Women's multiple-partner fertility in the United States: Prevalence, correlates and trends, 1985-2008

This study provides the first current, nationally representative estimate of the prevalence of multipartnered fertility among American women, as a whole and within subgroups. We also chart trends in behavior from 1985 through 2008. Our estimates are derived from the household relationship matrices found in 12 panels of the Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation spanning this period. Contrary to expectations, there was no upward trend in multipartnered fertility over those 23 years for the population as a whole. While trends within subgroups did emerge, they tended to offset each other.