This study examines the effect of family of origin and procreation on
job exits for a sample of young White women and. men (ages 18-24) betw
een 1980 and 1986. Unlike much of the sociological literature that emp
loys path analysis to examine occupational attainment at a small numbe
r of fixed points in time, this study employs event history analysis t
o examine family status factors and occupational attainment as dynamic
processes. A competing risk model is used to estimate the effects of
marriage and child status as well as socioeconomic status, age, and a
set of control variables on two types of job exits: exits to school an
d exits for reasons other than school For men the results indicate tha
t marriage and children at job entry have a negative effect an both ja
b exits to attend school and exits for reasons other than school. For
women marriage and children at job entry have a negative effect on job
exits to attend school but a positive effect on job exits for reasons
other than school. For the most part, the effects of marriage on job
exits were shown to be weaker than the effects of children. These find
ings suggest that despite the influx of women into the labor force dur
ing the 1980s, young women with children at job entry may have conside
red parenting rather than financial provision for their family to be t
heir primary responsibility. The opposite holds true for young men