Why Do Poor Men Have Children? Fertility Intentions among Low-Income Unmarried U. S. Fathers

Over the past several decades, nonmarital childbearing rates have risen sharply, especially among socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. Recent research suggests that disadvantaged Americans may defer or delay marriage in part because of perceived economic barriers. Yet, childbearing is also costly...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:The New York Times Current History of the European War. - THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY, 1820. - 624(2009) vom: Juli, Seite 99-117
1. Verfasser: Augustine, Jennifer March (VerfasserIn)
Weitere Verfasser: Nelson, Timothy, Edin, Kathryn
Format: Online-Aufsatz
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: 2009
Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk:The New York Times Current History of the European War
Schlagworte:poverty fatherhood nonmarital childbearing fertility decisions planned pregnancy unplanned pregnancy disadvantage Social sciences Biological sciences Behavioral sciences Health sciences
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Over the past several decades, nonmarital childbearing rates have risen sharply, especially among socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. Recent research suggests that disadvantaged Americans may defer or delay marriage in part because of perceived economic barriers. Yet, childbearing is also costly. Few studies have examined low-income parents' motivations for having children in a context of socioeconomic disadvantage. This study deploys qualitative data drawn from repeated, in-depth interviews with a heterogeneous sample of low-income, noncustodial fathers (N = 171) in which men describe in rich detail the circumstances surrounding the conceptions of each of their children and characterize their fertility intentions. The authors find that "planned" and "unplanned" pregnancies are at either end of a continuum of intentionality and that the vast majority of pregnancies are in intermediate categories along that continuum.
ISSN:27682692
DOI:10.2307/40375955