A new analysis of government data, conducted by the research group Child Trends, has found dramatic increases in the number of children being born out of wedlock during the last 20 years, with some of the steepest rises among white women in their 20s.
The overall birthrate outside of marriage has been on the rise for decades. In 1970, just 11 percent of all births occurred to non-married women. By 1990, that number jumped to 28 percent and rose even more sharply in 2009 to 41 percent.
"There are several reasons to be concerned about the high level of nonmarital childbearing," the report states. "Couples who have children outside of marriage are younger, less healthy, and less educated than are married couples who have children."
As a result, children are the biggest losers when it comes to non-marital childbirth.
"Children born outside of marriage tend to grow up with limited financial resources; to have less stability in their lives because their parents are more likely to split up and form new unions; and to have cognitive and behavioral problems, such as aggression and depression," the report states.
The study found other concerning trends in this growing new phenomenon.
- An increasing percentage of women who have a birth outside of marriage live with the father of the baby in a cohabiting union and are over the age of twenty.
- The percentage of women having a birth outside of marriage has increased faster among white and Hispanic women than among black women.
- Non-marital births to teens jumped from 30 percent in 1970 to 87 percent in 2009.
- Only nine percent of women ages 20-24 gave birth outside marriage in 1970, but by 2009, 62 percent of these women were giving birth without being married.
- Even the birth rate among older women rose sharply. For example, non-marital births to women ages 25-29 rose from four percent in 1970 to 34 percent in 2009. The non-marital birth rate among women ages 30-34 went from four percent in 1970 to 34 percent in 2009, and in women aged 35-39 it rose from five percent in 1970 to 19 percent in 2009.
Although the percentage of non-marital births is still highest among black women, the percentage increased for all major racial and ethnic groups.
For example, in 1990, 17 percent of white women, 67 percent of black women, and 37 percent of Hispanic women gave birth outside marriage. By 2009, those numbers climbed to 29 percent for white women, 73 percent for black women, and 53 percent for Hispanic women.
In 2009, 29 percent of births to white women, 73 percent of births to black women, and 53 percent of births to Hispanic women were nonmarital.
The New York Times reports that a number of factors are contributing to this disturbing trend, such as a more promiscuous society, decreasing numbers of available marriageable men and a larger social safety net.
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