Family issues and custodial mothers' quest for justice: Evidence from Colombia.

Access to justice is limited for many worldwide. Although prior research generally recognizes the legal needs and barriers faced by women, less is known about mothers. This study examined the legal needs of mothers in different family configurations and the actions they took in response to these needs through the lens of help-seeking theories. We used unique data from the 2016 Colombian Quality of Life Survey (QLS) to produce descriptive statistics on the legal needs of mothers in two-parent families and custodial mothers. We then conducted multivariate analyses to examine the factors associated with having a family issue and seeking institutional help. Custodial mothers were more likely than mothers in two-parent families to have reported any legal need, and to report a family legal issue. The most frequent legal issues related to the family were issues with child support, custody, and/or visitation. The most frequent action taken to resolve issues was through an institutional actor. Among custodial mothers, single, younger mothers and mothers with more children were more likely to experience family legal issues, but they were not the ones seeking institutional help-those mothers were often more socioeconomically advantaged. That more socioeconomically disadvantaged mothers are more likely to experience a family legal issue but less likely to seek institutional help, the most frequent route to action, calls for research that examines the barriers faced by these mothers and policies to improve their access to justice.

Cohort Trends in Union Dissolution During Young Adulthood.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether recent birth cohorts of women experienced more union dissolution during young adulthood (18-25) than previous birth cohorts. BACKGROUND: The union formation and dissolution patterns of young adult women in the U.S. have changed dramatically over the last twenty-five years. As a result, this life stage is demographically dense as women experience a bulk of relationship experiences, including coresidential unions and dissolution. METHOD: The author uses data on women's marital and cohabiting dissolutions between the ages of 18-25 from the National Survey of Family Growth 1995, 2002, and continuous surveys 2006-2010 and 2011-2015 (N = 14,211). The sample is nationally representative. The author uses generalized ordinal logistic regression to examine the likelihood of dissolution during young adulthood across birth cohorts. RESULTS: Women born between 1985 and 1989 experience more union dissolutions during young adulthood than women born between 1960 and 1979. However, the shift in cohabitation behavior accounts for this instability. CONCLUSION: Women's relationship formation experiences in young adulthood are characterized by nonmarital relationships (cohabitation) and more union dissolution compared to older birth cohorts. Theoretical and empirical studies need to evolve to include this more complicated sense of young adulthood, union formation, and instability.

A Research Note on Income Pooling in Partnerships: Incorporating Nonresident Children.

Income pooling is a common behavior among couples. However, cohabiting and married individuals in more complex families, namely those with stepchildren, are less likely to pool incomes. Similarly, income pooling might be unlikely when there are nonresident children, who could potentially draw resources outside the household, yet prior work has largely overlooked the role of nonresident children. We take advantage of a unique data set, the Family and Relationships Study, which allows us to not only identify shared and unshared children (i.e., stepchildren) within the household but also unshared children outside the household. Focusing on cohabiting and married individuals (N = 4,408), we find that those with resident unshared children are less likely to pool incomes but that nonresident children are unrelated to income pooling. The results confirm that household-level complexity is a key factor in couples' economic decision making.

Does Postpartum Contraceptive Use Vary By Birth Intendedness?

CONTEXT: Women with an unintended birth have an elevated risk of subsequent unintended pregnancy, and multiple unintended pregnancies could exacerbate any negative consequences of such births. It is therefore important to understand whether postpartum contraceptive use differs by birth intendedness. METHODS: Data on 2,769 births reported in the 2011-2015 cycles of the National Survey of Family Growth were used to examine postpartum contraceptive use. Life-table estimates were employed to assess differences by birth intendedness in timing of postpartum contraceptive use, and multinomial logistic event history methods were used to model initial contraceptive uptake and efficacy by birth intendedness. RESULTS: Compared with postpartum women whose births were on time or too late, those with seriously mistimed and those with unwanted births were more likely to first adopt a highly effective method (e.g., implant or IUD), rather than no method (relative risk ratios, 1.9 and 1.7, respectively); mothers with unwanted births were also more likely to first use least effective methods (e.g., condoms or withdrawal) instead of no method (1.5). Mothers with seriously mistimed births had a reduced likelihood of using either effective methods (e.g., the pill or injectable) or least effective methods, rather than highly effective ones (0.5 for each). CONCLUSION: The elevated risk of repeat unintended fertility does not seem to be due to mothers' initial postpartum contraceptive behavior. Whether mothers with unintended births use contraceptives less consistently, discontinue use sooner or switch methods more often than those with intended births remains to be seen.

Serial Cohabitation in Young Adulthood: Baby Boomers to Millennials.

The age at first marriage in the U.S. has consistently increased, while the age at cohabitation has stalled. These trends present an opportunity for serial cohabitation (multiple cohabiting unions). The authors argue that serial cohabitation must be measured among those at risk, who have ended their first cohabiting union. Drawing on data from the National Survey of Family Growth Cycle 6 (2002), and continuous 2006-2013 interview cycles, the authors find that serial cohabitation is increasing among women at risk. Millennials, born 1980-1984, had 50% higher rates of cohabiting twice or more after dissolving their first cohabitation. This increase, however, is not driven by the composition of Millennials at risk for serial cohabitation. This work demonstrates the importance of clearly defining who is at risk for serial cohabitation when reporting estimates, as well as continuing to examine how the associations between sociodemographic characteristics and serial cohabitation may shift over time.