Marriage trends among Americans with childhood-onset disabilities, 1997-2013

Background: People with disabilities are less likely to marry than people without disabilities. Trends in marriage and assortative mating among people with disabilities have not been investigated.

Hypothesis: This study tested if marriage likelihood converged between adults with childhood-onset disabilities and their peers, and if married adults with childhood-onset disabilities became more likely to have a spouse without disabilities.

Methods: U.S. data from annual National Health Interview Surveys were used to identify adults ages 18-44 surveyed between 1997 and 2013 (N = 562,229). Childhood-onset disability was defined by self-report of physical conditions limiting the respondent's activities since age <18 years. Weighted multivariate logistic regressions were used to compare trends in ever marrying and current marriage to a spouse without reported disabilities between adults with childhood-onset disabilities and adults without childhood-onset disabilities.

Results: Across survey years, the decline in odds of having ever married was stronger among adults with childhood-onset disabilities (OR = 0.94; 95% CI: 0.93, 0.95; p < 0.001) than among adults without childhood-onset disabilities (OR = 0.96; 95% CI: 0.96, 0.96; p < 0.001), and divergence in these trends was statistically significant (p = 0.001). Employment and college attendance were positively correlated with marriage among people with childhood-onset disabilities. Among adults married at the time of the survey, those with childhood-onset disabilities were less likely to have a spouse without reported disabilities.

Conclusions: The American retreat from marriage has been accelerated among adults with childhood-onset disabilities, with high rates of in-marriage to other people with disabilities persisting in this group.