Abstract

HILL, Laura E.. Connections between U.S. Female Migration and Family Formation and Dissolution. Migr. Inter [online]. 2004, vol.2, n.3, pp.60-82. ISSN 2594-0279.

Young single women from Mexico and Central America are becoming more numerous in the flow of migrants to the United States. An examination of the retrospective marital histories from the samples of the 1990 and 1995 Current Population Survey shows strong temporal connections between women's international migration and other life-course events, namely, marriage and divorce. For single women born in Mexico or Central America, proportional hazards estimation reveals a much higher likelihood of first marriage during the first years of migration, than before migration. For all migrant women, the likelihood of experiencing a first divorce around the time of migration is greater than at any other time. These findings suggest that decisions about family formation (and dissolution) may be an integral part of the decision to migrate and settle in the United States.

Keywords : international migration; female migration; marriage; Mexico; Central America.

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