Kelly Raley
Faculty Research Associate
— Ph.D.,
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Professor of Sociology
Biography
R. Kelly Raley is Professor of Sociology and Training Director at the Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin. Her research investigates family trends, the social determinants of family formation, and the impact of family change on social stratification. As part of a larger agenda examining the economic, social, and cultural contributors to marriage disparities in the United States, she has recently completed a project investigating the influence of social contextual factors on adolescent relationship formation. Much of her work in this area has addressed racial and ethnic differences in marriage and cohabitation, but her current line of inquiry focuses on educational variation in family formation.
NIH Biosketch
Education and Transition to Adulthood Research Group (ETAG) website
Publications
Augustine, Jennifer March and R. Kelly Raley. Forthcoming. “Multigenerational Households and the School Readiness of Children Born to Unmarried Mothers.” Journal of Family Issues.
Sullivan, M. Kate, R. Kelly Raley, Robert A. Hummer, and Emily Schiefelbein. Forthcoming. The Potential Contribution of Marital-Cohabitation Status to Racial, Ethnic, and Nativity Differentials in Birth Outcomes in Texas.” Maternal and Child Health Journal.
Raley, R. Kelly. 2011. In Booth et al (Eds). “I just want your kiss? Sexual Relationships in Young Adulthood” Early Adulthood in a Family Context. New York. Springer
Raley, R. Kelly. 2011. “Family and Household Composition of the Population”. In M. Anderson, C. Citro, and J. Salvo (Eds) Encyclopedia of the U.S. Census: Second Edition. Washington D.C.: CQ Press.
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McNamee, Catherine M. and R. Kelly Raley. 2011. “A Note on Race, Ethnicity and Nativity Differentials in Remarriage in the United States.” Demographic Research.
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Raley, R. Kelly and Charles E. Stokes. 2010. Kin Connection: Kin Involvement While Growing Up and Marriage in Adulthood. Social Science Research
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Raley, R. Kelly and M. Kate Sullivan. 2010. Social-Contextual influences on Adolescent Romantic and Sexual Activity. Sociological Spectrum, 30: 65-89.
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Raley, R. Kelly and Megan M. Sweeney. 2009. Explaining race and ethnic variation in marriage: Directions for future research. Race and Social Problems, 1:132-142.
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Choi, Kate H., R. Kelly Raley, Chandra Muller, and Catherine Riegle-Crumb. 2008. “A Longitudinal Analysis of Exposure to Peers with College Educated Parents and Student’s College Enrollment.” Social Science Quarterly, 89: 846-866
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Cavanagh, Shannon, Sarah Crissey, and Kelly Raley. 2008. Family Structure and Adolescent Opposite Sex Relationships. Journal of Marriage and Family. 70: 698-714.
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Stokes, Charles E. and R. Kelly Raley. Cohabitation. In D. Carr et al. (Eds). Encyclopedia of the Life Course and Human Development. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale
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Raley, R. Kelly, Sarah Crissey, & Chandra Muller. 2007. “Of Sex and Romance: Adolescent relationships in the transition to adulthood.” Journal of Marriage and Family 69: 1210-1226.
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Wildsmith, Elizabeth and R. Kelly Raley. 2006. “Race-Ethnic Differences in Nonmarital Fertility: A Focus on Mexican American Women.” Journal of Marriage and Family. 68: 491-508
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Raley, R. Kelly, Michelle Frisco, & Elizabeth Wildsmith. 2005. “Maternal Cohabitation and Educational Success” Sociology of Education. 78: 144-164.
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Woo, Hyeyoung & and R. Kelly Raley. 2005. A Small Extension to “Costs and Rewards of Children: The Effects of Becoming a Parent on Adults’ Lives.” Journal of Marriage and Family 67: 216–221
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Raley, R. Kelly, T. Elizabeth Durden, & Elizabeth Wildsmith. 2004. “Understanding Mexican American Marriage Patterns Using a Life Course Approach” Social Science Quarterly. 85 (4): 872-890.
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Raley, R. Kelly and Jenifer Bratter. 2004."Not Even if You Were the Last Person on Earth! How Marital Search Constraints Affect the Likelihood of Marriage.” Journal of Family Issues. 25: 167-181.
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Raley, R. Kelly and Wildsmith, Elizabeth. 2004. “Cohabitation and Children’s Family Instability” Journal of Marriage and the Family. 66:210-219
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Working Papers
Young Adults Fertility Expectations and Events, Associations with College Enrollment and Persistence
The analyses described in this paper investigate the association between adolescent fertility expectations and college enrollment (N=7,838). Additionally, they explore the potential impact of fertility expectations and events on college persistence among four-year (n=2,605) and two-year (n=1,962) college students. Our analysis using the NLSY 1997 cohort shows a significant association between expectations for early parenthood and the likelihood of going to a four-year college or two-year college for both men and women. Additionally, we find that pregnancies are associated with an increased risk of college drop out for women. Yet, if all of the estimated effect of pregnancies on the risk of drop out were causal, they would still not be a major factor contributing to educational attainment because fertile pregnancies among college women are so rare.
Forthcoming in Journal of Marriage and Family
