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Author: Wu, Lawrence L.
Resulting in 15 citations.
1. Martin, Steven P.
Wu, Lawrence L.
The Subsequent Fertility of Adolescent Mothers in the United States
CDE Working Paper No. 98-01, Center for Demography and Ecology, Madison WI: University of Wisconsin - Madison, May 1998.
Also: http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/cde/cdewp/1998papers.htm
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Center for Demography and Ecology
Keyword(s): Adolescent Fertility; Age at First Birth; Birth Rate; Childbearing; Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Ethnic Differences; Mothers, Adolescent; Racial Differences

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Also: Presented: Toronto, Canada, Annual Meetings of the American Sociological Association, August 1997

This paper describes recent patterns in the subsequent fertility of women in the United States by comparing rates of second and higher-order births for women with teen and nonteen first births. We expand upon previous work by paying particular attention to issues related to the spacing of second births. We pose and answer three questions concerning the pace and tempo of second and higher-order births. First, is an early first birth associated with a quicker overall pace of second births? Second, is an early first birth associated with higher second birth rates during the first few months postpartum? And third, does an early first birth or a closely spaced second birth speed the pace of higher-order births? For black women, we find that a first birth before age eighteen speeds the overall pace of second births by about 25 percent, and that part of this overall difference is due to a doubling of the pace of second births in the first 15 months postpartum. For white women, we find no association between a first birth before age eighteen and the overall pace of second births, but a strong positive association between an adolescent first birth and the pace of second births in the 15 months postpartum, and a negative association at longer durations. For black and white women, an early age at first birth is associated with a faster pace of third births, an effect that appears to persist for fourth births. However, a closely spaced second birth is at least as strongly associated with a fast pace of third and later births as is an adolescent first birth. These results suggest substantial spacing effects on second and higher order births that, in several instances, outweigh effects of a teen first birth. We discuss implications of these findings for policies concerning teen childbearing and argue for special attention to pregnancy prevention in the six months immedia tely following a first birth.

Bibliography Citation
Martin, Steven P. and Lawrence L. Wu. "The Subsequent Fertility of Adolescent Mothers in the United States." CDE Working Paper No. 98-01, Center for Demography and Ecology, Madison WI: University of Wisconsin - Madison, May 1998.
2. Wu, Lawrence L.
Effects of Family Instability, Income, and Income Instability on the Risk of a Premarital Birth
American Sociological Review 61,3 (June 1996): 386-406.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2096355
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: American Sociological Association
Keyword(s): Adolescent Fertility; Childbearing; Childbearing, Premarital/Nonmarital; Divorce; Family Income; Family Structure; First Birth; Household Composition; Income; Marriage; Parental Influences; Social Environment

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Previous work by Lawrence L. Wu & Brian C. Martinson (see SA 41:4/9304117) reported (1) a strong & statistically significant association between frequent changes in the numbers & types of parental figures a young woman has lived with & her risk of bearing her first child out of wedlock, & (2) weak & statistically nonsignificant associations between measures of a young woman's exposure to a mother-only family during childhood & adolescence & this risk. A serious limitation of these findings is the absence of controls for income. Here, prospective income histories & retrospective parental histories from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (N = 1,471 white & 766 black women ages 14-29 in 1979) were examined to determine if the effect of family instability on premarital births is an artifact of low, unstable, or declining family income. While low income is found to be associated with significantly increased premarital birth risks, the effects of income & change in family structure are largely independent. 5 Tables, 1 Figure, 1 Appendix, 41 References. Adapted from the source document. (Copyright 1996, Sociological Abstracts, Inc., all rights reserved.)
Bibliography Citation
Wu, Lawrence L. "Effects of Family Instability, Income, and Income Instability on the Risk of a Premarital Birth." American Sociological Review 61,3 (June 1996): 386-406.
3. Wu, Lawrence L.
Effects of Family Structure and Income on the Risk of a Premarital Birth
Presented: Miami, FL, Population Association of America Meetings, May 1994
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Childbearing, Premarital/Nonmarital; Family Structure; Fertility; Household Composition; Income

