The Bigger the Children, the Bigger the Worries: Are Preschoolers and Adolescents Affected Differently by Family Instability with Regard to Non-cognitive Skills?

Substantial research on the relationship between family structures and child outcomes represents a considerable part of the literature. However, family structure provides a rather static view of the relationship of children's living arrangements and their well-being, revealing hardly anything about the stability of a family for a longer period. This paper focuses on the impact of family instability on children. In light of human capital accumulation, we hypothesize that a stable family (either a two parent or a single parent family) might be beneficial for child outcomes, in particular for non-cognitive skills. We use skills, such as socio-emotional behavior or locus of control, as our primary measure of child outcomes. The paper focuses on the potential impact of family instability occurring at different childhood stages on non-cognitive skills of preschoolers (aged five to six) and of adolescents (aged seventeen). Our analysis is based on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP). Family instability is defined by yearly observed maternal partnership variations. Our results suggest that differences in family stability account for some of the gradient in social-behavioral difficulties for preschool children. By using sibling differences for our adolescents' sample, we find that multiple partnership transitions experienced early in life are negatively correlated with non-cognitive skills in adolescence, e.g., such adolescents are less likely to be active or self-determined in life.Child development, family dynamics, locus of control, non-cognitive skills

Child Care Choices in Western Germany Also Correlated with Mother's Personality

The expansion of formal child care, particularly for children under the age of three, has resulted in more and more children from this age group attending day care facilities. This formal child care setting is frequently combined with care provided by grandparents or other individuals. The combination and number of child care settings made use of is influenced by a variety of socio-economic factors and the range of options available. Maternal personality can also explain differences in child care choices, if only to a relatively limited extent and predominantly in families residing in western Germany. Analyses based on the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) show that mothers in western Germany who are very open to new experiences are more likely to combine the use of formal with informal child care. Mothers, who classify themselves as conscientious, in line with personality research, are less likely to use this setting as the sole additional type of child care alongside parental care. The analyses emphasize just how different parental preferences are. A policy that is focused on freedom of choice and on creating the conditions for this by expanding the child care infrastructure should take these differences into account.Child care, personality factors, maternal employment

Intended college enrollment and educational inequality: Do students lack information?

Despite increasing access to university education, students from disadvantaged or non-academic family backgrounds are still underrepresented at universities. In this regard, the economic literature mainly studies the effect of financial constraints on post-secondary educational decisions. Our knowledge on potential effects of other constraints regarding university education is more limited. We investigate the causal relationship between information and educational expectations using data from a German randomized controlled trial in which students in high schools were treated with information on the benefits as well as on different funding possibilities for university education. We find that the provision of information increases intended college enrollment for students from a non-academic family background, while it leads students from academic backgrounds to lower their enrollment intentions. Our results suggest that educational inequality can be reduced by providing students with relevant information, while simultaneously improving post-secondary education matches

Arbeitsplatzverlust der Mutter kann die Entwicklung ihrer Kinder beeinträchtigen

Der Verlust des Arbeitsplatzes ist für Arbeitnehmer meist mit erheblichen negativen Folgen verbunden - dies gilt umso mehr, wenn von den Auswirkungen Familien betroffen sind. Dabei ist nicht nur die finanzielle Situation von Bedeutung: Auch die Entwicklung der Kinder kann beeinflusst werden, wenn die Mutter ihren Job verliert. Eine Untersuchung des DIW Berlin auf Basis von Daten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) zeigt, dass dies hinsichtlich nicht-kognitiver Fähigkeiten wie dem Sozialverhalten tatsächlich der Fall ist: Vorschulkinder, deren Mütter unfreiwillig ihren Arbeitsplatz verloren haben, sind sozio-emotional auffälliger als Kinder, deren Müttern dies nicht widerfahren ist. Ähnliches trifft auf Jugendliche zu: Wird die Mutter arbeitslos, glauben Jugendliche weniger daran, dass sie ihr Leben selbst bestimmen können.A job loss has considerable negative consequences for those hit by unemployment. This is all the more relevant if families are affected. It not only relates to a family's financial situation: a mother losing her job can also impact on child development. A study conducted by DIW Berlin using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) shows that this is indeed the case as far as non-cognitive skills such as social behavior are concerned: pre-school children whose mothers have involuntarily lost their job have more socio-emotional problems than children whose mothers have not faced this situation. The same applies to adolescents: if their mother becomes unemployed, young people have less confidence in their ability to determine the course of their own lives

The Bigger the Children, the Bigger the Worries: Are Preschoolers and Adolescents Affected Differently by Family Instability with Regard to Non-cognitive Skills?

