Using pooled data from the 1980, 1985, and 1990 Current Population Surveys, we describe fertility trends by age and education for the period 1963-1989. Interest focuses on whether the effects of education have changed across this period. We show that women with college degrees experienced dramatic shifts toward later ages of childbearing. This shift is consistent with arguments we develop about the increased opportunity for women to pursue careers and about changes in the availability of child care.

Education and the changing age pattern of American fertility: 1963-1989

This observational study of 74 families investigated 3 areas of maternal psychological functioning (emotional distress, authoritarian child-rearing values, negative perceptions of children) that might mediate the relationship between 3 separate dimensions of family demographic characteristics, conceptualized as chronic environmental stressors (i.e., financial, structural, and historical circumstances), and the emotionally affective behavior of mothers. Demographic conditions accounted for 52.9% of the variance in mothers' psychological characteristics and as much as 36.6% of the variance in positive and negative behaviors to children. The psychological characteristics explained as much as 15.1% of the variance in maternal behavior. Both chronic stress and the psychological variables had an independent influence on the general emotional tone of maternal behavior. The findings provide tentative support for the conclusion that the psychological characteristics examined here partially mediate the influence of some demographic or stressful life conditions on the positive and negative behaviors of mothers. Language: en

Perception of child, child-rearing values, and emotional distress as mediating links between environmental stressors and observed maternal behavior.

This paper presents estimates of delayed childbearing and permanent childlessness in the United States and the determinants of those phenomena. The estimates are derived by fitting the Coale-McNeil marriage model to survey data on age at first birth and by letting the parameters of the model depend on covariates. Substantively, the results provide evidence that the low first birth fertility rates experienced in the 1970s were due to both delayed childbearing and to increasing levels of permanent childlessness. The results also indicate that (a) delayed childbearing is less prevalent among black women than among nonblack women; (b) education is an important determinant of delayed childbearing whose influence on this phenomenon seems to be increasing across cohorts; (c) education is positively associated with heterogeneity among women in their age at first birth; (d) the dispersion of age at first birth is increasing across cohorts; (e) race has an insignificant effect on childlessness; and (f) education is positively associated with childlessness, with the effect of education increasing and reaching strikingly high levels for the most recent cohorts.

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What are the determinants of delayed childbearing and permanent childlessness in the United States

Objectives. Advanced maternal age at first birth, but not at subsequent births, may have detrimental health implications for both mother and child, such as a poor birth outcome and an increased risk of maternal breast cancer. However, positive outcomes may also result such as an improvement in economic measures and offspring's performance on cognitive tests. Research has indicated that women increasingly are delaying their first births beyond the early twenties, but the recent trends in socioeconomic disparity in age at first birth, and the implications for public health, have not been well described. Method. This study used national birth certificate data for 1969–1994 to examine age at first birth by maternal education level. Current Population Survey data were also used to examine changes over time in age and educational distribution among women of childbearing age. Results. Age at first birth increased during the time period. Median age at first birth increased from 21.3 to 24.4 between 1969 and 1994, and the proportion of first-time mothers who were age 30 or older increased from 4.1% to 21.2%. Age at first birth increased rapidly among women with 12 or more years of education; nearly half (45.5%) of college graduate women who had their first birth in 1994 were age 30 or older, compared with 10.2% in 1969. However, little change was observed among women with fewer than 12 years of education; among those with 9–11 years of education, only 2.5% of first births in 1994 occurred at age 30 or older. Conclusions. The trend toward postponed childbearing has occurred primarily among women with at least a high school education. Health services use, such as infertility treatment and cesarean section, may increase as a result of delayed childbearing among higher educated women. Future examinations of the association between maternal age at first birth and health outcomes may need to take greater account of socioeconomic differentials.

Delayed childbearing by education level in the United States, 1969-1994.

Determinants of the timing of adult role entry

Since the early 60s there has been a trend to delay 1st births. About 1/3 of 1st births are now to women of 25 years of age or older. The decreased risk of unwanted conception and birth has made it easier for couples to delay parenthood. In addition the preference for later parenthood may have increased with the increased education and labor force participation of women. The timing of 1st births affects fertility rates family economies and relations among generations. Delaying parenthood is a recent strategy adopted by women interested in careers especially those with higher education and by couples with an idea of adulthood that does not include parenting. (authors)

Wilkie

Papers

The trend toward delayed parenthood.