Table 1.
Descriptive Characteristics of Men and Women with a Nonmarital First Birth
| Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|
| Sociodemographic Characteristics | ||
| Race/ethnicity | ||
| Hispanic | 27.2% | 18.5%** |
| Non-Hispanic White | 42.3% | 51.1%** |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 24.1% | 25.9%** |
| Other | 6.1% | 4.6%** |
| Foreign born | 20.5% | 13.5%*** |
| Family structure at age 14 | ||
| Both biological parents | 67.8% | 60.0%* |
| Stepfamily | 10.2% | 12.4%* |
| Other | 22.1% | 27.4%* |
| Mother’s education | ||
| Less than HS/missing | 35.8% | 34.5% |
| HS/GED | 41.6% | 37.4% |
| Some college | 14.1% | 18.4% |
| College or more | 8.6% | 9.7% |
| Mother had 1st birth <18 yrs old | 21.2% | 24.8% |
| First Birth Characteristics | ||
| Age (years) | 22.9 (−0.23) | 21.6*** (−0.14) |
| Cohabiting | 54.1% | 27.3%*** |
| Had high school diploma or GED | 53.2% | 54.1% |
| Second Birth Characteristics | ||
| No second birth | 38.4% | 33.5%*** |
| Noncoresidential | 11.5% | 33.2%*** |
| Cohabiting | 24.4% | 12.1%*** |
| Married | 25.8% | 21.1%*** |
| Current Family Characteristics | ||
| Union status | ||
| Married | 46.4% | 45.2%*** |
| Cohabiting, never married | 26.2% | 15.4%*** |
| Cohabiting, previously married | 2.1% | 2.9%*** |
| Separated, divorced, or widowed | 9.1% | 13.4%*** |
| Never married | 16.2% | 23.1%*** |
| Number of children | 2.2 (−0.07) | 2.2 (−0.04) |
| Current Socioeconomic Characteristics | ||
| Education | ||
| Less than HS | 28.2% | 23.1%*** |
| HS/GED | 45.7% | 39.0%*** |
| Some college | 16.7% | 20.6%*** |
| Associate degree | 3.2% | 6.8%*** |
| College or more | 6.3% | 10.5%*** |
| Labor force participation | ||
| Employed fulltime | 70.5% | 46.9%*** |
| Employed parttime | 8.3% | 13.5%*** |
| Employed but temporarily not working | 3.9% | 4.7%*** |
| School | 0.2% | 0.6%*** |
| Not working or in school | 17.1% | 34.3%*** |
| Income | ||
| Less than $10,000 | 14.0% | 13.7% |
| $10,000–14,999 | 8.2% | 14.2% |
| $15,000–24,999 | 18.7% | 18.1% |
| $25,000–34,999 | 20.3% | 15.4% |
| $35,000–49,999 | 14.9% | 14.8% |
| $50,000 or more | 24.0% | 23.0% |
| N | 795 | 2455 |
Source: National Survey of Family Growth. All statistics weighted.
*
p ≤ .05.
**
p ≤ .01.
***
p ≤ .001. Significant differences between men and women using chi-square test.