Multipartner fertility is a critical demographic and social phenomenon that may contribute to and reflect important gender and family structure inequalities in Nicaragua. Mothers with multipartner fertility may be at especially high risk of raising children without the children's fathers and with low levels of economic support.

Objective This work addresses whether adolescent sibling composition—the presence of full‐, half‐, and step‐siblings—is associated with adult childbearing behaviors. Background Recent research suggests that family complexity is transmitted across generations, with individuals with half‐siblings (i.e., parental multipartner fertility [MPF]) having an increased risk of MPF themselves. Yet this work may confound parental composition and sibling composition, as complex sibling ties occur more often among those living outside of a family with both biological parents. Method Using data from Rounds 1–18 of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 Cohort, the authors test, for men and women separately, whether parental composition and sibling composition in adolescence are independently associated with the marital status of first births (N = 8768) and MPF (N = 5574). Results Having half‐siblings, but not full‐ or step‐siblings, increases women's odds of a nonmarital first birth over no birth and a marital birth, even when accounting for parental composition. Having half‐siblings also increases women's risk of MPF, though this link is attenuated with controls for first birth characteristics. These associations are not present for men. Parental composition is independently linked to fertility. Conclusion For women, accounting for sibling composition appears to capture aspects of family that are not identified with parental composition.

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Desistance from the risky behaviors associated with adolescence is linked to entry into adult roles like marriage and employment. Increases in the age of these transitions may delay desistance from risky behaviors. Using population data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Health Statistics, and tabulated data from Monitoring the Future, we chart trends in six problem behaviors—arrests, marijuana use, binge drinking, suicides, homicides, and motor vehicle deaths—between 1975 and 2017. We find delays in desistance from some behaviors. For instance, binge drinking peaked at ages 19–22 in earlier birth cohorts but at ages 23–26 in later birth cohorts. However, other behaviors showed no change in the timing of desistance. Women’s rates approached men’s in binge drinking and suicide, but gender gaps persist across behaviors. Delayed transitions to adult roles have not produced a singular pattern of delayed desistance from problem behaviors.

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