Children of immigrants: Racial assortative mating and the transition to adulthood
Population Studies
Few studies have followed immigrant-origin individuals from adolescence to adulthood or examined their spousal choices. Using longitudinal data from Add Health, we present a life-course model that examines the differences in racial assortative mating between children of immigrants and non-immigrants. The results reveal substantial variation in racial endogamy from generation to generation. Racial endogamy was highest in the third generation, but this is due entirely to high racial endogamy among whites. Out-marriage was most pronounced among first- and second-generation immigrants. Our life-course approach shows that the effects of race and generation on intermarriage were mediated by family background (e.g. language proficiency and residence) and educational attainment (at time of marriage), a finding largely indicative of processes of marital assimilation that unfold over time and generation. Evidence of acculturation and structural assimilation, however, could not fully account for the large, persistent, and uneven effects of race and generation on interracial marriage.
Children of Immigrants and Nonmarital Fertility in the United States
Migration Letters
There is vast research on the patterns and consequences of nonmarital fertility; but relatively little is known about how the patterns of nonmarital fertility vary according to the immigrant generational status of young adult Americans. This paper examines differences in the risk of experiencing a nonmarital first birth between children of immigrants and children of native-born Americans. Results from the longitudinal data and event history models show that children of immigrants are less likely to have a nonmarital first birth compared to children of native-born Americans. A range of demographic and mitigating factors drive these nonmarital fertility patterns but do not fully account for the differences. I provide possible explanations for children of immigrants’ lower risks of experiencing a nonmarital first birth. This study provides new insights into differentials into the family context faced by the next generation of Americans.
Cohabitation and Contraceptive Use in the United States: A Focus on Race and Ethnicity
Population Research and Policy Review
While cohabitation has been increasing and a growing context to have and raise children, there has been little attention to one of the key determinants of fertility and effective contraceptive use. Drawing data from the 2013–2015 National Survey of Family Growth (N = 2285), we provide a contemporary portrait of contraceptive use among cohabiting American women. Specifically, we were guided by two main goals. First, we compared cohabiting and married women’s contraceptive use patterns and the variation by race and ethnicity. Second, we focused solely on cohabiting unions; and examined the racial and ethnic variation among cohabiting women. We found that cohabiting women are more likely to use effective methods of contraception than married women. Nonetheless, our findings point to the fact that white cohabiting women are driving the higher patterns of contraceptive use among cohabiting women. Indeed, a further examination of the variation among women in cohabiting relationships shows that black cohabitors are less likely to use effective contraception in cohabiting relationships, compared to whites. Our findings contribute to understanding the reproductive behaviors among a growing set of couples, cohabitors.