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Article
Complex Life Course Patterns and the Risk of Divorce in Second Marriages
Journal of Marriage and Family (2008)
  • Jay Teachman, Western Washington University
Abstract
In this article, I use data on women (N= 655) from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth to examine the correlates of second marital dissolution. I update the limited number of previous studies on this topic by focusing on the relationships between divorce and the complex life course patterns that characterize respondents in second marriages. I pay particular attention to the roles played by stepchildren and cohabitation. I find that women who brought stepchildren into their second marriage experience an elevated risk of marital disruption. Premarital cohabitation or having a birth while cohabiting with a second husband did not raise the risk of marital dissolution, however. In addition, marrying a man who brought a child to the marriage did not increase the risk of marital disruption.
Keywords
  • Cohabitation,
  • Life course marital dissolution,
  • Second marriage
Disciplines
Publication Date
2008
Publisher Statement
Published by: National Council on Family Relations Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40056275 .
Citation Information
Jay Teachman. "Complex Life Course Patterns and the Risk of Divorce in Second Marriages" Journal of Marriage and Family Vol. 70 Iss. 2 (2008)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jay_teachman/24/