Fertility Behavior of Interracial Couples

• Author: Kate H. Choi,Rachel E. Goldberg
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12483
• Date: 01 August 2018
• Published date: 01 August 2018

K H. C University of Western Ontario

R E. G University of California Irvine*

Fertility Behavior of Interracial Couples

Despite the unprecedented rise in the number

of intermarriages and multiracial individuals

in recent decades, our understanding about the

fertility behavior of interracial couples is lim-

ited. Using data from the 2002 and 2006–2015

National Survey of Family Growth, this study

compares the risk of pregnancy and the preg-

nancy intentions of interracial couples with

those of same-race couples. Interracial couples’

risk of pregnancy differed little from that of

same-race White couples, with the exception of

White wife–Black husband couples, whose risk

of pregnancy was higher than both same-race

White and Black couples. Neither socioeco-

nomic disparities nor union characteristics

explained their elevated pregnancy risk. Inter-

racial couples’ risk of unintended pregnancy

mirrored closely that of same-race couples from

the husband’s racial or ethnic group. Socio-

economic disparity was the primary driver of

differences in pregnancy intentions between

interracial and same-race White couples.

The year 2017 was the 50th anniversary of Lov-

ing v.Virginia (Hoewe, 2015), the landmark U.S.

Supreme Court decision that declared antimis-

cegenation laws unconstitutional. Since 1967,

interracial marriages have increased dramati-

cally. In 2015, one in six new marriages in the

Department of Sociology, Universityof Western Ontario,

Social Science Centre Room 5331, London, Ontario N6A

5C2, Canada (hchoi228@uwo.ca).

*Department of Sociology, Universityof California, Irvine,

3151 Social Science Plaza, Irvine, CA 92697.

Key Words: diversity, fertility,marriage, pregnancy.

United States involved partners from different

racial and ethnic groups, compared to only one in

30 new marriages in 1967 (Livingston & Brown,

2017). Increasing numbers of interracial unions

are often seen as a sign of diminishing social

distance across racial and ethnic groups (Alba

& Nee, 2003; Qian & Lichter, 2007). Interra-

cial unions are also viewed as an engine of

social change. As the share of multiracial indi-

viduals rises, racial assignment based on skin

color becomes increasingly difcult, diminish-

ing racial and ethnic distinctions (Frey, 2015;

Kalmijn, 2010; Parker, Morin, Horowitz,Lopez,

& Rohal, 2015).

Despite the unprecedented rise in the number

of intermarriages and multiracial individuals,

social scientists seldom examine the fertility

behavior of interracial couples (for a notable

exception, see Fu, 2008). Instead, most studies

of racial and ethnic differences in fertility focus

on either the female or male partner’s race or eth-

nicity (Choi, 2014; Wildsmith & Raley, 2006). If

husbands and wives both contribute to fertility

decisions, relying exclusively on one partner’s

race or ethnicity has the potential to obscure

racial heterogeneity in marital fertility.

Using data from the 2002 and 2006–2015

National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), we

compare the risks of pregnancy and unintended

pregnancy of interracial and same-race couples

and assess the extent to which socioeconomic

disparities and variations in union characteristics

account for differences in pregnancy behavior.

These analyses make several important contri-

butions to the literatures on intermarriage and on

racial and ethnic differences in fertility behavior.

First, they expand our understanding of racial

Journal of Marriage and Family 80 (August 2018): 871–887 871

DOI:10.1111/jomf.12483

872 Journal of Marriage and Family

and ethnic heterogeneity in fertility patterns by

examining the fertility of interracial couples of

varying joint racial and ethnic combinations.

Second, we examine the pregnancy intentions

of interracial couples in addition to their preg-

nancy levels, which is important because of

the potential implications of intendedness for

the well-being of multiracial offspring. Unin-

tended childbearing is associated with an array

of negative outcomes for children, including

poor health, cognitive impairment, behavioral

problems, and poor school performance (Brown

& Eisenberg, 1995; Gipson, Koening, & Hindin,

2008; Hummer, Hack, & Raley,2004). If women

in interracial unions are more likely than those

in same-race unions to have unwanted or mis-

timed pregnancies, then multiracial individuals

may be more vulnerable to health problems

and socioeconomic disadvantage. Third, we

pay explicit attention to gender asymmetries in

the pregnancy behavior of interracial couples

within the same racial or ethnic pairings (e.g.,

White wife–Black husband couples vs. Black

wife–White husband couples). Despite the

accumulated evidence of gender asymmetries in

intermarriage patterns (Goldstein & Harknett,

2006; Wang et al., 2012), data constraints have

precluded past studies from explicitly examin-

ing such gender variation with regard to fertility

behavior (Fu, 2008, p. 793).

B

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Fertility

Extensive prior work has documented fertility

differentials across racial and ethnic groups

(e.g., Bean & Tienda, 1987; Choi, 2014; Raley,

2001). Historically, fertility rates were highest

among Hispanic women and lowest among

non-Hispanic (NH) White women (Bean &

Tienda, 1987; Landale & Oropesa, 2007; Tienda

& Mitchell, 2006). In 1990, the total fertility

rate among Hispanic women was 2.96 compared

with 2.48 among NH Black women and 2.00 for

NH White women (Ventura & Bachrach, 2000).

Since then, these differentials have narrowed

considerably (Sweeney & Raley,2014). In 2014,

Hispanic women’s total fertility rate was 2.13

compared with 1.88 for both NH White and NH

Black women (Hamilton, Martin, Osterman,

Cutrin, & Mathews, 2015).

Researchers often cite socioeconomic dispar-

ities to explain racial and ethnic differences in

fertility. Motherhood and paid labor frequently

place competing demands on women’s time and

resources (Goldin & Katz, 2000). High-paying

jobs and prestigious occupations place greater

demands on women’s time and resources; thus,

childbearing incurs the greatest opportunity

costs for women with high earnings potential

(Brand & Davis, 2011; Ellwood & Jencks,

2004). Due to their educational advantage and

higher earnings potential, NH White women

may have greater incentives to delay or forego

pregnancies than minority women (Sweeney &

Raley, 2014). Socioeconomic advantage also

facilitates NH White women’s contraceptive

access and enhances their ability to achieve their

desired fertility (Quesnel-Vallee & Morgan,

2003).

Variations in cultural orientations toward

family life are also sometimes invoked to

explain racial and ethnic fertility differentials.

Cultural explanations for the fertility differ-

entials between Hispanics and non-Hispanics

focus on the centrality of motherhood. Because

Hispanic culture presumably places a strong

emphasis on women’s roles as mothers, His-

panic women are more likely than non-Hispanic

women to prioritize motherhood over career suc-

cess (Landale & Oropesa, 2007; Vega, 1990).

For NH Black women, cultural explanations

call attention to the decoupling of marriage and

fertility. NH Black children are more likely than

either NH White or Hispanic children to be born

into single-parent families (Manning, 2015).

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Pregnancy

Intentions

Unintended childbearing rates are higher among

NH Black and Hispanic women than they are

among NH White women (Sweeney & Raley,

2014). A recent report compiled by the National

Center for Health Statistics showed that 54%

of recent births to NH Black women were

unintended pregnancies compared with 31%

of recent births to NH White women and 43%

of recent births to Hispanic women (Mosher,

Jones, & Abma, 2012).

Past studies have proposed several explana-

tions to account for the higher risk of unintended

pregnancy observed among minority women.

The rst focuses on the differences in both

women’s motivation to avoid pregnancies and

their ability to achieve desired fertility.Minority

women may devote less energy to family plan-

ning than NH White women because they face