Citation

Manlove J, Logan C, Ikramullah E, Holcombe E. J. Marriage Fam. 2008; 70(2): 536-548.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, National Council on Family Relations, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1741-3737.2008.00499.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article uses a sample of 1,731 fathers aged 16 – 45 from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth to identify factors associated with multiple-partner fertility. Almost one third of fathers who reported multiple-partner fertility did so across a series of nonmarital relationships, and nonmarital-only multiple-partner fertility has been increasing across recent cohorts of men. Being older, having a first sexual experience or a first child at a young age, and fathering a child outside of marriage or cohabitation are associated with greater odds of multiple-partner fertility, whereas having additional children with the first birth mother is associated with reduced odds. Black, Hispanic, and young fathers have especially high odds of experiencing multiple-partner fertility across a series of nonmarital relationships.