To better understand the social factors that influence the diverse pathways to family formation young adults experience today, this research investigates the association between opposite-gender relationships during late adolescence and union formation in early adulthood. Using data from the first and third waves of the Add Health (n = 4,911), we show that, for both men and women, there is continuity between adolescent and adult relationship experiences. Those involved in adolescent romantic relationships at the end of high school are more likely to marry and to cohabit in early adulthood. Moreover, involvement in a nonromantic sexual relationship is positively associated with cohabitation, but not marriage. We conclude that the precursors to union formation patterns in adulthood are observable in adolescence.Keywords adolescent relationships; cohabitation; marriage; sexual behavior Over the past 15 years, the typical age at first marriage has shifted to later ages, continuing a trend that began in the 1950s. In 1990, the median age at marriage for men was 26.1, whereas the median age for women was 23.9. In 2003, the estimated median age at marriage had increased to 27.1 for men and 25.3 for women (Fields, 2003). Along with this shift, the experiences of early adulthood have become increasingly varied. Some marry early, whereas others cohabit or remain single. Among the cohort of women born during [1965][1966][1967][1968][1969], approximately one-half had married (23% after cohabiting), 15% had cohabited without marrying, and one-third had formed no union by age 25 (Raley, 2000).A life course approach helps us to better understand this variation in family transitions by recognizing that events in one stage are shaped in part by what happened in the preceding stage. That development is a cumulative and life-long process suggests that we should observe continuity between one life course stage and the next. Researchers have produced some evidence of this continuity in family patterns. For example, those whose first marriages end in divorce have greater risks of divorce in subsequent marriages even controlling for factors such as race, education, and age at first marriage (Martin & Bumpass, 1989). Patterns of divorce also suggest continuity between educational and marital careers. Marital dissolution is more common for those who start, but do not complete, a college degree than for those who never attend college or who earn a college degree (Glick & Norton, 1977;Raley & Bumpass, 2003 NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript personality characteristics or there may be consistent factors in the social context. For example, given that people tend to live in similar neighborhoods throughout their adult lives, neighborhood factors that contribute to a first divorce might increase the risk of a second. Life course theory suggests that early life course experiences inform the developmental process and contribute to this continuity (Elder, 1975).Although some evidence suggests contin...

I use a sample of 12,973 adolescents in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine race/ethnic differences in perception of the likelihood of marriage in adulthood and the role of heterosexual romantic relationship experience in explaining this difference. Compared to adolescents from other race/ethnic backgrounds, White adolescents are more likely to date and are especially more likely than Black adolescents to participate in serious romantic relationships that increase marital expectations. Although the type of current or recent relationship is associated with marital expectations, they do not explain the observed race/ethnic gap in these expectations. Overall, the results suggest that these adolescent romantic experiences likely play only a small role in determining differential marital expectations.

This study examined the association between family structure history and adolescent romance. Using a national sample drawn from Add Health (N= 13,570), family structure at Wave I was associated with the likelihood that adolescents were involved in a romantic relationship at Wave II and, among those in a relationship, the number of relationships they had since Wave I. Cumulative family instability and its timing were also associated with these outcomes and largely drove the family structure effects. Gender and age interactions suggest that experiences of family instability were more consequential to the romantic lives of boys and younger teens.

Prior research has documented a relationship between unintended pregnancy and negative consequences for infants and children. Much of this research is based on retrospective reports of intention, but this method has been critiqued as subject to biases in recall and reporting. Non-retrospective measures have also been employed, but these are less widely available and tend to be hindered by limited samples. Using the 1988 National Maternal and Infant Health Survey and its 1991 Longitudinal Follow-Up, a composite measure of reported pregnancy intention and birth control use is constructed to attempt to overcome some limitations of the use of retrospective reports of intention. This composite measure is compared to more conventional measures through analyses predicting the effects of pregnancy intention on child health, activity, and development. Across the different constructions of the pregnancy intention measure, children from unintended pregnancies have poorer outcomes. They are more likely to have less than excellent health, undesirable activity levels, and below median scores on a development assessment. The composite measure predicts similarly to the more conventional measures of intention, but provides an additional dimension that helps address some of the concerns about bias in retrospective reporting, while maintaining the benefit of application in existing large and representative samples. Researchers and policy makers need to continue their concern about the effects of unintended pregnancies, and need widely available measures to understand determinants, consequences, and prevention strategies.

This study examines the relationship between sport participation and perceptions of body size and weight-loss strategies among adolescent girls. Using a sample of 7,214 girls, ages 12–18 years, from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we find that girls who participate in stereotypically feminine sports are more likely to report feeling overweight, attempt to lose weight, and use multiple weight-loss strategies compared with nonathletes. We also find that the associations for weight loss, but not overweight perception, are generally weaker for non-White girls. These findings suggest that participation in stereotypically feminine sports, particularly for White girls, might exacerbate body image and dieting problems associated with dominant gender roles, but participation in stereotypically masculine sports does not.