Publications [#184207] of Christina M. Gibson-Davis

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Journal Articles

  1. Gibson-Davis, C.M.. "Mothers but not wives: The increasing lag between nonmarital births and marriage." Journal of Marriage and Family 73 (2011): 1-15. [pdf]
    (last updated on 2013/10/17)

    Abstract:
    Motivated by evidence suggesting that marriage and childbearing have become increasingly temporally and theoretically disconnected, this study investigates if the lag between first birth and first marriage has increased for five out-of-wedlock birth cohorts. Data come from seven panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) that provides information on more than 15,000 white and black nonmarital births from the years 1960 to 2004. Though most mothers eventually marry, results indicate that first-time single mothers are waiting much longer to marry than did single mothers of forty years ago. Over the study period, the cumulative proportion of women who married within three years of a birth decreased by 27% for white women and 60% for black women. Cox regression models further indicate that odds of marriage for unmarried mothers have decreased by one-fifth for white women and one-half for black women. Results are more pronounced among women with lower levels of educational attainment. Findings underscore the separation that has developed between births and marriages in the United States, and have important implications for the family formation experiences of children.

Christina M. Gibson-Davis