Marital Trajectories of American Women: Variations in the Life Course

Abstract

Data from the 1980 Current Population Survey are used to highlight differentials in the life-course events of American women born during the first half of the 20th century. We examine marital trajectories in relation to demographic variables such as birth cohort, race, educational attainment, and number of times married. The analysis considers both mean and median data for all estimated life-course events and discusses variation around lifecourse events as well. Among the findings are that blacks have shorter time intervals between marriage and first birth and have more children than whites, although the latter differential is narrowing. Education was found to have a significant impact on the timing and occurrence of most life-course events, particularly among blacks. At higher educational levels, black and white fertility experiences are converging. Events occurring mostly at younger ages, such as first marriage, are more concentrated than events occurring at later ages, suggesting that although marital paths may begin at similar points they progress at different paces. Blacks have greater variation than whites around nearly all life-course events studied, but the overall level of variation among both blacks and whites has been declining steadily across the cohorts studied.