the vow factor: marriage, divorce, and family formation and their impact on health and well-being...
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The Vow Factor:Marriage, Divorce, and Family Formation and their Impact on
Health and Well-being
Andrew J. Cherlin, Ph.D.Johns Hopkins University
Less than a H.S. degree
H.S. degree Some college Bachelor's degree or
more
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
30.6
42.3 42.6
61
Percent Currently in a First Marriage, NLSY79 Adults Ages 46-54, in 2010
Source: Auginbaugh et al, Monthly Labor Review, October 2013.
The Marriage Gap
Why do we care about the marriage gap?
United States
Sweden
Spain
New Zealand
Norway
Italy
Great Britain
W. Germany
France
Belgium (Flanders)
Finland
Canada (Quebec)
Canada (Ontario)
Austria
Australia
0 20 40 60
55
37
42
30
33
36
32
29
21
27
28
35
27
40
Percent
Percent of cohabiting relationships disrupted after 5 years.
Source: Cherlin, The Marriage-Go-Round, Knopf, 2009.
For U.S.: National Survey of Family Growth, U.S. National Center for Health Statistics.
Family Instability
Belgium
Italy
Spain
Switzerland
France
Austria
Finland
Canada
New Zealand
Germany
Sweden
United States
0 10
0.1
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.5
0.5
0.6
0.5
1.3
1.3
2.6
8.2
Percent
Percentage of children , living with their mothers, who experience three or more maternal partnerships by age 15.
Source: Jeffrey Timberlake, unpublished tabulations subsequent to P. Heuveline, J. Timberlake, and F. F. Furstenberg, “Shifting Childrearing to Single Mothers: Results from 17 Western Countries,” Population and Development Review 29 (2003): 47-71.
Family Instability, Cohabitation, and Marriage
51
32
98
Unmarried Parents' Relationship at Birth
Cohabiting VisitingLittle or no contact Friends
Five years later:
• Half of the cohabiting couples were no longer living together.• Three-fourths of the couples in visiting relationships were no longer
together.• By the child’s third birthday:
• two-thirds of mothers had experienced at least one partnership change,
• more than a third had experienced at least two changes, • and nearly 20 percent had experienced three or more changes.
Family Complexity
Source: Fragile Families Research Brief no. 35
Family Inequality
Percentage of Children Living with Unmarried Mothers, by Mother’s Education, 1980 – 2010. (Source: Special tabulations pursuant to Stykes and Williams, 2013, from the IPUMS database.)
Percentage of Children Living with Unmarried Mothers, by Mother’s Education, 1980 – 2010. (Source: Special tabulations pursuant to Stykes and Williams, 2013, from the IPUMS database.)
Percentage of Children Living with Unmarried Mothers, by Mother’s Education, 1980 – 2010. (Source: Special tabulations pursuant to Stykes and Williams, 2013, from the IPUMS database.)
Percentage of Children Living with Unmarried Mothers, by Mother’s Education, 1980 – 2010. (Source: Special tabulations pursuant to Stykes and Williams, 2013, from the IPUMS database.)
What difference does not living with two parents make for children?
Effects seem to be larger on emotional problems than on cognitive development.
Effects seem to be larger for boys than for girls.
Source: Sara McLanahan, Laura Tach, and Daniel Schneider. 2013. “The Causal Effects of Father Absence.” Annual Review of Sociology.
What are the effects of divorce and cohabitation dissolution on adults?
Economic effects of divorce on women have declined.
Economic effects of the end of cohabitation on women have increased.
Source: Laura Tach and Alicia Eads. 2015. “Trends in the Economic Consequences of Marital and Cohabitation Dissolution in the United States.” Demography.
What are the benefits of marriage for men and women?
Marriage seems to provide men with a boost in earnings and health.
The benefits are smaller for women.
Source: Alexandra Killewalda and Margaret Gough. 2013. “Does Specialization Explain Marriage Penalties and Premiums?” American Sociological Review.
The Vow Factor:Marriage, Family and Divorce
and their Impact on Well-being
Andrew J. Cherlin, Ph.D.Johns Hopkins University