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Bibliography Citation
Wu, Lawrence L. "Effects of Family Structure and Income on the Risk of a Premarital Birth." Presented: Miami, FL, Population Association of America Meetings, May 1994.
4. Wu, Lawrence L.
Robust M-Estimation of Location and Regression
In: Sociological Methodology. N.B. Tuma, ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1985
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Keyword(s): Research Methodology; Wages

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This chapter discusses one class of robust estimators, the M-estimators, which are designed to perform well even when the observed data deviate from the common assumption of a Gaussian (or normal) distribution. An advantage of M-estimators is that they permit the estimation of both central tendency in univariate problems and regression coefficients in multivariate problems. Several empirical examples are given, including an analysis of data taken from the 1979 NLSY on hourly wages of a sample of 19-year-old white males. Differences between OLS and M-estimates of regression coefficients appear due to one extreme outlier and several other cases with low reported wages.
Bibliography Citation
Wu, Lawrence L. "Robust M-Estimation of Location and Regression" In: Sociological Methodology. N.B. Tuma, ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1985
5. Wu, Lawrence L.
Cherlin, Andrew J.
Bumpass, Larry L.
Family Structure, Early Sexual Behavior, and Premarital Births
CDE Working Paper No. 96-25, part 2 of 2 Madison WI: University of Wisconsin - Madison, Center for Demography and Ecology, 1997.
Also: http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/cde/cdewp/1996papers.htm
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Center for Demography and Ecology
Keyword(s): Adolescent Fertility; Age at First Intercourse; Childbearing, Adolescent; Childbearing, Premarital/Nonmarital; Family Structure; Marital Status; National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG); Racial Differences; Sexual Activity; Sexual Behavior

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Abstract on-line. In this paper, we argue that entry into first sexual intercourse is a key process mediating the effects of family structure on premarital childbearing. We explicate three ways in which onset of sexual activity can mediate effects of family structure on premarital first births. First, the gross association between family structure and premarital birth risks may be due entirely to the effect of family structure on age at first intercourse. Second, the earlier the age at first intercourse, the longer the duration of exposure to the risk of a premarital first birth. Third, an early age at first intercourse may proxy unmeasured individual characteristics correlated with age at onset but uncorrelated with other variables in the model. We develop methods to assess such mediating effects and analyze data from two sources, the 1979-93 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and the 1988 National Survey of Family Growth. We find that age at first intercourse partially mediates the effect on premarital birth risks of both snapshot measures of family structure at age 14 and a time-varying measure of the number of family transitions, but that significant effects of these variables remain net of age at first intercourse. Delaying age at intercourse by one year reduces the cumulative relative risk of a premarital first birth by a similar amount for both white and black women. For black women, the magnitude of this effect is roughly the same as that of residing in a mother-only family at age 14.
Bibliography Citation
Wu, Lawrence L., Andrew J. Cherlin and Larry L. Bumpass. "Family Structure, Early Sexual Behavior, and Premarital Births." CDE Working Paper No. 96-25, part 2 of 2 Madison WI: University of Wisconsin - Madison, Center for Demography and Ecology, 1997.
6. Wu, Lawrence L.
Cherlin, Andrew J.
Bumpass, Larry L.
Family Structure, Early Sexual Behavior, and Premarital Births
Discussion Paper No. 1125-97, Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1997.
Also: http://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/dps/pdfs/dp112597.pdf
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP), University of Wisconsin - Madison
Keyword(s): Adolescent Behavior; Adolescent Fertility; Age at First Intercourse; Childbearing, Premarital/Nonmarital; Family Structure; Marital Status; National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG); Racial Differences; Sexual Behavior

