Survey of unwed mothers is published

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Ohio State University scientists say women who have children outside of marriage are less likely than other single women to marry.

The researchers suggest the odds that unwed mothers marry, rather than cohabit, are about 30 percent lower than those of childless single women. And when they do marry, those mothers are more likely to have husbands who are significantly older and less educated than those of childless women.

Zhenchao Qian, co-author of the study and associate professor of sociology, said his research suggests federal and state governments promoting marriage among young, poor Americans need to do more to prevent out-of-wedlock childbearing.

Qian conducted the study with Leanna Mellott, an Ohio State graduate student in sociology and Daniel Lichter, a professor at Cornell University.

The study's results appear in the current issue of the journal Social Forces.