Abstract

PIP: Based on data from the marital histories contained in the 1973 National Survey of Family Growth, this research investigates the impact of age at 1st marriage and premarital fertility status on subsequent marital dissolution for both black women and white women 1st married between 1950 and 1970. Results, using multivariate proportional hazards models, indicate that 1) premarital births, but not premarital pregnancies, increase the risk of marital dissolution; 2) an increasing age at the 1st marriage reduces the risk of marital separation and divorce, but not monotonically; 3) blacks differ from whites in that they are less responsive to the effects of a premarital birth or a young age at 1st marriage in increasing the likelihood of marital instability; and 4) an older age at 1st marriage offsets somewhat the destabilizing effects of a premarital birth. Variables used in the analysis include husband/wife age difference at marriage, education at marriage, farm versus nonfarm background, stability of parental marriage, religion, religiosity, work before marriage, number of siblings, urban or rural residence, western versus nonwestern region, 1st marriage cohort, premarital fertility status and age at 1st marriage. Policy implications include reducing the level of premarital births, and establishing support programs for those having a premarital birth without a legitimating marriage which will delay subsequent marriage, especially if the birth occurred at a young age.