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

In this paper, we argue that entry into first sexual intercourse is a key process mediating the effects of family structure on premarital childbearing. We explicate three ways in which onset of sexual activity can mediate effects of family structure on premarital first births. First, the gross association between family structure and premarital birth risks may be due entirely to the effect of family structure on age at first intercourse. Second, the earlier the age at first intercourse, the longer the duration of exposure to the risk of a premarital first birth. Third, an early age at first intercourse may proxy unmeasured individual characteristics correlated with age at onset but uncorrelated with other variables in the model. We develop methods to assess such mediating effects and analyze data from two sources, the 1979-93 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and the 1988 National Survey of Family Growth. We find that age at first intercourse partially mediates the effect on premarital birth risks of both snapshot measures of family structure at age 14 and a dine-varying measure of the number of family transitions, but that significant effects of these variables remain net of age at first intercourse. Delaying age at intercourse by one year reduces the cumulative relative risk of a premarital first birth by a similar amount for both white and black women. For black women, the magnitude of this effect is roughly the same as that of residing in a mother-only family at age 14.
Bibliography Citation
Wu, Lawrence L., Andrew J. Cherlin and Larry L. Bumpass. "Family Structure, Early Sexual Behavior, and Premarital Births." Discussion Paper No. 1125-97, Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1997.
7. Wu, Lawrence L.
Li, Jui-Chung Allen
Children of the NLSY79: A Unique Data Resource
Monthly Labor Review 128,2 (February 2005): 59-62.
Also: http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2005/02/art8exc.htm
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79
Publisher: U.S. Department of Labor
Keyword(s): Behavior; Children; Education; Longitudinal Surveys; Overview, Child Assessment Data; Socioeconomic Background

The survey provides a wealth of information on the education, socioeconomic background, and cognitive, social, and emotional development of children aged 14 and younger; and on the workforce participation, education, marital, and fertility behaviors of young adults aged 15 or older; the data have been heavily used by researchers across a wide range of disciplines.

A remarkable design aspect of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) is the availability of longitudinal data on all children born to women in the original NLSY79 sample. The resulting data from the Children of the NLSY79 provide a resource that is unique in many respects. Perhaps not surprisingly, these data have been used by researchers across a wide range of disciplines, including child development, demography, economics, epidemiology, family studies, social policy, and sociology. Much of the usefulness of these data stem from two key factors: they can be linked to the rich longitudinal data for the NLSY79 mothers, and the child and young adult surveys are themselves longitudinal, covering a wide range of ages from early childhood and adolescence through the young adult years.

Sample design
As noted in other articles in this issue of the Monthly Labor Review, the main respondents in the NLSY79 are a nationally representative sample of individuals aged 14–22 in 1979, with surveys conducted annually through 1994 and biennially since 1996. The child sample—consisting of offspring aged 14 or younger—was begun in 1986, while the young adult sample—consisting of offspring aged 15 or older—was begun in 1994, with both the child and young adult samples fielded biennially since initial data collection.1 The survey instruments differ substantially in the child and young adult surveys, as reviewed below. Because of the longitudinal design of the child and young adult samples, offspring are interviewed initially in the child sample, and then in the young adult sample as they reach adolescence. Thus by design, sample sizes in the two samples will vary from wave to wave, but as of the 2002 wave, the child sample contained 11,340 children, and the young adult sample contained 4,648 young adults.

Bibliography Citation
Wu, Lawrence L. and Jui-Chung Allen Li. "Children of the NLSY79: A Unique Data Resource." Monthly Labor Review 128,2 (February 2005): 59-62.
8. Wu, Lawrence L.
Martin, Steven P.
Insights from a Sequential Hazard Model of Entry into Sexual Activity and Premarital First Births
Presented: San Francisco CA, Population Association of America Meetings, May 2012
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Childbearing, Premarital/Nonmarital; First Birth; Modeling, Hazard/Event History/Survival/Duration; Sexual Activity; Socioeconomic Factors

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This paper discusses a model that supposes that women become at risk of a premarital first birth only after becoming sexually active. We use the resulting sequential hazard framework to further decompose the probability of a premarital first birth into components reflecting: (1) differences in exposure to risk via earlier or later sexual onset and (2) differences in risks following onset. Our empirical analyses, using data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, replicate previous findings that socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with earlier sexual onset and higher premarital first birth risks. However, results from our decompositions show that group differences in onset timing have far a smaller influence on premarital first birth probabilities than do group differences in risks following onset. We conclude by speculating on the possible substantive and policy implications of these results, particularly with respect to ongoing debates between proponents and critics of abstinence education.
Bibliography Citation
Wu, Lawrence L. and Steven P. Martin. "Insights from a Sequential Hazard Model of Entry into Sexual Activity and Premarital First Births." Presented: San Francisco CA, Population Association of America Meetings, May 2012.
9. Wu, Lawrence L.
Martin, Steven P.
Kaufman, Pamela
Two Decades of Change in Premarital First Births: Cohort Comparisons from the NLSY79 and NLSY97
Presented: Washington, DC, Bureau of Labor Statistics Conference Center, NLSY97 Tenth Anniversary Conference, May 29-30, 2008
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY97
Publisher: U.S. Department of Labor
Keyword(s): Age at First Birth; Childbearing, Premarital/Nonmarital

