Trajectories of Union Transition in Emerging Adulthood: Socioeconomic Status and Race/Ethnicity Differences in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 Cohort

Abstract

Objective The objective of this study was to describe the patterns of union transition in emerging adulthood for the 1980 to 1984 cohort and examine its associations with socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity. Background Research on diverging destinies of cohabitation and marriage tends to focus on singular transitions rather than entire individual trajectories composed of dimensions such as timing, order, duration, and number of transitions. Method Drawing on monthly prospective data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, social sequence analysis was used to classify union transition trajectories from ages 16 to 30. Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the probability of membership in each cluster. Results The findings showed the following six key clusters of trajectories: mostly single (37.6%), some cohabiting (13.8%), serial cohabiting (10.6%), early 20s marriage (11.4%), late 20s marriage (22.5%), and turbulent (4.1%). We found that young adults were most likely to be in the “mostly single” cluster, regardless of socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity. Individuals with college degrees tended to marry in their late 20s, whereas individuals without college degrees were more likely to be in “serial cohabiting” and “turbulent” clusters. Individuals who lived with neither of their biological parents were more likely to belong to “early 20s marriage” and “turbulent” clusters when compared with those who lived with at least one of their biological parents. Blacks were more likely to remain single, whereas non‐Hispanic Whites were more likely to marry sometime in their 20s. Conclusion Evidence for diverging trajectories exists in this recent cohort, but we also find that most young adults in fact stay single. We also highlight the benefits of considering multiple aspects of trajectories concurrently, especially as relationship instability and complexity increase.

Racial and Ethnic Heterogeneity in Housework Time

“…Previous studies have shown racial and ethnic differences in union formation in the United States (Addo, 2012;Bloome & Ang, 2020;Cohen & Pepin, 2018;Huebner, 2007;Lopoo & Western, 2005;Manning et al, 2014;Raley & Sweeney, 2009). For example, Zhang and Ang (2020) found that the Black population, particularly Black men, have a lower likelihood of entering into their first union before the age of thirty.…”

Solo Dance? Gender Differences in Housework among Solo Households in the United States

“…Previous studies suggest that most women and men enter into couple households over life stages (Manning, Brown, and Payne 2014;Zhang and Ang 2020). For old women and men in solo households, their decision to stay in solo households may reflect that they do not want to enter into a formal relationship or want to have children (Jamieson and Simpson 2013).…”

The declining earnings gap between young women and men in the United States, 1979–2018

“…A significant percentage of people in recent cohorts are staying single, or to a less degree cycling in and out of cohabiting relationships (Y. Zhang & Ang, 2020). Those with higher levels of education are most likely to get married, and individuals often wait to get married until they have achieved a level of financial security and stability (Cherlin, 2009;Smock & Greenland, 2010).…”