Volume 2 | February 2021
The National Center for Family & Marriage Research (NCFMR) was established in 2007 to help improve our understanding of how family structure is linked to the health and well-being of children, adults, families, and communities and to inform policy development and programmatic responses.
What's News at the NCFMR
Trends in Cohabitation
Five decades ago, living with a partner before entering marriage was rare, but today it is common. Over the last 50 years, the share of women who cohabited before marriage has risen almost sevenfold and recently reached a historic highpoint. Cohabitation prior to marriage increased from about one in ten (11%) among women who married in 1965-1974 to approaching eight in ten (76%) among women who married in the last five years (2015-2019). To learn more about cohabitation before marriage, check out our new profile “Trends in Cohabitation Prior to Marriage” (FP-21-04).
Fifty Years of Change in the Share of Women (19-44) Cohabiting Prior to 1st Marriage,
by Marriage Cohort
Sources: 1987 NSFH, Bumpass & Sweet, 1989; 1995 NSFG, Bumpass & Lu, 2000; 2002 NSFG, 2006-10 NSFG, 2011-15 NSFG, and 2015-2019 NSFG - NCFMR Analyses.
Family Profiles

Original reports summarizing and analyzing nationally representative data with the goal to provide the latest analysis of U.S. families. These profiles examine topics related to the NCFMR's core research themes.
Median Age at Last Birth
Trends in Cohabitation Prior to Marriage
Mother’s Experiences of Unintended Childbearing, 2017
NCFMR In the News

NCFMR research topics are wide-ranging and diverse. Our research projects that have garnered national media attention this past month are listed below.
  • Baby Bust: America's pandemic birth declines steeper than initially believed
  • Despite pandemic strain on couples, Florida divorce rates go down in 2020
  • Love and marriage in the time of Covid
  • Manage your divorce expectations
BGSU showcases Manning & Payne research in YouTube videos

Bowling Green State University promoted Valentine's Day 2021 using marriage and divorce research by Wendy Manning and Krista Payne...take a look!
Researchers Wendy Manning and Krista Payne address the decline of marriage and divorce rates, attributing the decline partly to people waiting longer to get married in order to avoid divorce.
Wendy Manning speaks on 5-state study that examines declines in marriage and divorce rates during Covid-19.
Just Released

Data

IPUMS Current Population Survey (CPS)
IPUMS Global Health
IPUMS USA
2021 N&N Calendar

Calendar of Events

March

Call for Applications -- National Council on Family Relations (NCFR)
NCFR Honors Student Recognition Program
Applications Due: March 1

Call for Authors -- National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) Family Focus
Dismantling Structural Inequality and Racism
Letters of Intent Due: March 1
Articles Due: April 15

Call for Proposals -- National Council on Family Relations (NCFR)
The Science of Families: Nurturing Hope, Happiness, & Health
Proposals Due: March 8
Conference Dates: November 3-5, 2021

Call for Articles -- Russell Sage Foundation (RSF)
Social and Economic Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Articles Due: March 10

Free Webinar -- Military Families Learning Network (MFLN)
Supporting Parents and Children Through Hazards and Disasters
Webinar Date: March 10

Call for Applications -- 2021 Fragile Families Summer Data Workshop, Columbia Population Research Center (CPRC)
Applications Due: March 19
Workshop Dates: June 14-18

Call for Proposals -- National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) Annual Conference
2021 Theory Construction and Research Methodology (TCRM) Workshop
Workshop Dates: November 2-3
Proposals Due: March 22

Free Webinar -- Military Families Learning Network (MFLN)
Surviving the 2020 Pandemic: Lessons Learned on How to Best Support Our EI/ECSE Communities
Webinar Date: March 24

Free Webinar -- STATA
Mediation and Moderation in Stata
Webinar Date: March 24

2021 Call for Applications -- Hispanic Research Center
Research Scholars Program
Application Deadline: March 31

Call for Abstracts -- Society for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies (SLLS)
Identity and Transformation: Studying Lives in Times of Social Change
Abstracts Due: March 31


April

Center for Family & Demographic Research (CFDR) Virtual Symposium
COVID-19 and Families
Symposium Date: April 15


May

Call for Letters of Inquiry (LOIs) -- Russell Sage Foundation
LOIs Due: May 4

Population Association of America (PAA) 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting
Annual Meeting Dates: May 5-8


June

74th Annual Summer Institute in Survey Research Techniques Program -- Survey Research Center at the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
Program Dates: June 7-30

PSID (Panel Study of Income Dynamics) Data User Training Workshop (All Virtual) -- ICPSR (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research), University of Michigan
Workshop Dates: June 14-18
NCFMR Team

Co-directors
Dr. Susan L. Brown
Dr. Wendy D. Manning

Social Science Data Analyst
Dr. Krista K. Payne

Technical Writer
Lesley Wadsworth

Graduate Research Assistants
Lindsey Aldrich
Lisa Carlson
Katherine Graham
Leslie Reynolds