Marcy Carlson

Associate Professor of Sociology
4458 Sewell Social Sciences
(608) 262-1085
carlson@ssc.wisc.edu

Office Hours: by appt. (Fall'09)

Curriculum Vitae

Research Interest Statement
Carlson’s recent work is focused on union formation, fertility, parenting and child wellbeing, particularly among unmarried-parent families. Given the rising fraction of births that occur outside of marriage—and the limited information about such parents and children over time, her research sheds light on the new (and often complicated) family circumstances within this growing demographic group. For example, a recent paper (with Frank Furstenberg) points to the high prevalence of ‘multi-partnered fertility’—or, parents having children by more than one partner—among unmarried parents, which has implications for population research (i.e. how we ‘count’ families that span across households) and for public policies intended to serve low-income families.

Selected Publications:
Carlson, Marcia J., Sara S. McLanahan and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn. 2008. "Co-parenting and Fathers' Involvement with Young Children after a Nonmarital Birth." Demography 45(2):461-488.

Berger, Lawrence M., Marcia J. Carlson, Sharon H. Bzostek and Cynthia Osborne. 2008. "Parenting Practices of Resident Fathers: The Role of Marital and Biological Ties." Journal of Marriage and Family 70(3):625-639.

Lopoo, Leonard M. and Marcia J. Carlson. 2008. Marriageability among the Partners of Young Mothers." Social Service Review 82(2):253-271.

Carlson, Marcia J. and Frank F. Furstenberg, Jr. 2006. "The Prevalence and Correlates of Multipartnered Fertility among Urban U.S. Parents." Journal of Marriage and Family 68(3):718-732.

Funded Research Projects

Trajectories and Consequences of Nonmarital Fathering

CDE Research Theme Working Groups
Demography of Inequality
Fertility/Families and Households