Hemez, Paul

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Bowling Green State University ScholarWorks@BGSU National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles Sociology 2018 FP-18-22 Young Adulthood: Cohabitation, Birth, and Marriage Experiences Paul Hemez Bowling Green State University, hemezp@bgsu.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/ncfmr_family_profiles  Part of the Family, Life Course, and Society Commons Repository Citation Hemez, Paul, "FP-18-22 Young Adulthood: Cohabitation, Birth, and Marriage Experiences" (2018). National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles. 153. https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/ncfmr_family_profiles/153 This Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Sociology at ScholarWorks@BGSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in National Center for Family and Marriage Research Family Profiles by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@BGSU. Young Adulthood: Cohabitation, Birth,and Marriage Experiences National Center for Family & Marriage ResearchForming a family by having a child or living with a romantic partner (especially in marriage) is considered amarker of adulthood. However, young adults’ experiences of family formation behaviors have shifted over time.As young men and women wait longer to have children or get married (FP-16-07; FP-17-22), and cohabitationhas become a more common experience in recent decades (FP-17-02). Using rounds 1-17 of the NationalLongitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, this Family Profile examines the share of young adults who had a child, gotmarried, and/or cohabited before their 30th birthday for the cohort of men and women who were born between1980 and 1984.NCFMR BGSUFP-18-22 Paul HemezCohabitation, Parenthood, and Marriage Experience in Young AdulthoodFigure 1. Percentage of Young Adults Who ExperiencedCohabitation, Parenthood, and Marriage Before Age 30Source: National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, rounds 1-17 Among the three family formationexperiences considered, cohabitation was themost common – over six in ten young adultshad cohabited prior to their 30th birthday. Overall, half of young adults hadbecome a parent by their 30thbirthday. Source: National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, rounds 1-17 Marriage was the least commonfamily formation experience, asonly 45% of young adults hadmarried by age 30.Cohabitation Birth Marriage62%50% 45%050100Before Age 30COHABITATIONCohabitation Experience in Young AdulthoodFigure 2. Percentage of Young Adults Who CohabitedBefore Age 30, by Select Demographic CharacteristicsA larger share of women (66%) cohabitedduring young adulthood than their malecounterparts (57%).Men and women with a high school degree orGED experienced cohabitation more often(67%) relative to other educational attainmentgroups, whereas those with a Bachelor’sdegree or more had the lowest share ofcohabitation experience (54%). Having cohabited prior to age 30 was mostcommon for Whites (63%) followed byHispanics (60%) and Blacks (57%). This project is supported with assistance from Bowling Green State University.From 2007 to 2013, support was also provided by the U.S. Department ofHealth and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning andEvaluation. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are solely those ofthe author(s) and should not be construed as representing the opinions orpolicy of any agency of the state or federal government.Family Profiles: Original reports summarizing andanalyzing nationally representative data with thegoal to provide the latest analysis of U.S. families.These profiles examine topics related to theNCFMR's core research themes. 419.372.3119 ncfmr@bgsu.eduSuggested Citation:Hemez, P. (2018). Young adulthood: Cohabitation, birth, and marriage experiences. Family Profiles, FP-18-22. Bowling Green, OH: NationalCenter for Family & Marriage Research. https://doi.org/10.25035/ncfmr/fp-18-22. http://www.bgsu.edu/ncfmrNCFMR BGSU Parenthood Experience in Young Adulthood More than half of Hispanics (58%) and nearlytwo-thirds of Blacks had a child before their 30thbirthday compared to 45% of Whites.   A larger share of women (56%) became parentsduring young adulthood than men (44%).   Figure 3. Percentage of Young Adults Who ExperiencedParenthood Before Age 30, by Select Demographic Characteristics   Anderson, L. (2016). Median age at first marriage, 2014. Family Profiles, FP-16-07. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Demographic Research.https://www.bgsu.edu/ncfmr/resources/data/family-profiles/anderson-payne-median-age-first-marriage-fp-16-07.html  Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 cohort, 1997-2015 (rounds 1-17). Produced by the National OpinionResearch Center, the University of Chicago and distributed by the Center for Human Resource Research, The Ohio State University. Columbus, OH: 2015.  Eickmeyer, K. J., Payne, K. K., Brown, S. L., & Manning, W. D. (2017). Crossover in the median age at first marriage and birth: Thirty-five years of change. FamilyProfiles, FP-17-22. Bowling Green, OH: National Center for Family & Demographic Research. https://www.bgsu.edu/ncfmr/resources/data/family-profiles/eickmeyer-payne-brown-manning-crossover-age-first-marriage-birth-fp-17-22.html  Hemez, P., & Manning, W. D. (2017). Over twenty-five years of change in cohabitation experience in the U.S., 1987-2013. Family Profiles, FP-17-02. Bowling Green,OH: National Center for Family & Demographic Research. https://www.bgsu.edu/ncfmr/resources/data/family-profiles/hemez-manning-25-years-change-cohabitation-fp-17-02.html  References: Source: National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, rounds 1-17   Figure 4. Percentage of Young Adults Who Married BeforeAge 30, by Select Demographic Characteristics Marriage in Young Adulthood About six in ten of those with less than a highschool education became parents during youngadulthood. On the other hand, among men andwomen holding a Bachelor’s degree or more,slightly over three in ten became a parent byage 30. More than half (51%) of women born between1980 and 1984 married prior to their 30th birthday.Among men who were born between these years,about 40% had married by age 30.   Marriage experience during young adulthood wasalmost twice as common for Whites (49%) than itwas for Blacks (26%). Hispanic young adults had aslightly lower share of marriage experience (44%)than Whites.   Over half of those with an Associate’s orBachelor’s degree married before the age of 30,whereas less than one-third of those with less thana high school degree had married.  PARENTHOODMARRIAGE

FP-18-22 Young Adulthood: Cohabitation, Birth, and Marriage Experiences

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FP-18-22 Young Adulthood: Cohabitation, Birth, and Marriage Experiences

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