A New Look at Unmarried Parents: Diversity in Human Capital, Attitudes, and Relationship Quality

Cynthia A. Osborne, Princeton University

This paper extends our understanding of how unmarried parents differ from one another and from married parents in two ways. First, in addition to married and cohabiting parents, I examine parents who live apart, but plan to jointly raise their child. Secondly, I distinguish between unmarried parents who intend to marry and those who do not. The results show that considering both living arrangements and marriage expectations are important to accurately assess differences between the parents. When married and unmarried parents are compared based on living arrangement alone, cohabitors are generally more like married parents than are visiting parents. However, when unmarried parents are assessed based on living arrangement and marriage expectations, those with high expectations, regardless of living arrangement are generally more like married couples. These findings have important implications for policy makers who hope to encourage family formation.