The proposed research will examine the demographic processes underlying the currently high rate of female family headship among Puerto Ricans. The specific behaviors to be studied are entry into marriage, marital dissolution and out-of-wedlock childbearing. The research will generate basic information on how background characteristics and prior life-course events (such as education, labor force participation and migration) affect the timing and prevalence of marriage and childbearing transitions which eventuate in female family headship. Particular attention will be paid to the role of migration between Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland in contributing to family instability. Detailed retrospective histories from two recent surveys of Puerto Rican women residing on the U.S. mainland and on the island of Puerto Rico will be analyzed with continuous time event history methods. The two surveys will be pooled and all analyses will be conducted separately by birthplace. The pooling of the two surveys will allow us to include both migrants and non-migrants in each birthplace group and to produce results which are uncontaminated by migration selectivity. Overall, the primary aim of the study is to shed light on the mechanisms through which the currently high rates of female family headship have arisen.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
First Independent Research Support & Transition (FIRST) Awards (R29)
Project #
7R29HD025859-02
Application #
3470111
Study Section
Social Sciences and Population Study Section (SSP)
Project Start
1990-08-01
Project End
1994-11-30
Budget Start
1990-08-01
Budget End
1990-11-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
1990
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Pennsylvania State University
Department
Type
Organized Research Units
DUNS #
City
University Park
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
16802