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Title: Unintended Pregnancy and the Consequences of Non-Marital Childbearing
Resulting in 1 citation.
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Korenman, Sanders D. Kaestner, Robert Joyce, Theodore J. |
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Unintended Pregnancy and the Consequences of Non-Marital Childbearing Presented: Los Angeles, CA, Population Association of America Meetings, March 2000 Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79 Publisher: Population Association of America Keyword(s): Abortion; Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Birthweight; Breastfeeding; Child Development; Child Support; Childbearing; Marital Status; Modeling; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT); Siblings; Variables, Instrumental Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. We estimate consequences of non-marital childbearing for infant health and child development, including the first estimates of these effects based on comparisons of siblings or first cousins. We also estimate effects of non-marital births by treating non-martial births that result from unintended pregnancies as exogenously determined. To bolster the case for exogeneity, in some models we use information on the availability of abortion services and indicators of state child support policies and enforcement as instrumental variables for pregnancy intention and marital status. Estimates from models with standard controls for mother's family background suggest that non-marital childbearing delays prenatal care initiation, lowers birth weight, increases smoking during pregnancy, reduces breastfeeding, and, according to several indicators, adversely affects child development. However, comparisons of siblings and first cousins suggest that these estimates exaggerate the adverse consequences of non-marital childbearing for children. Evidence of substantial adverse effects remains in comparisons of siblings and first cousins in two cases: elevated risks of smoking during pregnancy among divorced mothers, and reduced breastfeeding among never married mothers. Evidence for an effect of non-marital childbearing on child development is weaker. |
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Bibliography Citation
Korenman, Sanders D., Robert Kaestner and Theodore J. Joyce. "Unintended Pregnancy and the Consequences of Non-Marital Childbearing." Presented: Los Angeles, CA, Population Association of America Meetings, March 2000. |