Diversity in pathways to parenthood: Patterns, implications, and emerging research directions

Journal of Marriage and Family

Volumn 72, Issue 3, 2010, Pages 576-593

  Smock, Pamela J ^a   Greenland, Fiona Rose ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN   (United States)

Author keywords

Cohabitation; Demography; Family structure; Inequality; Parenthood; U.S. families

Indexed keywords

EID: 77955532206     PISSN: 00222445     EISSN: 17413737     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00719.x     Document Type: Review

References (117)

1. Abma J C, Martinez G M. Childlessness among older women the United States: Trends and profiles. Journal of Marriage and Family 2006, 68:1045-1056..
2. Bachu A, O'Connell M. 2001, P20-543. Fertility of American women: June 2000., Current Population Reports, Series, Washington, DC, U.S. Census Bureau.
3. Barber J S. Ideational influences on the transition to parenthood: Attitudes toward childbearing and competing alternatives. 2001, 64:101-127.. Social Psychology Quarterly
4. Barber J S, Axinn W G, Thornton A. Unwanted childbearing, health, and mother-child relationships. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 1999, 40:231-257..
5. Barber J S, East P. Home and parenting resources available to siblings depending on their birth intention status. Child Development 2009, 80:921-939..
6. Becker G. A treatise on the family. 1981, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press
7. Beckman L J, Harvey S M. Current reproductive technologies: Increased access and choice? Journal of Social Issues 2005, 61:1-20..
8. Blair-Loy M. Competing devotions: Career and family among women executives. 2003, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press
9. Brown S. Fertility following marital dissolution: The role of cohabitation. Journal of Family Issues 2000, 21:501-524..
10. Brown S L, Manning W D. Children's economic well-being in married and cohabiting parent families. Journal of Marriage and Family 2006, 68:345-362..
11. Bumpass L, Lu H. Trends in cohabitation and implications for children's family contexts. 2000, 54:29-41.. Population Studies
12. Bzostek S H. Social fathers and child well-being. Journal of Marriage and Family 2008, 70:950-961..
13. Carlson M J, Furstenberg F F. The prevalence and correlates of multipartnered fertility among urban US parents. Journal of Marriage and Family 2006, 68:718-732..
14. Carlson M J, McLanahan S S, Brooks-Gunn J. Involvement with young children after a nonmarital birth. Demography 2008, 45:461-488..
15. Carlson M J, McLanahan S S, England P. Union formation in fragile families. Demography 2004, 41:237-261..
16. Chandra A, Martinez G M, Mosher W D, Abma J C, Jones J. 2005, Fertility, family planning, and reproductive health of U.S. women: Data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth. National Statistics Reports, Series 23, No. 25. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.
17. Cherlin A J. Going to extremes: Family structure, children's wellbeing, and social science. Demography 1999, 36:421-428..
18. Cherlin A J. The deinstitutionalization of American marriage. Journal of Marriage and Family 2004, 66:848-861..
19. Cherlin A J. 2000s, 72:403-419. Demographic trends in the, United States, A review of research in the, Journal of Marriage and Family
20. Choi K H, Seltzer J A. With (or without) this ring: Race, ethnic, and nativity differences in the demographic significance of cohabitation in women's lives. Center for Population Research On-Line 2009, California, Working Paper Series, No. 2009-004., Los Angeles, University of California.
21. Crittenden A. The price of motherhood 2001, New York, Metropolitan Books
22. Dunne G A. Lesbians option into motherhood: Lesbians blurring the boundaries and transforming the meaning of parenthood and kinship. Gender and Society 2000, 14:11-35..
23. Edin K, Kefalas M. 2005, Promises I can keep. Berkeley: University of California Press.
24. Edin K, Tach L, Mincy R. Claiming fatherhood: Race and the dynamics of paternal involvement among unmarried men. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 2009, 621:149-177..
25. Ellwood D, Jencks C. 2005, http://www.russellsage.org/programs/other/inequality/050221.100862.download, The growing difference in family structure: What do we know? Where do we look for answers? Retrieved June 8,, from
26. Finer L B, Henshaw S K. Disparities in rates of unintended pregnancy in the United States: 1994 and 2001. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 2006, 38:90-96..
27. Fomby P, Cherlin A J. Family instability and child wellbeing. American Sociological Review 2007, 72:181-204..
28. Furstenberg F F. Changing roles of fathers. Escape from poverty: What makes a difference for children 1995, 189-210. Chase-Landsdale P LBrooks-Gunn J., (pp., Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press
