With national statistics indicating burgeoning student debt loads among emerging adults, but fewer studies analyzing the consequences of
student borrowing, the purpose of this dissertation was to examine the association between student loan debt and the transition to family life
among a nationally representative cohort of young adults between ages 20 and 34 using the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997 (NLSY97).
The study was guided by three research aims: Aim 1) Examine the role of student loan debt in shaping the timing and sequencing of (1) full-time
employment, (2) postsecondary enrollment, (3) cohabitation, (4) marriage, and (5) parenthood. Aim 2) Investigate the association between student
debt and family formation pathways, net of socioeconomic confounders. Aim 3) Illuminate the potential observed and unobserved process(es)
underlying the association between student debt and the transition to marriage and parenthood. All analyses were conducted separately by gender,
given that recent studies strongly indicate that student loans disproportionately influence women's transitions into family life compared to
men's. Grounded in a life course framework, the first aim was addressed using a latent class analysis (LCA) approach, which examined the
association between student loan debt on the timing and sequencing of five-family related transitions: (1) full-time employment, (2)
postsecondary enrollment, (3) cohabitation, (4) marriage, and (5) parenthood. Consistent with recent studies analyzing the relationship between
student loan debt and the transition to marriage and parenthood (e.g., Addo, 2014; Bozick & Estacion, 2014; Nau, Dwyer, & Hodson, 2015),
the results indicated that student loan receipt was significantly associated with women's pathways into family life, but that men's family
formation pathways were relatively unaffected by student debt. Women who borrowed student loans to finance their undergraduate education
exhibited a greater likelihood of transitioning to family formation pathways characterized by higher probabilities of work and cohabitation but
lower probabilities of both marriage and parenthood compared to their counterparts without student debt. Men, in contrast, exhibited family
formation patterns characterized by high probabilities of work, marriage, and fatherhood, regardless of student loan receipt. The risk of
transitioning to family formation pathways relative to postponing family life was then assessed in subsequent analyses that included
time-variant and -invariant controls for important socioeconomic confounders identified by previous empirical studies, such as income,
educational histories, and family socioeconomic background, within a longitudinal LCA framework, also known as a Latent Transition Analysis
(LTA), to address Aim 2. The results from the multinomial LTA models suggest that although student loan receipt was not associated with family
formation pathways among men, high student debt to income ratios (SDTI) may present obstacles to family-related transitions relative to
postponement among men with student debt. Among women, all three measures of student debt (i.e., student loan receipt, student loan amounts, and
SDTI) were negatively associated with pathways characterized by high probabilities of marriage and motherhood. Yet, rather than discouraging
family formation entirely, student debt also hastened the probability of transitioning to pathways characterized by high probabilities of
cohabitation. The results suggest that paying down student debt may be a prerequisite for marriage among both men and women, especially when
outstanding debt obligations represent a large proportion of one's annual income. However, in accordance with previous research, the perceived
financial expectations for cohabitation may be lower than those related to marriage (e.g., Edin & Kefalas, 2005; Sassler, 2004; Silva,
2015), thus presenting an attractive option for sharing costs of living while paying down student debt, particularly among women. The last aim
was addressed using a multilevel multiprocess (MLMP) approach. In the final set of analyses, the association between student loan debt and
transition(s) to (1) cohabitation, (2) marriage and (3) parenthood were simultaneously estimated as interrelated processes, in addition to
accounting for any potential unobserved individual-level characteristics that may increase or decrease one's hazard of family formation. The
results from MLMP analyses suggest that student debt was negatively associated with transitions to marriage among both men and women, and that
the consequence of delaying marriage may subsequently, indirectly decrease the likelihood of transitioning to parenthood. Much of the negative
association between student debt and the hazard of transitioning to both marriage and parenthood was accounted for by processes related to
transitioning in and out of cohabiting unions, suggesting that student debt may be an important factor in shaping the outcomes of romantic
partnerships, especially in determining whether couples decide to make lifelong commitments such as marriage and parenthood. Overall, the
findings from this study indicate that the decision to borrow student loans early in adulthood can result in long-term consequences for family
life, particularly when outstanding debt obligations represent a relatively large proportion of annual incomes. Evidence of these extended
consequences demonstrates the value in adopting a life course approach for analyzing the relationship between student debt and demographic
behaviors, especially as the economic foundations for family formation have shifted toward greater expectations of personal responsibility. This
greater emphasis on individual economic achievements regardless of gender, principally for marriage (Cherlin, 2000; 2016), may be particularly
impactful for women with student debt, who are increasingly expected to financially contribute more to the households while carrying more debt
and earning less income than their male counterparts. Taken together, the results from this study suggest that the ongoing trend in student
borrowing will likely continue to play a key role in shaping future demographic patterns and behaviors, pinpointing the need for updating extant
theories concerning the association between economic resources and family formation to also include explanations encompassing consumer debt.
Particularly one that considers the disparate consequences of acquiring and paying debt by gender. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Sociology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2018. / October 5, 2018. / Assortative Mating, Family Formation, Gender Inequality, Higher Education, Life Course, Student Loan Debt / Includes bibliographical references. / Miles G. Taylor, Professor Directing Dissertation; Francis D. Fincham, University Representative; Karin L.
Brewster, Committee Member; Kathryn H. Tillman, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_661165 |
| Contributors | Min, Stella (author), Taylor, Miles G., 1976- (professor directing dissertation), Fincham, Frank D. (university representative), Brewster, Karin L. (committee member), Tillman, Kathryn H. (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Social Sciences and Public Policy (degree granting college), Department of Sociology (degree granting departmentdgg) |
| Publisher | Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text, doctoral thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (176 pages), computer, application/pdf |
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