Bibliography Citation
Wu, Lawrence L., Steven P. Martin and Pamela Kaufman. "Two Decades of Change in Premarital First Births: Cohort Comparisons from the NLSY79 and NLSY97." Presented: Washington, DC, Bureau of Labor Statistics Conference Center, NLSY97 Tenth Anniversary Conference, May 29-30, 2008.
10. Wu, Lawrence L.
Martin, Steven P.
Long, Daniel A.
Comparing Data Quality of Fertility and First Sexual Intercourse Histories
Presented: Ann Arbor, MI, Data Quality in Longitudinal Surveys Conference, October 1998
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Center for Demography and Ecology
Keyword(s): Age at First Intercourse; Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Data Quality/Consistency; Demography; Fertility; Longitudinal Surveys; National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG); Research Methodology

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This paper evaluates the data quality of two demographic outcomes in light of hypotheses on respondent recall from the literature on survey methodology. An emerging consensus in this literature is that respondents engage in a process of recall; hence, retrieval of less well-remembered items (for example, the specific dates for the timing of distant events) may improve if survey designers precede such questions by others that are likely to be better remembered, if respondents are specifically instructed that such items are important, or if questions in parallel domains provide implicit or explicit memory prompts that aid the process of recall. An alternative but not mutually exclusive hypothesis is that recall of the timing of an event declines with duration unless the dating of an event is frequently "rehearsed." We investigate these hypotheses by comparing the quality of demographic data supplied by female respondents on selected event history outcomes across multiple nationally representative surveys. A first outcome concerns the interval between a first and second birth. We compare birth interval data using birth registration data using micro data from the Vital Statistics on Natality (VSN), the June Current Population Survey (CPS), the 1979 - 94 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). and the 1988 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). Despite marked differences in survey design, we find relatively few differences in the quality of birth interval data across the four surveys. A second outcome is age at first sexual intercourse. Using data from the NLSY and NSFG, we analyze a form of partially missing data (respondent inability to recall the calendar month of intercourse) on age at first intercourse that occurs in both surveys. We find that inability to recall calendar month varies significantly with duration of recall, race and ethnicity, ability, early initiation of sexual activity, and some interview characteristics. Observed differences by race and ethnicity narrow substantially when controlling for additional background factors available in the NLSY. In addition, we find important nonlinearities in respondent recall with duration, with results from both nonparametric and confirmatory analyses suggesting strikingly similar patterns of nonlinearities for both NLSY and NSFG respondents.
Bibliography Citation
Wu, Lawrence L., Steven P. Martin and Daniel A. Long. "Comparing Data Quality of Fertility and First Sexual Intercourse Histories." Presented: Ann Arbor, MI, Data Quality in Longitudinal Surveys Conference, October 1998.
11. Wu, Lawrence L.
Martin, Steven P.
Long, Daniel A.
Comparing Data Quality of Fertility and First Sexual Intercourse Histories
Journal of Human Resources 36,3 (Summer 2001): 520-555.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3069629
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Age at First Intercourse; Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Data Quality/Consistency; Event History; Fertility; First Birth; National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG); Sexual Activity; Sexual Experiences/Virginity

