Lim, Misun; Sampe Mejia, C is ina
A icle — Published Ve sion
Race and Coho Di e ences in Family S a us in he Uni ed
S a es
Socius: Sociological Resea ch o a Dynamic Wo ld
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
WZB Be lin Social Science Cen e
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Lim, Misun; Sampe Mejia, C is ina (2024) : Race and Coho Di e ences in Family
S a us in he Uni ed S a es, Socius: Sociological Resea ch o a Dynamic Wo ld, ISSN 2378-0231,
Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, Vol. 10, pp. 1-4,
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Da a Visualiza ion
S udies sugges ha ecen amily o ma ion and dissolu ion
pa e ns in he Uni ed S a es a e di e en om hose o ea lie
gene a ions: women a e less likely o ma y and less likely o
become mo he s (Schae e and A agão 2023). In place o ma -
iage, cohabi a ion has become he mos common union s a us
among young adul s (Manning, Smock, and Fe o 2019).
Gi en ha ma iage a es ha e declined, i is no su p ising ha
di o ce a es ha e also declined (Cohen 2019). Mos isualiza-
ions o hese demog aphic ends ha e been based on c oss-
sec ional da a sou ces, such as he Ame ican Communi y
Su ey (Cohen 2019; Kennedy and Ruggles 2014). In p io
s udies, less a en ion has been paid o how hese pa e ns a e
di e si ied by ace and ac oss gene a ions in he Uni ed S a es
om a longi udinal pe spec i e. We isualize hese ends by
aking a longi udinal app oach (g oup-based sequence densi y
plo s) o highligh ace and coho di e ences in amily o ma-
ion and dissolu ion pa e ns in he Uni ed S a es.
Da a and Me hod
Two longi udinal da a sou ces a e used o ease ou he
“coho change” be ween hose bo n om 1957 o 1965 and
hose bo n om 1980 o 1984. The i s comp ises he 1979
o 1998 wa es o he Na ional Longi udinal Su ey o You h
1979 (NLSY79) and he second includes he 1997 o 2019
wa es o he Na ional Longi udinal Su ey o You h 1997
(NLSY97). We use he mos ecen in e iew yea o he
NLSY97 and cap u e he same age obse a ion window o
all esponden s in he wo da ase s. Fo da a compa abili y,
we include young adul women li ing in he Uni ed S a es,
aged be ween 15 and 35 yea s. This age obse a ion window
also allows us o cap u e he a e age age o i s - ime mo h-
e s, which anged om 21.4 o 27.0 yea s be ween 1979 and
2019 (Ma in e al. 2021; Ma hews and Hamil on 2002).
A e appending bo h samples, we obse e 10,668 women.
A e selec ing only hose women who ha e comple e
1241041SRDXXX10.1177/23780231241241041Socius: Sociological Resea ch o a Dynamic Wo ldLim and Sampe Mejia
esea ch-a icle2024
1Uni e si y o Siegen and WZB Be lin Social Science Cen e , Be lin,
Ge many
2Uni e si y o Po sdam, Po sdam, Ge many
Co esponding Au ho :
Misun Lim, Uni e si y o Siegen, Facul y o A s and Humani ies, Adol -
Reichwein-S . 2, 57076 Siegen, Ge many and WZB Be lin Social Science
Cen e , Skill Fo ma ion and Labo Ma ke s, Reichpie schu e 50, 10785
Be lin, Ge many.
