Lauren Suchman. The relationship between racial differences in American men's views of marriage and childbearing and their informal marital status at first birth . Master's Degree(Population and Social Research). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2007.
The relationship between racial differences in American men's views of marriage and childbearing and their informal marital status at first birth
Abstract:
The latest round of the U.S. National Survey of Family Growth shows that,
in contrast to their peers of other races, it is most common for black men to be
living separately (not married or cohabiting) from their partner at the time of their
first child’s birth. In light of this information, this paper examines the relationship
between race, views of marriage and childbearing, and informal marital status at
first child’s birth among men in the U.S. Using a sample of about 1,700 men from
the 2002 U.S. National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), the paper tests the
hypotheses that race affects men’s views of marriage and childbearing, and these
views affect whether or not men were living with their partner at the time of their
first child’s birth, net of other factors. Cross-tabulation results show that there are
statistically significant relationships between race, views of marriage and
childbearing, and informal marital status at first child’s birth. However, regression
analysis shows that socio-demographic factors account more for racial differences
in informal marital status at first birth than do views of marriage and childbearing.
These findings have implications for both marriage and welfare policy in the U.S.