Debt Concordance and Relationship Quality: A Couple-Level Analysis.

Despite a large literature on household finances and relationship quality, little is known about the degree of couple-level agreement on finances and its association with relationship outcomes. This study examines the relationship between financial concordance on household-level consumer debt and relationship quality, and the strength of the association after accounting for couple-level financial management practices. We apply hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to couple-level data from a sample of married and cohabiting couples with children (435 couples, 870 respondents) from the Marital and Relationship Survey (MARS) and find that concordance on total household credit card debt is common but not the norm, with 55% of couples agreeing on their outstanding debt amount within our sample.

Born Without a Silver Spoon: Race, Wealth, and Unintended Childbearing.

The United States has a surprisingly high rate of unintended fertility, particularly among women of color. Although studies have examined socioeconomic correlates of unintended fertility, the role of economic resources remains unclear. Wealth may provide an important context for whether a birth was intended or unintended.

Seeking relief: Bankruptcy and health outcomes of adult women.

This study examined the impact of declaring consumer bankruptcy on the physical and mental health of adult women and if outcomes differed depending on whether the filer received automatic debt discharge under Chapter 7 compared to a debt repayment plan with Chapter 13. Sample data consisted of women from the NLSY79 cohort who completed the age 40 and 50 health modules as of the most recent wave. Results indicated a negative effect of bankruptcy on self-assessed health, whereas prior health history explained its negative relationship with depressive symptoms.

Financial Integration and Relationship Transitions of Young Adult Cohabiters.

Despite increasing rates of pre-marital cohabitation, the majority of research on household financial practices in the United States has focused on married couples. This study explored ways young adult cohabiters (N = 691) financially combined their lives and the associations with subsequent relationship outcomes. Results indicated cohabiters were intertwining credit histories and bank accounts, and acquiring assets such as purchasing homes together.

REEXAMINING THE ASSOCIATION OF MATERNAL AGE AND MARITAL STATUS AT FIRST BIRTH WITH YOUTH EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT.

Using data from the linked Children and Young Adult sample (N = 2,865) of the NLSY79, we reexamined the association of maternal age and marital status at birth with youth high school completion, assessing multiple age categories and race/ethnic variations. Youth born to older teen mothers were no more likely to graduate from high school than those born to the youngest teen mothers. Although delaying childbirth to young adulthood (age 20-24) was associated with greater odds of children's high school completion compared to the earliest teen births, those born to young adult mothers were disadvantaged compared to those born to mothers age 25 or older.

Young, Black, and (Still) in the Red: Parental Wealth, Race, and Student Loan Debt.

Taking out student loans to assist with the costs of postsecondary schooling in the US has become the norm in recent decades. The debt burden young adults acquire during the higher education process, however, is increasingly stratified with black young adults holding greater debt burden than whites. Using data from the NLSY 1997 cohort, we examine racial differences in student loan debt acquisition and parental net wealth as a predictor contributing to this growing divide.

Debt, cohabitation, and marriage in young adulthood.

Despite growing evidence that debt influences pivotal life events in early and young adulthood, the role of debt in the familial lives of young adults has received relatively little attention. Using data from the NLSY 1997 cohort (N = 6,749) and a discrete-time competing risks hazard model framework, I test whether the transition to first union is influenced by a young adult's credit card and education loan debt above and beyond traditional educational and labor market characteristics. I find that credit card debt is positively associated with cohabitation for men and women, and that women with education loan debt are more likely than women without such debt to delay marriage and transition into cohabitation.

Financial Arrangements and Relationship Quality in Low-Income Couples.

This study explored the association between household financial arrangements and relationship quality using a representative sample of low-income couples with children. We detailed the banking arrangements couples utilize, assessed which factors relate to holding a joint account versus joint and separate, only separate, or no account, and analyzed the association between fiscal practices and men's and women's relationship quality. The majority of couples held joint accounts, though over one-quarter also have separate accounts; nearly one-tenth have no account.