Email: [email p o ec ed]
Race and Coho Di e ences in Family
S a us in he Uni ed S a es
Misun Lim1 and C is ina Sampe Mejia2
Abs ac
In his isualiza ion, he au ho s show changes in amily pa e ns by di e en ace g oups ac oss wo coho s. Using
da a om he Na ional Longi udinal Su ey o You h 1979 (bo n om 1957 o 1965) and 1997 (bo n om 1980 o
1984), he au ho s isualize he ela ionship-pa en hood s a e dis ibu ions a each age be ween 15 and 35 yea s by
ace and coho . The esul s sugges he ise o cohabi ing mo he s and he decline o ma ied and di o ced mo he s
among women bo n om 1980 o 1984. Black women bo n om 1980 o 1984 we e mo e likely o expe ience single/
childless and single/pa en s a us compa ed wi h Black women bo n om 1957 o 1965. Al hough wi h some isible
pos ponemen in he ecen coho , whi e women in bo h coho s we e mo e likely o expe ience ma ied/pa en
s a us han o he ace g oups. The decline in ma ied/pa en s a us ac oss he wo gene a ions was sha pes among
Hispanic women. These desc ip i e indings highligh he impo ance o iden i ying ace when discussing changes in
amily o ma ion and dissolu ion ends ac oss gene a ions.
Keywo ds
amily, ace, coho , demog aphy, da a isualiza ion
2 Socius: Sociological Resea ch o a Dynamic Wo ld
impu ed his o ies and excluding hose wi h acial a ilia ions
o he han Black, Hispanic, o whi e, ou inal sample1 con-
sis s o 6,125 biog aphies, composed o 3,643 om NLSY79
and 2,482 om NLSY97.
We use sequence densi y plo s o isualize he mos e-
quen ela ionship-pa en hood s a us obse ed du ing he
ea ly s ages o women’s li es ac oss wo gene a ions (women
bo n om 1957 o 1965 and women bo n om 1980 o 1984)
by ace. Visualiza ions o ca ego ical sequences a e widely
used in social science, especially in li e-cou se esea ch
(Co nwell 2015; Fasang and Liao 2014). By looking a he
dis ibu ions by age in each g oup, and o ganizing ou “s a e
ca ego ies” such ha we can also obse e he pe cen ages
ha ha e ansi ioned o pa en hood, we a e bo h able o
desc ibe g oup changes in he empo ( iming o i s child-
bi h) and he quan i y o he obse ed ela ionship-pa en -
hood s a uses. The change in he iming o he ansi ion o
pa en hood is obse able when 50 pe cen o he popula ion
a e al eady pa en s, and he s a us equency is measu ed as
a pe cen age o pe son-yea s. We use he package T aMine
in R, de eloped by Gabadinho e al. (2011) o isualize li e
sequences. Using he seqdplo () unc ion wi h a g ouping
a iable, we can see he s a e dis ibu ions o each ace and
coho g oup. By using his app oach, we desc ibe how am-
ily beha io has e ol ed be ween acial g oups and coho s.
Findings
The sequence densi y plo s p o ide he age-speci ic ela ion-
ship-pa en hood s a us dis ibu ions by ace (Black, Hispanic,
and whi e) and coho (women bo n om 1957 o 1965 and
women bo n om 1980 o 1984) g oups in he Uni ed S a es.
On he x-axis, we obse e he age ca ego ies in yea ly p o-
g ession om 15 o 35 yea s. On he y-axis, each colo ep e-
sen s pa ne ship-pa en hood s a us, measu ing he p opo ion
o women in each s a us a each age uni o each g oup.
The ca ego ies we obse e as possible pa ne ship-pa en -
hood s a us ypes a e (1) single/childless, (2) cohabi ing/
childless, (3) ma ied/childless, (4) di o ced/childless, (5)
single/pa en , (6) cohabi ing/pa en , (7) ma ied/pa en , and
(8) di o ced/pa en .2
Figu e 1 displays he dis ibu ion o hese s a us ca ego-
ies a each age by g oup.
In he op ow, he ecen coho o Black women’s
sequence densi y plo shows ha o his obse ed age win-
dow, a highe p opo ion o Black women (32 pe cen o all
he pe son-yea s) compa ed wi h he olde coho o Black
women (27 pe cen o he pe son-yea s) expe ienced single/
pa en s a us. Ye a lowe p opo ion o he ecen coho o
Black women (3 pe cen o pe son-yea s) compa ed wi h he
olde coho o Black women (10 pe cen o he pe son-
yea s) had expe ienced, so a , di o ced/pa en s a us. A sig-
ni ican numbe o Black women bo n om 1980 o 1984
expe ienced spells o ma ied pa en hood, pa icula ly in
hei 30s, bu ma ied pa en hood was no he mos p e a-
len pa en al s a us among hem, compa ed wi h Black
women bo n om 1957 o 1965. Single pa en hood became
mo e p e alen among his g oup in hei la e 20s and ea ly
30s. Rega ding he iming o i s bi h, his changed only
sligh ly om one coho o ano he among his g oup:
50 pe cen o he women bo n om 1957 o 1965 had chil-
d en by age 21, while 50 pe cen o women bo n om 1980
o 1984 had child en by age 22.
