Table A1. Coefficients from Logit Regression Model Predicting Currently in First Marriage, among Ages 25-60, 1972-2008 General Social Surveys (N=10,818)
 
  Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Model 5
Educational Attainment  
Less than high school diploma -0.419 *** -0.470 *** -0.446 *** -0.292 ** -0.410 ***
College degree or more -0.059   0.072   -0.024   -0.054   0.079  
Reference: High school degree or some college  
 
Year -0.046 *** -0.045 *** -0.043 *** -0.042 *** -0.040 ***
 
Less than high school diploma X Year 0.013 * 0.017 ** 0.014 * 0.012 † 0.017 **
College degree or more X Year 0.019 *** 0.015 ** 0.017 ** 0.017 ** 0.013 *
 
Cultural Factors  
Agreement that premarital sex is wrong     0.277 ***         0.189 ***
Divorce laws should make divorce more difficult to obtain     0.542 ***         0.456 ***
Divorce laws should stay the same     0.149 *         0.098  
Reference: Divorce laws should make divorce easier to obtain  
 
Economic Factors
Working parttime         0.404 ***     0.369 ***
Temporarily not working         -0.066       -0.015  
Unemployed, laid off         -0.405 ***     -0.405 **
Retired         -0.028       -0.001  
In school         -0.669 ***     -0.665 **
Keeping house         0.710 ***     0.657 ***
Other         -1.024 ***     -1.002 ***
Reference: Working fulltime
Respondent's income (logged)         0.063 *     0.088 **
Ever unemployed in last 10 years         -0.506 ***     -0.427 ***
 
Civic Factors
Frequency of religious service attendance             0.144 *** 0.082 ***
No religious affiliation             -0.171 * -0.142 †
 
Control Variables
Age 0.016 *** 0.008 ** 0.010 *** 0.012 *** 0.002  
Middle Atlantic -0.058   -0.060   -0.093   -0.098   -0.116  
East North Central 0.002   -0.138   -0.017   -0.051   -0.156  
West North Central -0.076   -0.251 † -0.108   -0.173   -0.290 *
South Atlantic -0.035   -0.212 † -0.062   -0.112   -0.235 *
East South Central -0.088   -0.406 ** -0.107   -0.265 † -0.437 **
West South Central -0.145   -0.356 ** -0.182   -0.274 * -0.410 **
Mountain -0.220 † -0.362 ** -0.186   -0.271 * -0.318 *
Pacific -0.309 ** -0.357 ** -0.303 * -0.278 * -0.319 **
Reference: New England
Black -0.670 *** -0.563 *** -0.617 *** -0.809 *** -0.616 ***
Other 0.217 † 0.153   0.216 † 0.135   0.130  
Reference: White
Female 0.108 * 0.031   -0.166 ** 0.004   -0.244 ***
Parents divorced at age 16 -0.429 *** -0.380 *** -0.418 *** -0.359 *** -0.344 ***
 
*** p  < .001   ** p < .01   * p < .05   † p < .10    (two-tailed tests)    
 
This table suggests that shifts in attitudes toward divorce and premarital sex, patterns of employment, unemployment, income, and religious attendance all play in accounting for the growing marriage gap between college-educated and high school-educated American adults.
 
Note: Because the independent variables in these models are not always measured before the dependent variable, we cannot be sure of the causal ordering for these models.
Table  A2. Coefficients from Logit Regression Model Predicting Had a Nonmarital Birth, among Women, National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. (N=3,962)
 
  Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Model 5
Mother's Educational Attainment  (Wave 1)  
Less than high school diploma -0.04   -0.09   -0.15   -0.08   -0.18  
College degree or more -0.40 ** -0.32 * -0.27 † -0.38 ** -0.21  
Reference: High school degree or some college  
 
Cultural Factors  
Agreement that pregnancy would be embarrassing (Wave 1)     -0.28 *         -0.22 †
Agreement that birth control is too much of a hassle  (Wave 1)     -0.14           -0.13  
2-5 lifetime sexual partners     0.35           0.37  
6-10 lifetime sexual parnters     0.75 **         0.78 **
11 or more lifetime sexual partners     0.81 ***         0.83 ***
Reference: 0-1 lifetime sexual partners  
Ever cohabited     0.32 **         0.23 *
Ever abused alcohol or drugs  (Wave 1)     0.20 †         0.20 †
Want to attend college very much  (Wave 1)     -0.16           -0.12  
 
Economic Factors                    
Natal family income (logged)(Wave 1)         -0.14 †     -0.15 †
Assets         -0.13 ***     -0.11 **
Currently unemployed         0.19       0.13  
Fired or laid off since 2001         0.22 †     0.09  
 
Civic Factors                    
Frequency of religious service attendance (Wave 1)             -0.13 ** -0.04  
 