29. Gates G, Sell R. Measuring gay and lesbian couples. Handbook of measurement issues in family research 2006, Hofferth S, Casper L., (pp. 235-262)., Mahwah, NJ, Erlbaum
30. Gibson J D, Koenig M A, Hindin M J. The effects of unintended pregnancy on infant, child, and parental health: A review of the literature. Studies in Family Planning 2008, 39:18-38..
31. Gibson-Davis C M, Edin K, McLanahan S. High hopes but even higher expectations: The retreat from marriage among low-income couples. Journal of Marriage and Family 2005, 67:1301-1312..
32. Glick J E. 2010, 72:498-515. Connecting complex processes: A decade of research on immigrant families., Journal of Marriage and Family
33. Glick J E, Ruf S D, White M J, Goldscheider F. Educational engagement and early family formation: Differences by ethnicity and generation. Social Forces 2006, 84:1391-1415..
34. Goffman A. On the run: Wanted men in a Philadelphia ghetto. American Sociological Review 2009, 74:339-357..
35. Graefe D R, Lichter D T. Life course transitions of American children: Parental cohabitation, marriage and single motherhood. 1999, 36:205-217.. Demography
36. Graefe D R, Lichter D T. Marriage among unwed mothers: Whites, Blacks and Hispanics compared. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 2002, 34:286-293..
37. Guzzo K B, Furstenberg F F. Multipartnered fertility among American men. Demography 2007, 44:583-601..
38. Hamilton L, Cheng S, Powell B. Adoptive parents, adaptive parents: Evaluating the importance of biological ties for parental investment. American Sociological Review 2007, 72:95-116..
39. Hamilton B E, Martin J A, Ventura S J. 2007, (7). Births: Preliminary data for 2006, National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 56, No., Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics
40. Hamilton B E, Martin J A, Ventura S J. 2009, (12). Births: Preliminary data for 2007., National Vital Statistics Reports, Web release, Vol. 57, No., Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.
41. Hamilton B E, Sutton P D, Ventura S J. 2003, (12). Revised birth rates for the 1990s and new rates for Hispanic populations, 2000 and 2001: United States, National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 51, No., Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.
42. Harding D J. Cultural context, sexual behavior, and romantic relationships in disadvantaged neighborhoods. American Sociological Review 2007, 72:341-364..
43. Harknett K, Kuperberg A. Educational and transitions to marriage following a nonmarital birth 2009, Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America,, Detroit, MI
44. Harknett K, McLanahan S. Racial and ethnic differences in marriage after the birth of a child. American Sociological Review 2004, 69:790-811..
45. Hayford S R. Stable aggregate fertility in a time of family change: A decomposition of trends in American fertility, 1970-1999. Social Biology 2005, 52:1-17..
46. Hayford S R, Morgan S P. Religiosity and fertility in the United States: The role of fertility intentions. Social Forces 2008, 86:1163-1188..
47. Hewlett S A. Creating a life: Professional women and the quest for children. 2002, New York, Talk, Miramax Books
48. Hummer R A, Hack K A, Raley R K. Retrospective reports of pregnancy wantedness and child wellbeing in the United States. Journal of Family Issues 2004, 25:404-428..
49. Jones J. 2008, Adoption experiences of women and men and demand for children to adopt by women 18-44 in the United States, 2002, Vital and Health Statistics Series, Vol. 23, No. 27, Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.
50. Kennedy S, Bumpass L. Cohabitation and children's living arrangements: New estimates from the United States. Demographic Research 2008, 19:1663-1692..
51. Lansford J E, Ceballo R, Abbey A, Stewart A J. Does family structure matter? A comparison of adoptive, two-parent biological, single-mother, stepfather, and stepmother households. Journal of Marriage and Family 2001, 63:840-851..
52. Lareau L. 2003, Unequal childhoods: Race, class, and family life. Berkeley: University of California Press.
53. Lichter D T, Graefe D R. Men and marriage promotion: Who marries unwed mothers? Social Service Review 2007, 81:397-421..
54. Lichter D T, Graefe D R, Brown J B. Is marriage a panacea? Union formation among economically disadvantaged unwed mothers. Social Problems 2003, 50:60-86..
55. Lundquist J H, Budig M J, Curtis A. Race and childlessness in America, 1988-2002. Journal of Marriage and Family 2009, 71:741-755..
56. Malizia B A, Hacker M R, Penzias A S. Cumulative live birth rates after in vitro fertilization. New England Journal of Medicine 2009, 360:236-243..
57. Manlove J, Logan C, Ikramullah E, Holcombe E. Factors associated with multiple-partner fertility among fathers. Journal of Marriage and Family 2008, 70:536-548..