Among Hispanic women, he mos p e alen amily s a us
o bo h coho s was ma ied/pa en , al hough he p opo ion
o ma ied/pa en s a us was lowe among Hispanic women
bo n om 1980 o 1984. As he p opo ion o ma ied/pa en
s a us dec eased ac oss gene a ions, he pe cen ages o
women in cohabi ing pa en hood (5 pe cen o 12 pe cen o
he pe son-yea s) and single pa en hood (8 pe cen o 10 pe -
cen o he pe son-yea s) we e highe among Hispanic women
bo n om 1980 o 1984. The decline in ma ied pa en hood
has been mo e p onounced among Hispanic women bo n
om 1980 o 1984 compa ed wi h Black coun e pa s, bu i
has been simila in le el o ha o whi e women bo n om
1980 o 1984. As o he iming o he ansi ion o pa en -
hood, we obse e some pos ponemen . Al hough he median
age o women bo n om 1957 o 1965 was 22 yea s, o
women bo n om 1980 o 1984, i was 24 yea s.
Whi e women bo n om 1980 o 1984 show he highes
pe cen age o ma ied s a us (34 pe cen o he pe son-yea s)
ac oss di e en ace g oups bo n om 1980 o 1984 and a
simila le el o ma ied/pa en s a us as Hispanic women in
he same bi h coho (24 pe cen o he pe son-yea s). Be o e
age 30, whi e women bo n om 1980 o 1984 we e mo e
likely o expe ience cohabi ing/childless o ma ied/childless
s a us, which was a e among whi e women bo n om 1957
o 1965. These ajec o ies e lec ed he ise o childlessness
in he Uni ed S a es (Hay o d 2013). Howe e , only a small
p opo ion o whi e women bo n om 1980 o 1984 emained
childless while cohabi ing o ma ied by age 35. We can also
obse e pos ponemen beha io among whi e women bo n
om 1980 o 1984: al hough whi e women bo n om 1957
o 1965 had a median age o i s bi h o 26, he majo i y o
whi e women bo n om 1980 o 1984 wai ed un il a leas
he age o 28.
In sum, ansi ions o di o ce became a e ac oss all ace
g oups among women bo n om 1980 o 1984, as ma iage
1A compa ison o he le el o educa ion a ound age 25, pe g oup,
shows ha he sample o biog aphies wi hou missing s a us a e
on a e age sligh ly mo e educa ed han he o iginal sample. This
sugges s ha we a e p obably obse ing a gene ally mo e educa ed
popula ion o each ace-coho g oup han we would ha e obse ed
i some indi iduals had no d opped ou o he sample.
2The sequence densi y plo s p o ide in o ma ion on (1) he g oup-
based ansi ion o pa en hood and (2) he mos common s a es
in which indi iduals we e obse ed o each age g oup. They do
no , howe e , p o ide in o ma ion on he ansi ion a es obse ed
be ween he di e en ela ionship-pa en hood s a e dis ibu ions.
Lim and Sampe Mejia 3
Figu e 1. Sequence densi y plo s o women bo n be ween 1957 and 1964 e sus women bo n be ween 1980 and 1984 by ace.
