SPOUSES OR BABIES - RACE, POVERTY AND PATHWAYS TO FAMILY FORMATION INURBAN AMERICA

This article analyses the Urban Poverty and Family Life Survey of Chic ago and an urban subsample of the National Survey of Families and Hous eholds to examine race and ethnic variation in the occurrence and cons equences of birth versus marriage pathways to family formation. Result s based on multiple-decrement life table analysis and multi-variate li fe table regression analysis reveal strong race and poverty effects on pathways to family formation, but Hispanic origin does not systematic ally influence the odds that women will enter family life via marriage versus birth. We show stronger race effects on pathways to family for mation for the Chicago sample owing to the much higher incidence of te en parenting among black inner-city residents. Results also suggest la sting economic consequences of non-marital fertility, irrespective of whether women eventually many or divorce subsequent to a premarital bi rth.