Abstract
Using biannual Current Population Survey data, this paper reexamines the question of how education and occupations led to the postponement of first births among American mothers in the 1970s through 1990s. Analytical methods in earlier investigations predispose researchers to favor an “investment” model of education's effects, but an alternative method used in this analysis suggests that college attainment's major effect on age at first birth is primarily the result of years spent childless in college. Mothers-to-be in higher prestige occupations did delay motherhood longer than did those in other occupations. This study extends earlier research by examining whether or not conclusions drawn about all women (with and without children) apply to the majority of women—those who become mothers. The expansion of higher education, higher prestige occupations, and their impact on work and family decisions are discussed.
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Edwards, M.E. Education and Occupations: Reexamining the Conventional Wisdom About Later First Births Among American Mothers. Sociological Forum 17, 423–443 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1019679023616
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1019679023616