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Article Abstract  

Finding a Mate? The Marital and Cohabitation Histories of Unwed Mothers


  Author: Daniel T. Lichter, Deborah Roempke Graefe
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
Publication:
Document Date:                  November 1999
Category: Marriage > Marriage Rate
Related Categories:
Family Structure > Cohabitation/Common-Law Marriage
Family Structure > Parental Marital Status
Parenthood/Childrearing > Unwed Mothers
 

This paper examines marital outcomes for unwed mothers.  It finds that, compared to women who did not have a non-marital birth, unwed mothers are significantly less likely to ever marry and are more likely to form informal, cohabiting unions.  The authors conclude that these findings cannot be fully explained by selection and that a causal relationship may exist between out-of-wedlock childbearing and subsequent lower rates of marriage.

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