Control Variables  
Age 0.03   0.02   0.04   0.01   0.03  
Black 0.10   0.04   -0.04   0.17   -0.04  
Hispanic 0.28   0.34 † 0.20   0.31   0.28  
Asian -0.75 ** -0.74 * -0.76 ** -0.70 * -0.74 *
American Indian -0.44   -0.64   -0.53   -0.48   -0.72  
Reference: White  
Lives in midwest (Wave 1) 0.07   -0.02   0.06   0.01   -0.03  
Lives in northeast (Wave 1) -0.29   -0.42 † -0.28   -0.38 † -0.41 †
Lives in west (Wave 1) 0.07   0.00   0.10   0.01   0.03  
Reference: Lives in south (Wave 1)  
Attended high school in suburban area (Wave 1) 0.21   0.20   0.22   0.19   0.20  
Attended high school in rural area (Wave 1) 0.06   0.08   0.04   0.05   0.04  
Reference: Attended high school in urban area (Wave 1)  
Living with mother and father (Wave 1) -0.61 *** -0.43 *** -0.47 *** -0.55 *** -0.32 *
 
*** p  < .001   ** p < .01   * p < .05   † p < .10    (two-tailed tests)    
 
This table suggests that class differences in attitudes toward teenage pregnancy, sexual partnering, substance use, income, assets, and religious attendance all play a role in accounting for the gap between college-educated and high school-educated Americans in nonmarital childbearing.
 
Note: Because the independent variables in these models are not always measured before the dependent variable, we cannot be sure of the causal ordering for these models.
Table A3. Coefficients from Logit Regression Model Predicting Ever-Divorced, National Survey of Family Growth 2008. (N=1,048)
 
  Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Model 5
Educational Attainment  
Less than high school diploma -0.15   -0.63 ** -0.24   -0.28   -0.83 ***
College degree or more -1.56 *** -1.15 * -1.41 ** -1.49 *** -0.96 †
Reference: High school degree or some college  
 
Cultural Factors  
Agreement that divorce is best solution when problems can't be worked out     0.11 *         0.05  
Agreement that it's OK for an unmarried woman to have a child     0.08           0.11  
Agreement that most marriages don't work out     0.34 *         0.31 *
2-5 lifetime sexual partners     3.53 ***         3.46 ***
6-10 lifetime sexual partners     4.07 ***         4.05 ***
11 or more lifetime sexual partners     4.39 ***         4.35 ***
Reference: 1 lifetime partner  
Cohabited prior to marriage     0.03           -0.05  
Married at ages 20-24     -1.13 ***         -1.19 ***
Married at ages 25-29     -1.47 **         -1.40 **
Married at ages 30-44     -1.77 *         -1.73 *
Reference: Married as a teenager  
 
Economic Factors  
Male, earned between $25,000-49,999 per year at current or last job         0.09       0.31  
Male, earned between $50,000-74,999 per year at current or last job         -0.51 †     -0.32  
Male, earned $75,000 or more per year at current or last job         -0.32       -0.53  
Female, earned up to $24,999 per year at current or last job, or never worked         1.06 *     1.73  
Female, earned between $25,000-49,999 per year at current or last job         0.87 *     1.34  
Female, earned between $50,000-74,999 per year at current or last job         0.46       1.16 †
Female, earned $75,000 or more per year at current or last job         0.22       1.01  
Reference: Male, earned up to $24,999 per year at current or last job, or never worked  
Currently enrolled in school         0.24       0.12  
Change in level of employment over last year         0.06       0.05  
 
Civic Factors  
Frequency of religious service attendance             -0.25 *** -0.14 ***
 
Control Variables
Black -0.82 * -0.83 † -0.87 ** -0.50   -0.72  
Hispanic -1.11 ** -0.81   -1.19 ** -0.88 * -0.78  
Other race-ethnicity -0.48 * -0.20   -0.57 ** -0.38 † -0.11  
Reference: White  
MSA, other -0.40 *** -0.68 *** -0.37 ** -0.41 *** -0.67 ***
Not MSA -0.24   -0.44   -0.20   -0.23   -0.50  
Reference: MSA, central city  
Years since marriage 0.01 *** 0.01 *** 0.01 *** 0.01 *** 0.01 ***
Female 0.20   0.53 † -0.79 * 0.35   -0.89  
Living with mother and father at age 14 -0.24   0.24   -0.28   -0.17   0.21  
 
 
*** p  < .001   ** p < .01   * p < .05   † p < .10    (two-tailed tests)    
 
This table suggests that class differences in attitudes toward marriage, sexual partnering, age at first marriage, income, and religious attendance all play a role in accounting for the gap between college-educated and high school-educated Americans in divorce. 
 
Note: Because the independent variables in these models are not always measured before the dependent variable, we cannot be sure of the causal ordering for these models.