Skip to main content
Log in

Employment and the Use of Birth Control by Sexually Active Single Hispanic, Black, and White Women

  • Contexts of U.S. Fertility Behavior
  • Published:
Demography

Abstract

Previous studies of the use of birth control by sexually active single women tend to emphasize family background and aspirations, and restrict their attention to teenagers. We elaborate this framework by considering how labor market experiences might shape the birth control practices of women in their late teens and twenties. Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Labor Force Experiences — Youth Cohort provide evidence that employment histories and wages influence birth control practices, net of the effects of family background, aspirations, and educational attainment. Several pronounced racial and ethnic differences are found.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abrahamse, A.F., P.A. Morrison, and LJ. Waite. 1988. Beyond Stereotypes: Who Becomes a Single Teenage Mother? Santa Monica: RAND.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aneshensel, C.S., E.P. Fielder, and R.M. Becerra. 1989. “Fertility and Fertility Related Behavior among Mexican-American and Non-Hispanic White Women.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 30:56–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Center for Human Resource Research. 1989. The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979–1987 (MRDF-CD ROM). Columbus: The Ohio State University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooksey, E.C. 1990. “Factors in the Resolution of Adolescent Premarital Pregnancies.” Demography 27:207–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cramer, I.C. 1980. “Fertility and Female Employment: Problems of Causal Direction.” American Sociological Review 45:167–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldscheider, C. 1971. Population, Modernization, and Social Structure. Boston: Little, Brown.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greene, W.H. 1990. Econometric Analysis. New York: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • — 1991. LIMDEP. New York: Econometrics Software.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hachen, D.S., Jr. 1992. “Industrial Characteristics and Job Mobility Rates.” American Sociological Review 57:39–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanson, S.L., D.E. Myers, and A.L. Ginsburg. 1987. “The Role of Responsibility and Knowledge in Reducing Teenage Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 49:241–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heckman, J.I. 1979. “Sample Selection Bias as a Specification Error.” Econometrica 45:153–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, N.E. and S. Lean. 1985. “Relative Income, Race, and Fertility.” Population Studies 39:99–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, J.B. and S. Philliber. 1983. “Sexually Active but Not Pregnant: A Comparison of Teens Who Risk and Teens Who Plan.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence 12:235–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahn, J.R., R.R. Rindfuss, and D.K. Guilkey. 1990. “Adolescent Contraceptive Method Choice.” Demography 27:323–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luker, K. 1991. “Dubious Conceptions: The Controversy over Teen Pregnancy.” The American Prospect (Spring):73–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marcum, J.P. and F.D. Bean. 1976. “Minority Group Status as a Factor in the Relationship between Mobility and Fertility: The Mexican American Case.” Social Forces 55:135–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stephen, E.H., R.R. Rindfuss, and F.D. Bean. 1988. “Racial Differences in Contraceptive Choice: Complexity and Implications.” Demography 25:53–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tanfer, K., L.A. Cubbins, and K.L. Brewster. 1992. “Determinants of Contraceptive Choice among Single Women in the United States.” Family Planning Perspectives 24:155–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tanfer, K. and M.C. Horn. 1985. “Contraceptive Use, Pregnancy, and Fertility Patterns among Single American Women in Their 20s.” Family Planning Perspectives 17:10–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, L.B. and W.F. Pratt. 1990. “Wanted and Unwanted Childbearing in the United States: 1973–1988.” Advance Data from Vital and Health Statistics 189.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Additional information

The first author acknowledges support from a research training grant (T32-AA-07473) awarded to the University of Georgia by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; the second author acknowledges grant support from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD-25749-01), Robert D. Mare and Christopher Winship, Principal Investigators. We thank Chris Winship, Sandy Jencks, and the reviewers and editor for helpful comments. The authors contributed equally to this paper. An early version was presented at the 1991 annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, held in Cincinnati.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kraft, J.M., Coverdill, J.E. Employment and the Use of Birth Control by Sexually Active Single Hispanic, Black, and White Women. Demography 31, 593–602 (1994). https://doi.org/10.2307/2061793

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2061793

Keywords

Navigation