Presents summaries from marital status life tables for Swiss men and women born between 1888 and 1945. Results show the Swiss have followed a general Western trend toward more and earlier marriages and higher levels of divorce. However, in Switzerland, changes were largely ones of degree. (JAC)

Examined relationship between cohabitation and marital instability among U.S. women born between 1928 and 1957. Although cohabitation was generally associated with higher risks of marital dissolution, differential was much smaller (or reversed) in recent cohorts where cohabitation was more common. Association between cohabitation and marital…

Used the 1980 Current Population Survey to highlight differentials in life-course events of American women born during the first half of the 20th century. Results indicated blacks have greater variation than whites around nearly all life-course events studied, but the overall level of variation among both blacks and whites has been declining…

Examined timing of completion of childbearing in cohorts of American women born in 1906-15, 1916-25, 1926-30, and 1931-35. Revealed large changes in timing of completion of childbearing. Among whites, found 50 percent reduction in proportion finishing after age 37. Among blacks, found large reductions in proportion ending before age 25 and…

Presents data and discussion comparing life-cycle measures of divorced women with those of women who had never divorced. Findings indicate that differences do exist in the timing of life-cycle events according to marital history, race, and education but that birth cohort association represents an overriding source of differential timing. (Author)

Examines individual and labor market influences on wage attainment across the different family and work schedules followed by 1,417 married women aged 30 to 44. Results showed early career entry, continuous employment and favorable industrial locations yielded higher wages at midlife, although few women fit this pattern. (JAC)

Examined the hypothesis that the higher the divorce rate, the more likely that unhappy couples will terminate their marriages. Shows that when type of sample, dependent measure, and method of analysis are held constant, the increased divorce rate is not an important factor in explaining marital satisfaction. (Author)

Examines data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to compare family experiences of Black and White children born in 1950-1954 with children born in 1980. Discusses one-parent households and proportion of children's lives spent in various family types. Suggests children's experience depends on famly type at birth. (NRB)

Reconstructs social indicators of activity patterns at age 17. Respondents (N=662) were asked to recall various features of daily life at that age. The results indicated a secular decline in the time adolescents spend in family and household settings and with parents nearby. (Author/JAC)

Analyzed the 1972-1980 General Social Surveys to develop models accounting for changes in patterns of marital structure over time. Results did not indicate that the young and least educated contribute disproportionately to increased family instability. Cohort membership and educational attainment must be considered. (JAC)

Examined the socioeconomic determinants of the timing of remarriage for young women (N=238). While socioeconomic and demographic variables are only moderately useful predictors of remarriage, not taking into account background factors can lead to significant misstatements of the importance of various factors for interpreting the likelihood of…

Examines increases in dissolved marriages among families in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics between 1969 and 1978, considering changes in cohort composition of heads of households and changes in the female's role in the family. Discusses implications of results for use of life-event variables in accounting for divorce. (NRB)

Studied long-term consequences of adolescent marriage in three age cohorts of males. Found that Black and White males who married as adolescents completed less education, earned less, held lower-status occupations, and experienced more marital disruption than did peers who married as adults. (Author/NB)

Analyzed data on employment after marriage for a cohort of women born around 1938. Results show a decline in the propensity to follow a conventional pattern of leaving the work force due to marriage or childbirth. The double track pattern of employment during childrearing is more common. (Author/JAC)

Experiences of cohorts of Swedish females born between 1885-1889 and 1940-1944 are examined, and found to agree with theoretical arguments that increases in female labor-force participation improve feasibility of marriage, while reducing the desirability relative to available alternatives. Increased female labor-force participation also increases…