Nonmarital Childbearing: Trends, Reasons, and Public Policy Interventions (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Nov. 20, 2008 |
| Report Number |
RL34756 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Carmen Solomon-Fears, Domestic Social Policy Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
In 2006, a record 38.5% of all United States births were nonmarital births. Many of these children grow up in mother-only families. Although most children who grow up in mother-only families or step-parent families become well-adjusted, productive adults, the bulk of empirical research indicates that children who grow up with only one biological parent in the home are more likely to be financially worse off and have worse socioeconomic outcomes (even after income differences are taken into account) compared to children who grow up with both biological parents in the home.
In recognition of the potential long-term economic and social consequences associated with nonmarital births, the federal government's strategy with regard to nonmarital childbearing has been varied. The federal government recognizes that an effective approach for teenagers may be inappropriate for older women. Federal policy toward teens has primarily focused on pregnancy prevention programs, whereas federal policy toward older women has focused on healthy marriage programs. Federal income support programs are available to mothers of all age groups.
In the U.S., nonmarital births are widespread, touching families of varying income class, race, ethnicity, and geographic area. Many analysts attribute this to changed attitudes about fertility and marriage. They find that many adult women and teenage girls no longer feel obliged to marry before, or as a consequence of, having children. With respect to men, it appears that one result of the so-called sexual revolution is that many men now believe that women can and should control their fertility via contraception or abortion and have become less willing to marry the women they impregnate.
Factors that are associated with the unprecedented level of nonmarital childbearing include an increase in the median age of first marriage (i.e., marriage postponement), decreased childbearing of married couples, increased marital dissolution, an increase in the number of cohabiting couples, increased sexual activity outside of marriage, participation in risky behaviors that often lead to sex, improper use of contraceptive methods, and lack of marriageable partners.
This report analyzes the trends in nonmarital childbearing, discusses some of the characteristics of unwed mothers, addresses some issues involving the fathers of children born outside of marriage, covers many of the reasons for nonmarital childbearing, examines the impact of nonmarital births on families and on the nation, and presents the public policy interventions that have been used to prevent nonmarital births or ameliorate some of the negative financial consequences that are sometimes associated with nonmarital childbearing. This report will not be updated.
