13 16 19 24 26 29 32 35 40 42 50 59
   At age <20†† 3 16 21 25 28 32 34 37 38 41 43 45 52 59
   At age >=20† na na 1 3 6 11 14 17 22 25 28 30 40 43
No nonmarital first birth† 7 21 26 30 35 41 44 49 53 58 59 60 69 76
   Miscarried/aborted nonmarital first pregnancy§ 3 9 12 15 21 24 26 34 36 43 45 47 60 66
†Differs significantly at p<.01 from all other groups of the same race and ethnicity. ‡Differs significantly at p<.01 from all other groups of the same race and ethnicity, except those who had no nonmarital first birth. §Differs significantly at p<.01 from all other groups of the same race and ethnicity, except those who had a nonmarital first birth as a teenager. ††Differs significantly at p<.01 from all other groups of the same race and ethnicity, except those who miscarried or aborted a nonmarital pregnancy. ‡‡Differs significantly at p<.01 from all other groups of the same race and ethnicity, except those who had a nonmarital first birth at age 20 or later. Notes: Analysis is based on a total of 10,441 women. Of these, 2,412 women had a nonmarital first birth (1,392 before age 20 and 1,020 at age 20 or later) and 8,029 women did not (frequencies unweighted). Of the 8,029 women who had no nonmarital first birth, 1,167 women miscarried or aborted a nonmarital first pregnancy. na=not applicable.

back to text


FIGURE 1. Cumulative proportion of women ever marrying after having a nonmarital first birth, by number of years since that birth, according to race, ethnicity and age at birth
Note: Proportions married could not be estimated for some groups of women at 17 or more years since the nonmarital birth because of insufficient data.

back to text


TABLE 3. Cumulative proportion of women experiencing divorce, by race, ethnicity and number of years since first marriage, according to nonmarital fertility history
Race/ethnicity and years since marriage Had nonmarital birth Had no nonmarital birth Miscarried/aborted nonmarital pregnancy
At age <20 At age >=20 Married within 6 mos. of a nonmarital birth
White†
3 13 12 22 12 16
5 26 24 31 19 28
10 46 39 45 29 43
Hispanic‡
3 7 10 16 11 12
5 18 18 20 17 25
10 38 38 53 30 58
Black§
3 9 10 9 14 14
5 27 20 13 27 22
10 56 45 28 41 40
†Within racial group, differences between women who had a nonmarital birth as a teenager or older and those who had no nonmarital birth are significant at p<.01.‡Within racial group, differences between women who had a nonmarital birth as a teenager and those who had no nonmarital birth are significant at p<.01. §Within racial group, differences between women who had a nonmarital birth as a teenager and both those who did so at age 20 or older and those who had no nonmarital birth are significant at p<.01. Notes: Analysis is based on a total of 6,618 ever-married women. Of these, 712 had a nonmarital birth before age 20; 476 had a nonmarital birth at age 20 or older; and 5,430 had no nonmarital birth. Of women who did not have a nonmarital first birth,1,009 miscarried or aborted a nonmarital pregnancy, and of women who did have a nonmarital birth, 152 married within six months of that birth.

back to text


home  |   about  |   contact  |   support AGI   |   help
publications  |   article archive  |   e-lists  |   search
statement of accuracy © copyright 2002, The Alan Guttmacher Institute.