Department of Social Sciences, University of Indianapolis, 1400 East Hanna Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana 46227-3697; e-mail: milleraj@uindy.edu.
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Cohabiting Men’s Preferences for and Roles in Determining the Outcomes of Unexpected Pregnancies†
Article first published online: 26 AUG 2012
DOI: 10.1111/j.1573-7861.2012.01342.x
© 2012 Eastern Sociological Society
Additional Information
How to Cite
Miller, A. J. (2012), Cohabiting Men’s Preferences for and Roles in Determining the Outcomes of Unexpected Pregnancies. Sociological Forum, 27: 708–731. doi: 10.1111/j.1573-7861.2012.01342.x
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The author would like to acknowledge Sarah Favinger for her work in data collection and on a previous draft and Sharon Sassler for her work in data collection and providing writing support. Furthermore, the comments of Chris Knoester, Shelly Pacholok, and Alexa Trumpy were greatly appreciated.
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Department of Social Sciences, University of Indianapolis, 1400 East Hanna Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana 46227-3697; e-mail: milleraj@uindy.edu.
Publication History
- Issue published online: 26 AUG 2012
- Article first published online: 26 AUG 2012
- Abstract
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Keywords:
- abortion;
- cohabitation;
- family;
- fatherhood;
- fertility;
- social class
Growing numbers of men are fathering children within cohabiting unions. However, we know little about their desires for and preferred roles in making fertility decisions. To address this gap, I use data from 61 in-depth interviews with working- and middle-class cohabiting men to examine their stated preferences should their partners experience an unplanned pregnancy. For some men, the decision appears to be a relatively stable personal or political one, but most draw on their current relationships and/or financial or maturational situations when noting their desires. A subsample of 22 men from this group who have experienced pregnancies is used to explore men’s actual roles in negotiating whether a conception was terminated or carried to term. Despite the fact that most men would like to have input into decisions to abort or carry a pregnancy to term, the majority were not actually involved in making decisions with their partners (especially the decision to abort) when pregnancies occurred. Results are interpreted in light of social class differences in family formation processes.