This paper evaluates the data quality of two demographic variables in light of hypotheses on respondent recall from the literature on survey methodology. An emerging consensus in this literature is that recall of the timing of an event declines with recall duration unless the dating of an event is frequently "rehearsed." We provide empirical evidence consistent with this hypothesis by assessing the quality of demographic data on two event history variables as supplied by female respondents. A first outcome concerns the interval between a first and second birth. We assess examine birth intervals using birth registration data from the Vital Statistics on Natality (VSN) and individual-level survey data from the 1990 June Current Population Survey (CPS), the 1979-93 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), and the 1988 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). Overall, we find relatively little variation in the quality of birth interval data across these four surveys, with one exception--CPS data in which responses have been allocated. A second demographic variable is age at first sexual intercourse. We engage in several analyses of this variable. First, we use NLSY data to analyze discrepancies between successive reports on age (to the nearest year) at first intercourse. Second, we analyze a form of partially missing data (respondent inability to recall the calendar month of intercourse) that occurs in both the NLSY and NSFG. Third, we identify NLSY respondents who, in successive interviews, give contradictory reports about whether or not sexual activity had been initiated. Our findings suggest that data quality varies significantly with duration of recall and with measures of respondent ability related to arithmetic facility and memory. Observed differences by race and ethnicity narrow substantially when controlling for these and other background factors. We find evidence for a nonlinear association between duration of recall and data quality, with similar patterns occurring in both the NLSY and NSFG. Finally, our NLSY results are suggestive of a pattern in which recent initiation of sexual activity may be concealed by respondents.
Bibliography Citation
Wu, Lawrence L., Steven P. Martin and Daniel A. Long. "Comparing Data Quality of Fertility and First Sexual Intercourse Histories." Journal of Human Resources 36,3 (Summer 2001): 520-555.
12. Wu, Lawrence L.
Martin, Steven P.
Long, Daniel A.
Comparing Data Quality of Fertility and First Sexual Intercourse Histories
CDE Working Paper No. 99-08 (October, 1998), Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, revised, April 1999.
Also: http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/cde/cdewp/99-08.pdf
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Center for Demography and Ecology
Keyword(s): Age at First Intercourse; Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Data Quality/Consistency; Demography; Fertility; Longitudinal Surveys; National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG); Research Methodology

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This paper evaluates the data quality of two demographic outcomes in light of hypotheses on respondent recall from the literature on survey methodology. An emerging consensus in this literature is that respondents engage in a process of recall; hence, retrieval of less well-remembered items (for example, the specific dates for the timing of distant events) may improve if survey designers precede such questions by others that are likely to be better remembered, if respondents are specifically instructed that such items are important, or if questions in parallel domains provide implicit or explicit memory prompts that aid the process of recall. An alternative but not mutually exclusive hypothesis is that recall of the timing of an event declines with duration unless the dating of an event is frequently "rehearsed." We investigate these hypotheses by comparing the quality of demographic data supplied by female respondents on selected event history outcomes across multiple nationally representative surveys. A first outcome concerns the interval between a first and second birth. We compare birth interval data using birth registration data using micro data from the Vital Statistics on Natality (VSN), the June Current Population Survey (CPS), the 1979 - 94 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). and the 1988 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). Despite marked differences in survey design, we find relatively few differences in the quality of birth interval data across the four surveys. A second outcome is age at first sexual intercourse. Using data from the NLSY and NSFG, we analyze a form of partially missing data (respondent inability to recall the calendar month of intercourse) on age at first intercourse that occurs in both surveys. We find that inability to recall calendar month varies significantly with duration of recall, race and ethnicity, ability, early initiation of sexual activity, and some interview characteristics. Observed difference s by race and ethnicity narrow substantially when controlling for additional background factors available in the NLSY. In addition, we find important nonlinearities in respondent recall with duration, with results from both nonparametric and confirmatory analyses suggesting strikingly similar patterns of nonlinearities for both NLSY and NSFG respondents.
Bibliography Citation
Wu, Lawrence L., Steven P. Martin and Daniel A. Long. "Comparing Data Quality of Fertility and First Sexual Intercourse Histories." CDE Working Paper No. 99-08 (October, 1998), Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, revised, April 1999.
13. Wu, Lawrence L.
Thomson, Elizabeth
Family Change and Early Sexual Initiation
CDE Working Paper No. 95-26, Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1965.
Also: http://www.ssc.wisc.edu:80/cde/
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Center for Demography and Ecology
Keyword(s): Control; Family Circumstances, Changes in; Family Structure; Fathers, Biological; Sexual Activity; Sexual Experiences/Virginity; Teenagers

