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Author: Vespa, Jonathan Edward
Resulting in 7 citations.
1. Frech, Adrianne
Painter, Matthew A.
Vespa, Jonathan Edward
Marital Biography and Mothers' Wealth
Journal of Family and Economic Issues 38,2 (June 2017): 279-292.
Also: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10834-016-9508-1
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Springer
Keyword(s): Divorce; First Birth; Marital History/Transitions; Marriage; Mothers; Wealth

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

We used over 20 years of data to estimate differences in mothers' wealth across marital biography, following a marital first birth. Our study is the first to account for the selection of mothers into divorce or remarriage when estimating the role that marital history plays in wealth accumulation. Mothers who remained stably married to the biological father of their firstborn child reported greater wealth in their forties than mothers who divorced and did not remarry. Those who married at younger ages, women of color, and women from lower-income families were less likely to remain stably married. Net of selection, mothers who remained remarried had the same wealth as continuously married mothers. Thus the characteristics that predispose mothers to divorce, and not divorce per se, are linked to lower wealth. Once these selection effects were accounted for, we concluded that divorce was not necessarily detrimental to mothers’ economic security, a new finding that contradicts past studies.
Bibliography Citation
Frech, Adrianne, Matthew A. Painter and Jonathan Edward Vespa. "Marital Biography and Mothers' Wealth." Journal of Family and Economic Issues 38,2 (June 2017): 279-292.
2. Frech, Adrianne
Painter, Matthew A.
Vespa, Jonathan Edward
Marital Biography and Women's Wealth
Presented: Washington DC, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, March-April 2016
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Divorce; Marital History/Transitions; Remarriage; Wealth

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Marriage is wealth-enhancing and divorce is wealth depleting. But unequal selection into divorce or remarriage complicates any causal associations between marital biography and wealth. We use over twenty years of data from the NLSY79 to estimate wealth by marital biography among ever-married mothers, adjusting for unequal selection into divorce or remarriage. Women who remained stably married to the biological father of their firstborn child reported greater wealth in their forties than women who divorced and did not remarry. Women who married at younger ages, women of color, and women from lower-income families were less likely to remain stably married. But net of selection, remarriage did not carry a wealth penalty: women who remarried and remained married at age forty did not report less wealth than stably married women, demonstrating that a single divorce is not necessarily wealth depleting at midlife.
Bibliography Citation
Frech, Adrianne, Matthew A. Painter and Jonathan Edward Vespa. "Marital Biography and Women's Wealth." Presented: Washington DC, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, March-April 2016.
3. Painter, Matthew A.
Vespa, Jonathan Edward
The Role of Cohabitation in Asset and Debt Accumulation During Marriage
Journal of Family and Economic Issues 33,4 (December 2012): 491-506.
Also: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10834-012-9310-7?null
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Springer
Keyword(s): Assets; Cohabitation; Debt/Borrowing; Marriage; Wealth

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Research has found that married individuals who cohabited only once before marriage with their future spouse (i.e., “spousal cohabiters”) have a distinctive financial advantage: they accumulate more wealth over time than individuals who married without ever cohabiting (i.e., “directly married”). Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and growth curve models, the present study attempts to identify the source of spousal cohabiters’ wealth advantage. We find that marriage is associated with gains for financial and nonfinancial wealth, increasing home equity, and decreasing debt over time. Spousal cohabiters begin marriage with more debt than the directly married. Conditional on education, income, and other key factors, spousal cohabiters pay down their debt faster and generate greater home equity over time thereby accumulating more wealth than the directly married. This pattern of financial behavior among spousal cohabiters explains some, but not all, of their financial advantage over married persons who never cohabited prior to marrying. Given the increasing prevalence of cohabitation among young adults, these results offer important insights into the long-term economic outcomes associated with premarital cohabitation.
Bibliography Citation
Painter, Matthew A. and Jonathan Edward Vespa. "The Role of Cohabitation in Asset and Debt Accumulation During Marriage." Journal of Family and Economic Issues 33,4 (December 2012): 491-506.
4. Vespa, Jonathan Edward
Early Sexual Behavior and First Union Formation in Young Adults
M.A. Thesis, Ohio State University, Department of Sociology, 2006
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT)
Keyword(s): Age at First Intercourse; Cohabitation; Marriage; Sexual Behavior

