We employ newly developed methods to disentangle age, period and cohort effects on non-marital fertility ratios from 1972 through 2002 for black and white women ages 20-44 in the United States. We focus on three cohort factors: family structure, school enrollment and the sex ratio. For both blacks and whites, cohorts with less traditional family…

While income inequality among college graduates is well documented, inequality in occupational status remains largely unexplored. We examine whether and how occupational specificity of college majors is related to college graduates' transition into the labor market and their subsequent occupational trajectories. Analyses of NLSY79 indicate that…

Many youth in the United States lack clear occupational aspirations. This uncertainty in achievement ambitions may benefit socio-economic attainment if it signifies "role exploration," characterized by career development, continued education and enduring partnerships. By contrast, uncertainty may diminish attainment if it instead leads…

In over 500,000 pregnancies in 1980, abortions were more likely among White unmarried adult women than among Black; among Black married women than among White. Likelihood of abortion increased monotonically with increasing education, but only for unmarried women. Results were similar for a teenage sample. Contains 32 references. (SV)

Multivariate hazards regression analysis of data from the 1979-85 National Longitudinal Mortality Study provided mixed results concerning the social integration hypothesis of suicide. Among white males, divorced or separated men and those living alone had significantly higher risks of suicide mortality, but single and widowed men did not have…

Life history data from both origin and destination areas were used to examine the relationship between migration and fertility among Puerto Rican women. Migration to the U.S. mainland had opposite effects on childbearing for single versus married or cohabiting women. For all migrants, migration played an integral part in the family formation…