CHILDCOHAB · Nonmarital childbearing in comparative perspective: trends, explanations, and lifecourse trajectories

Over the past several decades, childbearing within cohabitation has risen sharply throughout most of Europe, Australia, and the U.S. This project aims to study the diffusion of childbearing within cohabitation using a number of analytic levels and methodological perspectives. We will explore the following questions:1) Trends: How does fertility differ by union status, and how do these differences change over time? Are there differences by parity, age pattern, or timing? How does the decline in marital fertility contribute to the increase in share of nonmarital births?2) Explanations: What are the underlying reasons for increasing childbearing within cohabitation? What has produced variation across countries? How do policies impact and/or respond to childbearing within cohabitation? How do societal-level perceptions of cohabitation, marriage, and childbearing differ across countries?3) Lifecourse trajectories: How do the lifecourse trajectories for women who bear children differ by union status? Are women who give birth within cohabitation more likely to experience changes in family structure? Is childbearing within cohabitation associated with future negative social, emotional, or economic outcomes?To answer these questions, we will use an innovative mixed-methods strategy that 1) analyzes a unique database of harmonized reproductive and union histories, 2) conducts qualitative research into the role of policies and general perspectives on nonmarital childbearing, and 3) examines longitudinal surveys in comparative perspective. Ultimately, we aim to develop a new theoretical framework for understanding the diffusion of family change. This research will provide insights into whether lifecourse trajectories are diverging, potentially exacerbating social inequality.