58. Manning W, Smock P J. New families and nonresident father-child visitation. Social Forces 1999, 78:87-116..
59. Manning W D, Smock P J. Swapping families? Serial parenting and economic support for children. Journal of Marriage and the Family 2000, 62:111-122..
60. Manning W D, Smock P J. Measuring and modeling cohabitation. New perspectives from qualitative data. Journal of Marriage and Family 2005, 67:989-1002..
61. Manning W D, Smock P J, Majumdar D. The relative stability of cohabiting and marital unions for children. Population Research and Policy Review 2004, 23:135-159..
62. Marsiglio W. Stepdads: Stories of love, hope, and repair. 2004, Lanham, MD, Rowman & Littlefield
63. Martin S P. Diverging fertility among U.S. women who delay childbearing past age 30. Demography 2000, 27:523-533..
64. Martin S P. Delayed marriage and childbearing: Implications and measurement of diverging trends in family timing. Social inequality 2004, Neckerman K., (pp. 79-119)., New York, Russell Sage Foundation
65. Matthews T J, Hamilton B E. 2002, (1). Mean age of mother, 1970-2000, National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 51, No., Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.
66. McLanahan S S, Sandefur G. Growing up with a single parent: What helps, what hurts. 1994, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press
67. Mincieli L, Manlove J, McGarrett M, Moore K, Ryan S. The relationship context of births outside of marriage: The rise of cohabitation 2007, 2007-13. Child Trends Research Brief No., Washington, DC, Child Trends
68. Morgan S P, Bledsoe C, Bianchi S M, Chase-Lansdale P S, DiPrete T A, Hotz V J, Sanders S, Seltzer J A, Thomas D. Designing new models for explaining family change and variation. 2009, http://www.soc.duke.edu/∼efc/Docs/pubs/EFC%20FINAL%20AUG%2018%20complete%20w%20appendice.pdf, Retrieved February 5,, from
69. Morgan S P, Taylor M G. Low fertility at the turn of the twenty-first century. Annual Review of Sociology 2006, 32:375-399..
70. Musick K. Planned and unplanned childbearing among unmarried women. Journal of Marriage and Family 2002, 64:915-929..
71. Musick K. Cohabitation, nonmarital childbearing, and the marriage process. Demographic Research 2007, 16:249-286..
72. Oppenheimer V. Cohabiting and marriage during young men's career development process. Demography 2003, 40:127-149..
73. Osborne C, Manning W D, Smock P J. Married and cohabiting parents' relationship stability: A focus on race and ethnicity. Journal of Marriage and Family 2007, 69:1345-1366..
74. Pagnini D, Rindfuss R R. The divorce of marriage and childbearing: Changing attitudes and behavior in the U.S. 1993, 19:31-47.. Population and Development Review
75. Parrado E A, Morgan S P. Intergenerational fertility among Hispanic women: New evidence of immigrant assimilation. Demography 2008, 45:651-671..
76. Parsons T. The social structure of the family. The family: Its function and destiny 1949, Anshen R., (pp. 173-201)., New York, Harper & Brothers.
77. Pearce L D. The influence of early life course religious exposure on young adults' dispositions toward childbearing. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 2002, 41:325-340..
78. Proctor B, Dalaker J. 2002, Poverty in the United States: 2001, Current Population Reports, P60-219, Washington, DC, U.S. Census Bureau.
79. Qian Z C, Lichter D T, Mellott L M. Out-of-wedlock childbearing, marital prospects and mate selection. Social Forces 2005, 84:473-491..
80. Quesnel-Vallée A, Morgan S P. Missing the target? Correspondence of fertility intentions and behavior in the U.S. Population Research and Policy Review 2003, 22:497-525..
81. Raley R K. Increasing fertility in cohabiting unions: Evidence for the second demographic transition in the United States? Demography 2001, 38:59-66..
82. Raley R K, Sweeney M M. Exploring race and ethnic variation in marriage: Directions for future research. Race and Social Problems 2009, 1:132-142..
83. Raley R K, Wildsmith E. Cohabitation and children's family instability. Journal of Marriage and Family 2004, 66:210-219..
84. Reed J. Not crossing the " extra" line: How cohabitors with children view their unions. Journal of Marriage and Family 2006, 68:1117-1131..
85. Rendall M S, Clarke L, Peters E, Ranjit N, Verropolou G. Incomplete reporting of men's fertility in the United States and Britain: A research note. Demography 1999, 36:135-144..
86. Ryan S, Franzetta K, Schelar E, Manlove J. Family structure history: Links to relationship formation behaviors in young adulthood. Journal of Marriage and Family 2009, 71:935-953..
87. Ryan R M, Kalil A, Ziol-Guest K M. Longitudinal patterns of nonresident fathers' involvement: The role of resources and relations. Journal of Marriage and Family 2008, 70:962-977.
