Citation
Guzzo, Karen Benjamin & Hayford, Sarah R. (2015). The role of educational aspirations and attainment in explaining early unintended childbearing. Annual Meeting of the Society for Longitudinal and Lifecourse Studies. Dublin, Ireland.Abstract
This paper will examine differences in plans and motivations in adolescence as a potential explanation for variation in childbearing at different points in the life course, focusing on race-ethnic differences. In the United States, race-ethnic differences in childbearing behavior are longstanding and well-documented. Black and Hispanic women have higher birth rates than white women, particularly for early and nonmarital births. These differences are primarily driven by unintended births – race-ethnic differences in desired family size and desired birth timing are smaller than differences in behavior. However, the reasons underlying race-ethnic differences in unintended fertility are not well understood. We draw on three waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (“Add Health”) to analyze the relationship between childbearing attitudes and educational aspirations measured in adolescence (age 12-19) and unintended childbearing in early adulthood (ages 18-24 and 24-32). We move beyond previous studies by considering desires and expectations for educational attainment, a key life course domain often considered to conflict with childbearing, as well as attitudes more directly related to fertility. We examine early goals for college attendance, the degree to which these goals change over time, and the later achievement (or not) of these goals as possible mechanisms connecting early attitudes and subsequent unintended fertility. Analyses will focus on race-ethnic differences in educational aspirations and the achievement of aspirations as possible explanations for race-ethnic differences in unintended fertility.Reference Type
Conference proceedingBook Title
Annual Meeting of the Society for Longitudinal and Lifecourse StudiesSeries Title
Fertility Intentions and Behaviors across the Life Course SymposiumAuthor(s)
Guzzo, Karen BenjaminHayford, Sarah R.