Opioid Epidemic Linked to Higher Nonmarital Birth Rates Among Unmarried Women, Study Finds

The opioid epidemic increased nonmarital birth rates mainly among unmarried women due to social disruptions rather than changes in their economic status, according to a study published in Demography.

“Our study is the first to examine the effect of the opioid epidemic on nonmarital fertility in the United States,” wrote corresponding author Monica Caudillo, Department of Sociology, University of Maryland in College Park, MD, and coauthor. “We found robust evidence indicating that areas that have witnessed increasing opioid abuse, as measured by local opioid-overdose death rates and total prescriptions per capita, have also experienced an increase in nonmarital birth rates.”

Localities where opioid abuse rates have risen, as indicated by higher opioid overdose mortality rates and per capita prescription totals, have also observed a parallel increase in nonmarital birth rates. The opioid epidemic caused a 14% increase in nonmarital births, offsetting a steep decline between 2010 and 2016 in the US.

The data suggests that the opioid epidemic did not impact the birth rates of married couples. However, it did impact the birth rates of unmarried women. This might be because they are more likely to be struggling with opioid addiction themselves. Alternatively, it could be because they are more susceptible to the effects of the opioid epidemic on families and communities. Less educated White women have primarily driven the effects of the opioid epidemic on nonmarital fertility. No effects were found among Hispanic or Black women of any educational level. The epidemic does not seem to affect women’s probability of marriage, and marriage rates are unaffected by opioid overdose deaths and prescription rates. No evidence of changing economic conditions affecting unmarried births was found.

“Thus, our findings suggest that the decrease in nonmarital fertility over the past decade would have been greater had the opioid epidemic not occurred,” wrote the study authors. “They also suggest that the increase in nonmarital births observed before 2008 would have been lower in the absence of the opioid epidemic.”

Reference

Caudillo ML, Villarreal A. The Opioid Epidemic and Nonmarital Childbearing in the United States, 2000-2016. Demography. 2021;58(1):345-378. doi:10.1215/00703370-8937348