Citation
Guzzo, Karen Benjamin (2014). New Partners, More Kids: Multiple-Partner Fertility in the United States.
The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 654(1), 66-86. PMCID: PMC4182921
Abstract
Declining rates of marriage and overall increases in union instability, combined with high levels of unintended and nonmarital fertility, create the possibility for parents to have children with more than one partner, called multiple-partner fertility, or MPF. The unique characteristics of families with MPF present data and other logistical challenges to researchers studying the phenomenon. Drawing from recent studies and updated data, I present new estimates of MPF that show that about 13 percent of men aged 40 to 44 and 19 percent of women aged 41 to 49 have children with more than one partner, with a higher prevalence among the disadvantaged. Compared to parents with two or more children by only one partner, people with MPF become parents at younger ages, largely with unintended first births, and often do so outside of marriage. This article touches on the implications of MPF for families and concludes by discussing the theoretical difficulties in studying MPF and the challenges it presents to public policy.
URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0002716214525571Reference Type
Journal Article
Year Published
2014
Journal Title
The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
Author(s)
Guzzo, Karen Benjamin
Article Type
Regular
PMCID
PMC4182921
ORCiD
Guzzo - 0000-0001-9718-8465
