Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Mothers but not wives: The increasing lag between nonmarital births and marriage

Publication ,  Journal Article
Gibson-Davis, C
Published in: Journal of Marriage and Family
February 1, 2011

This study analyzed trends in marital behavior for unwed mothers who gave birth between 1960 and 2004. With nationally representative data on 15,353 White and Black unmarried mothers, results indicated that mothers who gave birth after 1989 were waiting much longer to marry than were mothers giving birth before 1968. The most pronounced delays were found immediately after a birth. Over the study period, the cumulative proportion of women who married within three years of a birth decreased for Whites by 27% and for Blacks by 60%. Findings underscore the separation that has developed between first births and first marriages in the United States, and they highlight the older ages at which children are experiencing a transition to marriage. © National Council on Family Relations, 2011.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Journal of Marriage and Family

DOI

EISSN

1741-3737

ISSN

0022-2445

Publication Date

February 1, 2011

Volume

73

Issue

1

Start / End Page

264 / 278

Related Subject Headings

  • Family Studies
  • 5203 Clinical and health psychology
  • 5201 Applied and developmental psychology
  • 4410 Sociology
  • 2204 Religion and Religious Studies
  • 1701 Psychology
  • 1603 Demography
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Gibson-Davis, C. (2011). Mothers but not wives: The increasing lag between nonmarital births and marriage. Journal of Marriage and Family, 73(1), 264–278. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00803.x
Gibson-Davis, C. “Mothers but not wives: The increasing lag between nonmarital births and marriage.” Journal of Marriage and Family 73, no. 1 (February 1, 2011): 264–78. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00803.x.
Gibson-Davis C. Mothers but not wives: The increasing lag between nonmarital births and marriage. Journal of Marriage and Family. 2011 Feb 1;73(1):264–78.
Gibson-Davis, C. “Mothers but not wives: The increasing lag between nonmarital births and marriage.” Journal of Marriage and Family, vol. 73, no. 1, Feb. 2011, pp. 264–78. Scopus, doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00803.x.
Gibson-Davis C. Mothers but not wives: The increasing lag between nonmarital births and marriage. Journal of Marriage and Family. 2011 Feb 1;73(1):264–278.
Journal cover image

Published In

Journal of Marriage and Family

DOI

EISSN

1741-3737

ISSN

0022-2445

Publication Date

February 1, 2011

Volume

73

Issue

1

Start / End Page

264 / 278

Related Subject Headings

  • Family Studies
  • 5203 Clinical and health psychology
  • 5201 Applied and developmental psychology
  • 4410 Sociology
  • 2204 Religion and Religious Studies
  • 1701 Psychology
  • 1603 Demography