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The promotion of marriage and two-parent families as a strategy to reduce welfare dependency continues to be a major public policy goal of the 1996 welfare reform. Based on the assumption that women will marry employed men and that their earnings will lift poor mothers and their children from public dependency, this objective raises important policy questions. In this article, the authors investigate the extent to which unwed mothers--a large proportion of all welfare mothers--enter into and maintain stable cohabiting and marital relationships with economically attractive men. Using retrospective data on relationship histories for 3,872 women from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth, the authors examine the marital life course of unwed mothers and document the social and economic characteristics of their partners at midlife. Their marital search model shows that nonmarital childbearing is adversely associated with the ability to marry economically attractive men and maintain long-term marital unions. Keywords: unwed mothers; marriage; cohabitation; marital search; mate selection

The impact of New Hope project, an anti-poverty program, on rates of marriage among never-married mothers is examined. It is reported that the project resulted in an increase in the rates of marriage, income, salary growth and goal effectiveness and reduced depression among never-married mothers.

Objectives. Many single mothers are likely to face special economic challenges in old age, because they often have limited employment histories and cannot rely on husbands for financial support. This article examines the economic status of these women in later life. Methods. The analysis uses nationally representative data from the Health and Retirement Study to estimate multivariate models of income, assets, and poverty rates for women aged 65-75 in 1999. Results. Controlling for education, current marital status, and race and ethnicity, the models indicate that women who spent [less than or equal to] 10 years raising dependent children outside of marriage are 55% more likely to live in poverty at ages 65-75 than women who were always married when their children were young. Discussion. The financial difficulties confronting single mothers raising children persist into later life. Social Security reforms, especially those that are not tied to the current system of spousal and survivor benefits, could improve retirement security for these vulnerable women, whose numbers will begin to soar when the many women who raised children outside of marriage in thee 1970s retire in coming years.

This paper extends previous work on premarital childbearing by modeling both the entry rates and the exit rates of unwed motherhood among young American women. In particular, I investigate the impact of economic resources on the likelihood of experiencing a premarital birth and then of subsequent marriage. Using a multiple-destination, multiple-spell hazard regression model and a microsimulation analysis, I analyze the accumulating effects of various economic variables. The results show that the economic resources are indeed important both for premarital childbearing and for subsequent marriage. However, the simulations show that large changes in these economic variables do not necessarily translate into large changes in nonmarital childbearing.

The economic aspects of unwed mothers and their social implications are examined. Topics include the employability of and earning capacity of unwed mothers, the employability and earning capacity of mothers in a cohabiting relationship, the 1996 replacement of Aid for Dependent Children with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and economic survival techniques for single mothers.

Different sources of public and private financial supports help young, unmarried mothers to achieve economic self-sufficiency. Economic assistance helps such women to pursue education, find an eligible partner, and give birth to more children. Child support, food stamps, and economic aid from welfare programs such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children are the traditional methods of income support. However, relatives and shared housing provide additional help. Marriage is insufficient as a long-term solution to help unwed mothers in attaining self-sufficiency.

Objective. The purpose of this research is to assess the extent to which school enrollment, the continuity of job holding over the past 12 months, and wages shape a woman's risk and resolution of a first premarital conception. Methods. This research draws on eight years (1979-86) of the National Longitudinal Survey of Labor Force Experience (Youth Cohort) and includes information on 4,172 women aged 16-28. The analysis is based on event history and multinomial logistic regression models as well as interaction models for age and race/ethnicity (Hispanic, black, and white). Results. The risk of a premarital conception is notably lower for those who are enrolled, although the effect diminishes as women age. Higher wages and longer spells of employment serve to lower the risk of conception for whites and Hispanics but not for blacks. Enrollment, higher wages, and longer spells of employment also boost the chances of an abortion relative to a premarital or marital birth. Conclusions. Enrollment and employment experiences are important determinants of the risk and resolution of a first premarital pregnancy, and further work in this area is warranted.

Assessment of the information on 1,033 African American mothers living in Chicago's poor localities indicates the increase in families managed by never-married mothers, who are likely to face severe financial troubles in comparison to families headed by formerly married mothers. Factors including number of children and time on Aid to Families with Dependent Children are the best indicators of the marital status of women.

A comparison between unwed mothers who had twins for their first delivery and unwed mothers who had single babies was made to determine the economic impact of having children out of wedlock on such mothers. The methodology employs micro data from 1970 and 1980 Census. It is shown that such births have variant effects across races and across cohorts of unwed women. In addition, black women exhibited in the cohort category showed substantial decreases in marriage and earning probabilities.

This article uses qualitative interviews from a sample of never-married African American mothers to describe the ways that poor women dynamically adapt to economic marginality. The empirical data serve to expand on structural explanations that correctly demonstrate the link between economic factors and family patterns among the poor, but ignore non-nuclear family arrangements and omit personal agency in understanding poverty. Findings from the study highlight the viability of alternative family patterns and the active roles that women play in mediating the effects of poverty. They also suggest direction for a broader research agenda.