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Using the first six rounds of data from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97), this research analyzes the role of sexual behavior on union formation for 6,700 adolescents and young adults ages 18 to 22 years. I investigate the effects of age at first sex and number of sexual partners on whether individuals enter a first co-residential union in early adulthood, and among those who do, whether their first union is marriage or cohabitation. Results show that earlier sexual activity and more sexual partners prior to first union significantly increase the likelihood of experiencing cohabitation as one's first co-residential union. Sexually active adolescents are significantly less likely to enter marriages or delay union formation altogether compared to their counterparts who delayed first sex and had fewer sexual partners. These findings suggest that individuals who enter these cohabiting first unions have significantly different sexual behavior than those who enter early marriages or stay single. Cohabitation has emerged as an alternative union type to marriage in which individuals' sexual behavior prior to union formation significantly influences the kind of first union they first experience.
Bibliography Citation
Vespa, Jonathan Edward. Early Sexual Behavior and First Union Formation in Young Adults. M.A. Thesis, Ohio State University, Department of Sociology, 2006.
5. Vespa, Jonathan Edward
Early Sexual Behavior and First Union Formation in Young Adults
Presented: New York, NY, Population Association of America Annual Meetings, March 29-31, 2007.
Also: http://paa2007.princeton.edu/abstractViewer.aspx?submissionId=7161
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Cohabitation; Marriage; Sexual Activity; Sexual Behavior

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Using the first six rounds of data from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, I analyze the role of sexual behavior on union formation for 6,700 young adults (ages 18 to 22). I investigate whether early sexual activity influences the likelihood of experiencing a co-residential union in early adulthood and whether it is marriage or cohabitation. Results show that earlier ages at first sex and more sexual partners increase the likelihood of experiencing a cohabiting first co-residential union. Sexually active adolescents are less likely to marry or remain single than their counterparts who delayed first sex and had fewer sexual partners. These findings suggest that individuals who enter early cohabiting first unions have different sexual behavior than those who enter early marriages or stay single. Cohabitation has emerged as an alternative union to marriage in which individuals' early sexual behavior influences the kind of first union they first experience.
Bibliography Citation
Vespa, Jonathan Edward. "Early Sexual Behavior and First Union Formation in Young Adults." Presented: New York, NY, Population Association of America Annual Meetings, March 29-31, 2007.
6. Vespa, Jonathan Edward
Gender Ideology Construction: A Life Course and Intersectional Approach
Gender and Society 23,3 (June 2009): 363-387.
Also: http://gas.sagepub.com/content/23/3/363.short
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Sage Publications
Keyword(s): Gender Attitudes/Roles; Labor Force Participation; Life Course; Marriage; Parental Marital Status; Parenthood; Racial Differences

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Using life course and intersectional perspectives, this study examines how changes in life experiences such as marriage, parenthood, and work are associated with changes in individuals' gender ideology. Using longitudinal survey data and fixed effects, findings suggest that exposure to these experiences influences gender ideology, though with greater variation than previous work has detected. Marriage exerts an egalitarian influence on Blacks but a less egalitarian one on whites. Parenthood has a less egalitarian effect for all married parents but an egalitarian one for most unmarried parents. These findings suggest that gender ideology is dynamic and life experiences are important sources of change. Furthermore, this change depends on individuals' race-gender categories and the configuration of life events to which they are exposed. These nuanced findings amend past work by better identifying for whom and under which conditions life experiences shape gender ideology. In doing so, this study illustrates how the conceptual and methodological approaches help us understand gender ideology construction by revealing substantial variation that went undetected in past work.
Bibliography Citation
Vespa, Jonathan Edward. "Gender Ideology Construction: A Life Course and Intersectional Approach." Gender and Society 23,3 (June 2009): 363-387.
7. Vespa, Jonathan Edward
Painter, Matthew A. II
Cohabitation History, Marriage, and Wealth Accumulation
Demography 48,3 (August 2011): 983-1004.
Also: http://www.springerlink.com/content/ag75174242632630/
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Cohabitation; Ethnic Differences; Marital Status; Marriage; Racial Differences; Wealth

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This study extends research on the relationship between wealth accumulation and union experiences, such as marriage and cohabitation. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, we explore the wealth trajectories of married individuals in light of their premarital cohabitation histories. Over time, marriage positively correlates with wealth accumulation. Most married persons with a premarital cohabitation history have wealth trajectories that are indistinguishable from those without cohabitation experience, with one exception: individuals who marry their one and only cohabiting partner experience a wealth premium that is twice as large as that for married individuals who never cohabited prior to marrying. Results remain robust over time despite cohabiters' selection out of marriage, yet vary by race/ethnicity. We conclude that relationship history may shape long-term wealth accumulation, and contrary to existing literature, individuals who marry their only cohabiting partners experience a beneficial marital outcome. It is therefore important to understand the diversity of cohabitation experiences among the married.
Bibliography Citation
Vespa, Jonathan Edward and Matthew A. II Painter. "Cohabitation History, Marriage, and Wealth Accumulation." Demography 48,3 (August 2011): 983-1004.