The meaning of marriage vis-à-vis childbearing in the United States and Europe

This paper extends Holland’s (2013) marriage typology, linking the timing of marriage, childbearing, and cohabitation, and apply it to the Harmonized Histories covering a range of European countries and the United States. The meaning of marriage is organized around six ideal types: Direct Family Forming, Post-Cohabitation Family Forming, Conception-Related Legitimizing, Birth-Related Legitimizing, Reinforcing and Capstone marriage. Although smaller shares of women entered marriage at each age across cohorts, there is increasing diversity in the timing and context of marriage. Family Forming marriage continues to be the majority marriage experience, but Direct Family Forming marriage has declined and Post-Cohabitation Family Forming marriage has increased. Conception-Related Legitimizing marriages became more important in Central and Eastern Europe, but less common in Western and Anglo-Saxon countries. Limited evidence for growth in post-first-birth marriages suggest that childbearing intentions or a first conception continue to be important triggers for marriage, although this may be changing in Nordic, Western European and Anglo-Saxon countries. Taken together results suggest that marriage continues to be very closely linked to childbearing for women in diverse country contexts.