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In this dissertation, I investigate the determinants of labor force exits and entrances among married mothers with children under 15 considering work, family, and demographic characteristics, using the Survey of Income and Program Participation 1996 panel data. Three theoretical streams guide the research and interpret the findings—neoclassical economic theory, the life course perspective, and the gender perspective. Using discrete-time event history analysis, I find that wives who outearn their husbands are more likely to exit the labor force. An interaction with other family income (excluding the wife’s earnings) reveals that the main effect of the wife as a primary provider is negative, and primary provider wives are more likely to exit the labor force as other family income rises. I also find that married mothers who delay childbearing are more likely to exit the labor force. An interaction with personal earnings lends support to the life course perspective’s argument that delayed childbearers may believe that they can reenter the labor force without suffering downward mobility, as high earners who dela