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Wiley InterScience | |||||||||||||
  Journal of Marriage and FamilyVolume 67 Issue 5, Pages 1301 - 1312 Published Online: 21 Nov 2005 Copyright © National Council on Family Relations, 2010 Published on behalf of the National Council on Family Relations
Abstract | References | Full Text: HTML, PDF (Size: 101K) | Related Articles | Citation Tracking  High Hopes but Even Higher Expectations: The Retreat From Marriage Among Low-Income Couples *Department of Sociology and Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, 3718 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104. **Department of Sociology, Princeton University, Wallace Hall, 2nd Floor, Room 265, Princeton, NJ 08544. Copyright National Council on Family Relations, 2005 KEYWORDS
cohabitation
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low-income
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marriage
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parents
ABSTRACTThis study examines why low-income, unmarried parents who say that they plan to marry at the time their child is born do not follow through on their plans. We use data from a nationally representative birth cohort survey—the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N =3,710)—combined with data from an embedded qualitative study—Time, Love, Cash, Caring, and Children (n =47)—to explore the reasons behind this apparent discrepancy. We find that some of the difference between parents' expectations and behavior may be because of the overstatement of intentions at the time of the birth. Most of the discrepancy, however, results from parents' perceived social and economic barriers to marriage. Specifically, unmarried parents have a long list of financial and relationship prerequisites they believe must be met in order for them to wed. Combined with other factors, these standards lead to an indeterminate delay in marriage. Received: 13 September 2005; Accepted: 14 November 2005; | 
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