In this article, I use data on women (N= 655) from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth to examine the correlates of second marital dissolution. I update the limited number of previous studies on this topic by focusing on the relationships between divorce and the complex life course patterns that characterize respondents in second marriages.…

This research examines trends in a broad set of reproductive and marital behaviors in Ghana, focusing on religious group differences. These comparisons provide evidence of how family trends are constrained by religious identity in a less developed country. Three waves of the Ghana Demographic and Health Surveys are used to track trends in the age…

Assessed marital change following childbirth in a longitudinal study of 72 couples. Analysis indicated the transition to parenthood resulted in somewhat unfavorable changes, but spouses scoring high on marital functioning tended to do so with their new parent role as well. (JAC)

Couples (N=46) expecting their first child completed the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Scale and the Bem Sex Role Inventory during the last trimester of the wife's pregnancy and again after the birth of the baby. Results indicated that wives' marital adjustment scores were significantly lower following the birth. (Author)

Data from a national sample of married adults, interviewed four times between 1980 and 1992, do not support the idea that unhappily married couples use childbearing as a strategy to increase solidarity and reduce marital uncertainty. Instead, results indicate that a solid marriage and compatibility between spouses encourage parenthood and…

The weeks following the birth of a child can be stressful for new mothers. Maternal stress may be increased when mothers are dissatisfied with instrumental partner support (e.g., division of childcare duties and family decision-making power). The purpose of the current study was to determine if there is an association between dissatisfaction with…

We examine the assortative mating patterns of new parents who are married, cohabiting, romantically involved and no longer romantically involved. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study, we find that relationship status at the time of a birth depends mainly on father's race rather than on whether mother and father's…