Substantial research on the relationship between family structures and child outcomes represents a considerable part of the literature. However, family structure provides a rather static view of the relationship of children's living arrangements and their well-being, revealing hardly anything about the stability of a family for a longer period. This paper focuses on the impact of family instability on children. In light of human capital accumulation, we hypothesize that a stable family (either a two parent or a single parent family) might be beneficial for child outcomes, in particular for non-cognitive skills. We use skills, such as socio-emotional behavior or locus of control, as our primary measure of child outcomes. The paper focuses on the potential impact of family instability occurring at different childhood stages on non-cognitive skills of preschoolers (aged five to six) and of adolescents (aged seventeen). Our analysis is based on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP). Family instability is defined by yearly observed maternal partnership variations. Our results suggest that differences in family stability account for some of the gradient in social-behavioral difficulties for preschool children. By using sibling differences for our adolescents' sample, we find that multiple partnership transitions experienced early in life are negatively correlated with non-cognitive skills in adolescence, e.g., such adolescents are less likely to be active or self-determined in life

Job Loss and Changes in Personality - Evidence from Plant Closures

Personality traits and other non-cognitive skills have long been considered to be quite stable over adulthood. Economic studies on non-cognitive skills as determinants of educational and labor market outcomes therefore assumed their stability over time to rule out reverse causality. However, recent evidence from psychology suggests that the stability assumption may not always hold. Our paper aims at identifying causal effects of job loss on changes in personality and thereby at complementing recent studies in economics and psychology on the stability of personality traits. We use data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) for the years 2004 to 2014 which include measures of the Big 5 personality inventory with two repeated measurements as well as detailed employment information. We focus on plant closures and dismissals, which have been widely used as an exogenous event in the literature. Our results based on linear regression models and on a novel econometric method to account for selectivity suggest that job loss leads to a drop in emotional stability. The other dimensions of the Big 5 personality inventory remain (nearly) unchanged. Moreover, the drop in emotional stability is more pronounced for individuals who do not find re-employment. Individuals who face changes in their non-cognitive skills following a job loss may find it more difficult to re-enter employment, which may explain duration dependence of unemployment

Child care choices in Western Germany also correlated with mother's personality

The expansion of formal child care, particularly for children under the age of three, has resulted in more and more children from this age group attending day care facilities. This formal child care setting is frequently combined with care provided by grandparents or other individuals. The combination and number of child care settings made use of is influenced by a variety of socio-economic factors and the range of options available. Maternal personality can also explain differences in child care choices, if only to a relatively limited extent and predominantly in families residing in western Germany. Analyses based on the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) show that mothers in western Germany who are very open to new experiences are more likely to combine the use of formal with informal child care. Mothers, who classify themselves as conscientious, in line with personality research, are less likely to use this setting as the sole additional type of child care alongside parental care. The analyses emphasize just how different parental preferences are. A policy that is focused on freedom of choice and on creating the conditions for this by expanding the child care infrastructure should take these differences into account

Wahl der Kinderbetreuung hängt in Westdeutschland auch mit der Persönlichkeit der Mütter zusammen

Mit dem Ausbau der außerhäuslichen Betreuungsangebote, insbesondere für Kinder unter drei Jahren, nutzen immer mehr Kinder dieser Altersgruppe Kindertageseinrichtungen. Diese formelle Betreuung wird häufig mit der Betreuung durch Großeltern oder andere Personen kombiniert. Welche Betreuungskombinationen und wie viele genutzt werden, hängt mit einer Vielzahl von sozioökonomischen Merkmalen und dem Angebot zusammen. Die Persönlichkeit der Mutter kann darüber hinaus Unterschiede in der Betreuungswahl erklären - wenn auch nur einen relativ geringen Anteil und vorrangig bei Familien, die in Westdeutschland leben. Analysen auf der Basis des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) haben für Westdeutschland gezeigt, dass Mütter, die sehr offen für Neues sind, eher die Nutzung einer Kindertageseinrichtung mit Formen informeller Betreuung kombinieren. Mütter, die sich im Sinne der Persönlichkeitsforschung als gewissenhaft einstufen, nutzen diese Angebote seltener als alleinige Betreuungsform neben der elterlichen Betreuung. Die Analysen zeigen einmal mehr, wie unterschiedlich die Präferenzen von Eltern sind. Eine Politik, die auf Wahlfreiheit setzt und durch einen Ausbau der Betreuungsinfrastruktur die Voraussetzungen dafür schafft, kann diesen Unterschieden gerecht werden.Child care, personality factors, maternal employment

Beyond the subject. Students\u27 perceptions of cross-curricular instruction

Fächerübergreifender Unterricht wird vielfach gefordert. Aber wie wirksam sind fächerübergreifende Unterrichtsphasen wirklich? Dazu wurden Schülerinnen und Schüler an Gymnasien in den Jahrgängen 7 bis 13 beobachtet und befragt. Fächerübergreifendes Lernen wird als ausgesprochen sinnvoll und effektiv erlebt: insbesondere Motivation, Selbsttätigkeit und Lernintensität werden deutlich gesteigert. (DIPF/Orig.)Instruction transcending single subjects is often demanded, but how effective is this method in reality? This issue was investigated by observing sections of cross-curricular instruction in secondary classes of grade 7 through 13 and interviewing students afterwards. The findings show that students experience cross-curricular lessons as singularly effective on learning motivation, class-room activity, and knowledge gains. (DIPF/Orig.