title: Can't afford a baby? Debt and young Americans.
abstract: This article explores the role of personal debt in the transition to parenthood. We analyze data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth-1997 cohort and find that for the generation coming of age in the 2000s, student loans delay fertility for women, particularly at very high levels of debt. Home mortgages and credit card debt, in contrast, appear to be precursors to parenthood. These results indicate that different forms of debt have different implications for early adulthood transitions: whereas consumer loans or home mortgages immediately increase access to consumption goods, there is often a significant delay between the accrual and realization of benefits for student loans. The double-edged nature of debt as both barrier and facilitator to life transitions highlights the importance of looking at debt both as a monetary issue and also as a carrier of social meanings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Ohio State University, United States.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nau
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Ohio State University, United States.
authors.forename: Rachel E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Dwyer
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Ohio State University, United States.
authors.forename: Randy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hodson
keywords: Birth of first child; Credit card; Debt; Home mortgage; Life course