Figu e 1 shows ela ionship-pa en hood s a e equencies o each age uni , by ace and coho . Rela ionship-pa en hood s a e equencies we e calcula ed
by coho and ace, ep esen ing he p opo ion o women who o med a ela ionship-pa en hood s a e in each in e al (o each yea since age 15). We
p esen ela ionship-pa en hood s a e equencies o Black, Hispanic, and whi e women bo n be ween 1957 and 1964 (Na ional Longi udinal Su ey o
You h 1979) and hose bo n be ween 1980 and 1984 (Na ional Longi udinal Su ey o You h 1997). Each colo ep esen s eigh di e en ela ionship-
pa en hood s a e equencies: (1) single/childless, (2) cohabi ing/childless, (3) ma ied/childless, (4) di o ced/childless, (5) single/pa en , (6) cohabi ing/pa en ,
(7) ma ied/pa en , and (8) di o ced/pa en . Among women bo n be ween 1957 and 1964, mos Hispanic and whi e women en e ed a ma ied/pa en
s a us (indica ed by da k pink colo ) a age 35. A di o ced/pa en s a us is mo e equen among Black women bo n be ween 1957 and 1964; howe e ,
a single/pa en s a us is mo e equen among he mos ecen coho o Black women. Among women bo n be ween 1980 and 1984, being a cohabi ing
pa en o a single pa en is mo e common ac oss all ace g oups compa ed wi h women bo n be ween 1957 and 1964. A cohabi ing/childless o ma ied/
childless s a us also became mo e common among women bo n be ween 1980 and 1984 in his age window. No ably, single pa en hood equencies a e
mos common among Black women bo n be ween 1980 and 1984 a age 35. The igu e shows ecen coho women display mo e di e se ela ionship-
pa en hood pa e ns.
4 Socius: Sociological Resea ch o a Dynamic Wo ld
a es declined, bu cohabi a ion inc eased ac oss all ace
g oups in he ecen coho o women bo n om 1980 o 1984.
Summa y
Ou isualiza ion highligh s he di e se ela ionship-pa en -
hood li ing a angemen s in he ecen coho o women
(bo n om 1980 o 1984) compa ed wi h he olde coho o
women (bo n om 1957 o 1965) and he impo ance o
unde s anding he di e en pa e ns by ace among ecen
coho s o women. Despi e he common ends o amily a-
jec o ies ac oss coho s, such as he decline in ma iage and
di o ce and he ise o cohabi a ion and singleness, we ind
acial di e ences in he magni ude o hese changing ends,
as he decline in ma ied and di o ced pa en hood has been
mo e p onounced among Black and Hispanic women bo n
om 1980 o 1984 and he pos ponemen in he ansi ion o
pa en hood is mo e p e alen among whi e and Hispanic
women bo n om 1980 o 1984.
ORCID iDs
Misun Lim h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-7139-1980
C is ina Sampe Mejia h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-5394-5353
Au ho No e
Au ho s a e lis ed alphabe ically; all au ho s made equal con ibu-
ions, and all wo k was sha ed.
Supplemen al Ma e ial
Supplemen al ma e ial o his a icle is a ailable online.
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Mo he , 1970–2000.” Na ional Vi al S a is ics Repo s
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Schae e , Ka he ine and Ca olina A agão. 2023. “Key Fac s abou
Moms in he U.S.” Washing on, DC: Pew Resea ch Cen e .
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Au ho Biog aphies
Misun Lim is a pos doc o al esea che a he Uni e si y o Siegen
in he Facul y o A s and Humani ies and a he WZB Be lin Social
Science Cen e in he Skill Fo ma ion and Labo Ma ke s esea ch
uni . He esea ch in e es s include gende inequali y in labo ma -
ke s, amily and wo k, and educa ion. He wo k has appea ed in he
Jou nal o Ma iage and Family, Social Science Resea ch, and
Ox o d Bibliog aphies.
C is ina Sampe Mejia is a pos doc o al esea ch associa e a he
Uni e si y o Po sdam in he Chai o Social S uc u e Analysis and
Inequali y. He esea ch in e es s include amily demog aphy, li e
cou se pe spec i e, social policy, employmen beha io , social
s a i ica ion, and mig a ion. He wo k has been published in he
Jou nal o Family Resea ch and he Jou nal o In e na ional
Mig a ion and In eg a ion.
