NONMARITAL COHABITATION AND CHILDBEARING AMONG BLACK-AND-WHITE AMERICAN WOMEN

Previous studies have suggested that there are racial differences in t he role of cohabitation in the family-formation process. This study pr ovides an empirical analysis of this issue by examining the childbeari ng behavior of approximately 733 black and 2,986 white cohabiting and married women at two stages in the marital life course. The results in dicate that, for both first unions and first postmarital unions, the r ate of childbearing within cohabitation more closely approximates the rate of childbearing within legal marriage among black women than whit e women. In fact, among black women in first postmarital unions, cohab itors and the legally married are equally likely to have a birth. In a ddition, among white women, the likelihood of a birth among relatively disadvantage cohabitors is closer to that of legally married women th an is the likelihood of a birth among more advantaged cohabitors. Over all, it appears that cohabitation is most similar to legal marriage as a setting for childbearing among black women and relatively disadvant aged white women.