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

In this paper, we examine effects of family structure on age at entry into first sexual intercourse prior to marriage for recent cohorts of women. Previous research on the link age between family structure and sexual initiation has employed relatively crude measures of family structure, typically a snapshot of the respondent's family structure at age 14. We use retrospective parent histories from the 1979-87 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to construct dynamic measures of family structure using information on the numbers and types of parents in the responden t's household between birth and age 18. These measures allow us to adjudicate between hypotheses on the effects of prolonged exposure to a single-mother family, prolonged absence of a biological father, parental control during adolescence, and instability in family structure. We find no effect, net of other family effects, of being born out-of-wedlock, prolonged exposure to a single-mother family, or prolonged absence of a biological father on age at first sexual intercourse. Our results are, however, consistent with effects predicted by an instability hypothesis and a variant of the parental control hypothesis that stresses the role of fathers. See also, IRP Discussion Paper Abstracts - 1998, on-line
Bibliography Citation
Wu, Lawrence L. and Elizabeth Thomson. "Family Change and Early Sexual Initiation." CDE Working Paper No. 95-26, Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1965.
14. Wu, Lawrence L.
Thomson, Elizabeth
Family Change and Early Sexual Initiation
Presented: Washington, DC, American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, August 1995
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: American Sociological Association
Keyword(s): Family Circumstances, Changes in; Family Structure; Fathers, Biological; Sexual Activity; Sexual Experiences/Virginity; Teenagers

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

In this paper, we examine effects of family structure on age at entry into first sexual intercourse prior to marriage for recent cohorts of women. Previous research on the link age between family structure and sexual initiation has employed relatively crude measures of family structure, typically a snapshot of the respondent's family structure at age 14. We use retrospective parent histories from the 1979-87 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to construct dynamic measures of family structure using information on the numbers and types of parents in the respondent's household between birth and age 18. These measures allow us to adjudicate between hypotheses on the effects of prolonged exposure to a single-mother family, prolonged absence of a biological father, parental control during adolescence, and instability in family structure. We find no effect, net of other family effects, of being born out-of-wedlock, prolonged exposure to a single-mother family, or prolonged absence of a biological father on age at first sexual intercourse. Our results are, however, consistent with effects predicted by an instability hypothesis and a variant of the parental control hypothesis that stresses the role of fathers.
Bibliography Citation
Wu, Lawrence L. and Elizabeth Thomson. "Family Change and Early Sexual Initiation." Presented: Washington, DC, American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, August 1995.
15. Wu, Lawrence L.
Thomson, Elizabeth
Race Differences in Family Experience and Early Sexual Initiation: Dynamic Models of Family Structure and Family Change
Journal of Marriage and Family 63,3 (August 2001): 682-696.
Also: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2001.00682.x/abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: National Council on Family Relations
Keyword(s): Age at First Intercourse; Attitudes; Children; Divorce; Family Structure; Fathers, Biological; Fathers, Presence; Neighborhood Effects; Parental Influences; Parents, Single; Racial Differences; Risk-Taking; Sexual Activity; Sexual Experiences/Virginity; Turbulence

We examine the effects of family structure on age at first sexual intercourse before marriage for a recent cohort of women. Previous research on the linkage between family structure and sexual initiation has employed relatively crude measures of family structure-typically a snapshot of the respondent's family structure at age 14. We use retrospective parent histories from the 1979-1987 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to construct dynamic measures of family structure, using information on the number and types of parents in the respondent's household between birth and age 18. We use these measures in proportional hazard models to test the effects of prolonged exposure to a single-mother-family, prolonged absence of a biological father, parental presence during adolescence, and family turbulence. For White women, age-specific rates of first sexual intercourse are significantly and positively associated with the number of family transitions; for Black women, age-specific rates are significantly and positively associated with having resided in a mother-only or father-only family during adolescence. Net of other effects of family structure, we find no significant effects for White or Black women of being born out of wedlock, prolonged exposure to a single-mother family, or prolonged absence of a biological father. Our results for White women are consistent with a turbulence hypothesis, whereas for Black women our results suggest the importance of family structure during adolescence. For neither White nor Black women are our results consistent with hypotheses positing earlier initiation of sexual activity for women with prolonged exposure to a single-mother or father-absent family.
Bibliography Citation
Wu, Lawrence L. and Elizabeth Thomson. "Race Differences in Family Experience and Early Sexual Initiation: Dynamic Models of Family Structure and Family Change." Journal of Marriage and Family 63,3 (August 2001): 682-696.