Racial and Ethnic Variation in the Relationship Between Student Loan Debt and the Transition to First Birth

The Formation and Realization of Fertility Goals Among a US Cohort in the Post-Recession Years

The United States has experienced a sustained fertility decline, with those currently in their childbearing years facing unique constraints. Drawing from the Theory of Conjunctural Action and the Narratives of the Future framework, this work considers how objective and subjective socioeconomic conditions, psychosocial characteristics, and perceptions of well-being are linked to mothers' and childless women's (a) prospective fertility intentions during the Great Recession, (b) realization of those intentions in the post-Recession period, and (c) fertility intentions toward the end of the reproductive years, using Waves IV and V of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. The results confirm the role of standard socioeconomic measures and also highlight the importance of subjective measures. In general, more advantaged women were more likely to intend to have (more) children at both waves and to have children between waves. Furthermore, women who already had children by the Great Recession were more likely than their childless peers to have a(nother) child in the post-Recession period. As this cohort approaches the end of its childbearing years, having unfulfilled fertility plans from earlier in the reproductive life course is a strong predictor of continuing to intend at least one birth.

The interplay of race/ethnicity and education in fertility patterns

This study examines the interplay between race/ethnicity and educational attainment in shaping completed fertility in the United States for women born 1961-80. Using data from the National Survey of Family Growth, 2006-17, we apply multilevel, multiprocess hazard models to account for unobserved heterogeneity and to estimate (1) cohort total fertility rates, (2) parity progression ratios, and (3) parity-specific fertility timing, for non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic women by educational attainment. We find that compared with their white counterparts, fertility was higher among Black and Hispanic women with less than high school education. However, among college-educated women, fertility levels were lowest among Black women and highest among Hispanic women. The difference in fertility between college-educated Black and white women is driven mainly by the smaller proportion of Black mothers having second births. We find little evidence that the observed racial/ethnic disparities in fertility levels by educational attainment are driven by differences in fertility timing.

Rising nonmarital first childbearing among college-educated women: Evidence from three national studies

Levels of nonmarital first childbearing are assessed using recent administrations of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort; the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health; and the National Survey of Family Growth. Results confirm that the higher a woman's educational attainment, the less likely she is to be unmarried at the time of her first birth. A comparison over time shows increases in nonmarital first childbearing at every educational level, with the largest percentage increase occurring among women with college degrees at the BA or BS level or higher. This article projects that 18 to 27% of college-educated women now in their thirties who have a first birth will be unmarried at the time. In addition, among all women who are unmarried at first birth, women with college degrees are more likely to be married at the time of their second birth, and, in a majority of cases, the other parent of the two children was the same person. A growing proportion of well-educated women, and their partners, may therefore be pursuing a family formation strategy that proceeds directly to a first birth, and then proceeds, at a later point, to marriage, followed by a second birth. Possible reasons for the increase in nonmarital first births among the college-educated include the stagnation of the college wage premium; the rise in student debt; decreasing selectivity; and the growing acceptability of childbearing within cohabiting unions, which have become a common setting for nonmarital childbearing, and among single parents.

To be or not to be: relationship between grandparent status and health and wellbeing

Background

It is common for older people to become grandparents in later life. However, the impacts of grandparenting on their health and well-being remain ambiguous, especially in Chinese society, where the family is in the core of culture. The current study explored the relationship between grandparenthood and Chinese older people’s health and psychological well-being in Hong Kong.

Methods

Cross-sectional data were collected from a sample of 1208 Hong Kong Chinese older people aged 55 and above through a telephone survey conducted in 2019. Participants were grouped into three categories: current grandparents (n = 507), grandparents-to-be (n = 275), and grandparents-not-to-be (n = 426). Multivariate linear regressions were performed to examine the relationship between grandparenting status and health and well-being outcomes, including self-rated physical health, mental health, resilience, and happiness. The potential moderating roles of older adults’ demographic characteristics, including age, sex, education, marital status, financial status, were also examined.

Results

Bivariate analyses suggested statistically significant differences between health and well-being across the three groups of participants. Regression models showed that, compared with grandparents-not-to-be, being a current grandparent was associated with a significantly higher happiness level. Being a future grandparent was associated with significantly higher levels of happiness, resilience, and self-rated physical health. Moderating analyses showed that age, marital status, and educational level could moderate the relationship between grandparent status and resilience and self-rated mental health.

Conclusions

The current study offers preliminary insights into the significant relationship between grandparenthood and older adults’ health and well-being. It calls for future studies to further explore the mechanisms between grandparenthood and the healthy ageing of different subgroups of older adults.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12877-021-02052-w.

Pathways to Parenthood in Social and Family Context: Decade in Review, 2020

OBJECTIVE

This article reviews research from the past decade on patterns, trends, and differentials in the pathway to parenthood.

BACKGROUND

Whether, and under what circumstances, people become parents has implications for individual identity, family relationships, the well-being of adults and children, and population growth and age structure. Understanding the factors that influence pathways to parenthood is central to the study of families and can inform policies aimed at changing childbearing behaviors.

METHOD

This review summarizes recent trends in fertility as well as research on the predictors and correlates of childbearing, with a focus on the United States and on research most relevant to family scholars. We document fertility differentials and prevailing explanations for variation across sub-groups and discuss alternative pathways to parenthood, such as adoption. The article suggests avenues for future research, outlines emerging theoretical developments, and concludes with a discussion of fertility policy.

RESULTS

U.S. fertility has declined in recent years; whether fertility rates will increase is unclear. Elements of the broader social context such as the Great Recession and increasing economic inequality have impacted pathways to parenthood, and there is growing divergence in behaviors across social class. Scholars of childbearing have developed theories to better understand how childbearing is shaped by life course processes and social context.

CONCLUSION

Future research on the pathways to parenthood should continue to study group differentials, refine measurement and theories, and better integrate men and couples. Childbearing research is relevant for social policy, but ideological factors impact the application of research to policy.

Rising Household Debt and Children's Socioemotional Well-being Trajectories

Debt is now a substantial aspect of family finances. Yet, research on how household debt is linked with child development has been limited. We use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 cohort and hierarchical linear models to estimate associations of amounts and types of parental debt (home, education, auto, unsecured/uncollateralized) with child socioemotional well-being. We find that unsecured debt is associated with growth in child behavior problems, whereas this is not the case for other forms of debt. Moreover, the association of unsecured debt with child behavior problems varies by child age and socioeconomic status, with younger children and children from less-advantaged families experiencing larger associations of unsecured debt with greater behavior problems.