88. Samuels G M. " Being raised by White people": Navigating racial difference among adopted multiracial adults. Journal of Marriage and Family 2009, 71:80-94..
89. Santelli J S, Orr M, Lindberg L D, Diaz D C. Changing behavioral risk for pregnancy among high school students in the United States, 1991-2007. Journal of Adolescent Health 2009, 44:25-32..
90. Sassler S, Cunningham A. How cohabitors view childbearing. Sociological Perspectives 2008, 51:3-28..
91. Sassler S, Goldscheider F. Revisiting Jane Austen's theory of marriage timing: Changes in union formation among American men in the late 20th century. Journal of Family Issues 2004, 25:139-166..
92. Sassler S, Schoen R. The effects of attitudes and economic activity on marriage. Journal of Marriage and the Family 1999, 61:147-159..
93. Schoen R, Tufis P. Precursors of nonmarital fertility in the United States. Journal of Marriage and Family 2003, 65:1030-1040..
94. Sears R B, Gates G J, Rubenstein W B. Same-sex couples and same-sex couples raising children in the United States: Data from Census 2000. 2005, Los Angeles, Williams Project on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy, UCLA School of Law.
95. Seltzer J A. Cohabitation in the United States and Britain: Demography, kinship, and the future. Journal of Marriage and Family 2004, 66:921-928..
96. Sigle-Rushton W, McLanahan S. For richer or poorer? Marriage as an anti-poverty strategy in the United States. Population 2002a, 57:509-526..
97. Sigle-Rushton W, McLanahan S. The living arrangements of new unmarried mothers. Demography 2002b, 39:415-433..
98. Simmons T, Connell M. Married-couple and unmarried partner households: 2000 2003, Census 2000 Special Reports., Washington, DC, U.S. Census Bureau.
99. Smock P J. The wax and wane of marriage: Prospects for marriage in the 21st century. Journal of Marriage and Family 2004, 66:966-973..
100. Smock P J, Casper L M, Wyse J J. Nonmarital cohabitation: Current knowledge and future directions for research 2008, Population Studies Research Report 08-648, Ann Arbor, MI, Population Studies Centers
101. Smock P J, Manning W D. Cohabiting partners' economic circumstances and marriage. Demography 2007, 34:331-341.
102. Smock P J, Manning W D, Porter M. " Everything's there except money": How money shapes decisions to marry among cohabitors. Journal of Marriage and Family 2005, 67:680-696..
103. Sobolewski J M, King V. The importance of the coparental relationship for nonresident fathers' ties to children. Journal of Marriage and Family 2005, 67:1196-1212..
104. South S J. Historical changes and life course variation in the determinants of premarital childbearing. Journal of Marriage and the Family 1999, 61:752-763..
105. Sweeney M M. Two decades of family change: The shifting economic foundations of marriage. American Sociological Review 2002, 67:132-147..
106. Thornton A. The developmental paradigm, reading history sideways, and family change. Demography 2001, 38:449-465..
107. 2009, http://adoption.state.gov/news/total_chart.html, U.S. Department of State., Total adoptions to the, United States, Retrieved February 5,, from
108. Ventura S, Bachrach C. 2000, Nonmarital childbearing in the United States: 1940-1999, National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 48, No. 16. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.
109. Ventura S J. Changing patterns of nonmarital childbearing 2009, in the, United States, NCHS Data Brief, No. 18. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.
110. Waller M. Meanings and motives in new family stories: The separation of reproduction and marriage among low-income black and white parents. The cultural territories of race: Black and White boundaries 1999, Lamont M., (pp. 182-218)., Chicago, University of Chicago Press
111. Wilcox W B, Wolfinger N H. Then comes marriage? Religion, race, and marriage in urban America. Social Science Research 2007, 36:569-589..
112. Wildsmith E, Raley R K. Race-ethnic differences in nonmarital fertility: A focus on Mexican American women. Journal of Marriage and Family 2006, 68:491-508..
113. Wilson W J. 1987, The truly disadvantaged. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
114. Wu L L, Bumpass L, Musick K. Historical and lifecourse trajectories of nonmarital childbearing. Out of wedlock: Causes and consequences of nonmarital fertility 2001, Wu L L, Wolfe B, ., (pp. 3-48)., New York, Russell Sage Foundation
115. Wu L L, Musick K. Stability of marital and cohabiting unions following a first birth. 2008, 27:713-727.. Population Research and Policy Review
116. Wu L L, Thomson E. Race differences in family experience and early sexual initiation: Models of family structure and family change. Journal of Marriage and Family 2001, 63:682-696..
117. Xie Y, Raymo J, Goyette K, Thornton A. Economic potential and entry into marriage and cohabitation. Demography 2003, 40:351-367..