16 research outputs found
Considering Social Factors and Potential Moderation Effects in Childrenâs Health Research
In light of dramatic changes in American family demography in recent decades, there is a growing recognition that family structure is one of a host of important social factors contributing to childrenâs health and well-being. The article by Augustine and Kimbro contributes to a growing body of research linking childrenâs family structure and health outcomes, focusing specifically on the association between family living arrangements and childrenâs risk of obesity. Their analyses are especially helpful in suggesting that family scholars should pay more attention to potential heterogeneity in relationships between family structure and childrenâs outcomes
FAMILY STRUCTURE AND CHILD HEALTH OUTCOMES IN FRAGILE FAMILIES
Dramatic changes in family demography in the United States have led to increasing numbers of children living in ânon-traditionalâ households. A large body of literature documents the association between living in a non-traditional family structure/familial instability and childrenâs cognitive and behavioral outcomes. In contrast, relatively little research has focused on the relationship between family structure and instability and childrenâs physical health outcomes, despite the fact that there is good theoretical reason to expect that family structure and instability might be associated with childrenâs physical health. The current study uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to assess whether family structure and familial instability are associated with a variety of childrenâs physical health outcomes. The paper pays particular attention to possible mediating mechanisms and utilizes longitudinal data to address potential problems of selection bias and reverse causality. The results suggest that children living with two married biological parents tend to fare better than children living in less traditional family structures across a variety of physical health outcomes, and that at least some portion of these relationships are likely the result of selection bias and/or reverse causality.
DOES MOTHER KNOW BEST?: A COMPARISON OF BIOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL FATHERS AFTER A NONMARITAL BIRTH
High rates of nonmarital childbearing combined with high rates of instability and repartnering in nonmarital relationships portend that a large proportion of children born to unmarried mothers can expect to spend time with a âsocial father.â This paper uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine the prevalence and characteristics of social fathers during the first three years following a nonmarital birth. The results indicate that 22% of unmarried mothers have formed new partnerships by the time their child is age three, and 12% are living with their new partners. The results also indicate that re-partnering represents a gain for most mothers and children in terms of fathersâ human capital and pro-social behavior. Our findings are consistent with the idea that unmarried mothers continue to search for âgood fathersâ after their children are born and that many of these women are successful in their search.
Parenting Practices of Resident Fathers: The Role of Marital and Biological Ties
This paper uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine differences in the parenting behaviors of resident biological and social fathers on measures of engagement, shared responsibility, and cooperation in parenting. Regression, difference-in-difference, and decomposition techniques are used. Results suggest that biological and social fathers differ significantly on most parenting measures (and in some unexpected ways), but that a considerable portion of these differences can be explained by differences in the background characteristics of the individuals and families in each group. Additionally, the analyses reveal a stronger link between marriage and higher-quality parenting behaviors for social-father families than for biological-father families.
Early Child Development in Social Context: A Chartbook
Reviews more than 30 key indicators of health and development for children up to age 6, as well as social factors in families and communities that affect these outcomes. Offers practical suggestions for health practitioners and parents
A Portrait of Well-Being in Early Adulthood
Examines the educational attainment, success in connecting with the labor force, and family life of 25-year old Americans. Includes a look at several ethnic groups
Familial instability and young children's physical health
This paper uses recent longitudinal data about a cohort of young children born in the United States to mostly unmarried parents to examine the association between increasingly-complex patterns of family instability and physical health in early childhood. The analyses assess whether, and how, the association between family instability and child health varies across a number of family types. We consider several measures of children's health at age five (overweight/obesity, asthma diagnosis and overall health) and examine to what extent the association between family instability and child health varies across outcomes and depends on the number and timing of any familial transitions. We also explore a number of potential mechanisms through which family instability may affect child health. The results suggest that familial instability is related to worse child health, particularly among children born to coresident (married or cohabiting) biological parents and for children who experience high levels of residential instability.Children Families Health inequalities Nonmarital childbearing Familial instability Family structure Child health
Why do Hispanics in the USA report poor health?
Despite the health and survival advantages of Hispanics relative to non-Hispanic whites in the USA, Hispanics report themselves to be in worse health than whites. Prior research indicates that these ethnic differences in self-rated health (SRH), measured by a simple question asking individuals to assess their overall health status, persist in the presence of an extensive set of explanatory variables. In this paper we use data from the first wave of the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (L.A.FANS-1) to test three hypotheses regarding Hispanic-white differences in SRH. We evaluate whether poorer health reports among Hispanics result from: (1) acculturation and language-related differences in reports; (2) measures of socioeconomic status (SES) that are often omitted in other studies; and (3) somatization of emotional distress by Hispanics. Our results provide new insights into the validity of these explanations and suggest avenues for future research. First, they underscore the importance of language of interview over other measures of acculturation, suggesting that translation issues between the Spanish and English versions of the SRH question may give rise to some of the differences. Second, adjustment for SES--especially years of schooling--narrows, but does not eliminate, the gap between whites' and Hispanics' SRH. Finally, although respondents who are depressed are more likely to report poor SRH, this study provides little evidence to support the somatization hypothesis. The second wave of L.A.FANS incorporates new questions that are likely to permit more in-depth assessments of these hypotheses in future analyses.Race Ethnicity Hispanic Self-rated health Perceptions of health Immigration USA
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Mothers' Repartnering after a Nonmarital Birth
This paper examines the prevalence, predictors and outcomes of unmarried mothersâ repartnering
patterns following a nonmarital birth. Results indicate that, within five years after a birth,
approximately two-thirds of unmarried mothers ended their relationship with the focal childâs
biological father, and over half of these mothers entered new partnerships. Among those who
repartnered, 60 percent of mothers formed unions with men with higher economic capabilities
than their former partners, 20 percent formed unions with men with similar capabilities, and 20
percent formed unions with men with lower capabilities. This pattern holds for both nonresidential
and coresidential unions. Our findings are consistent with marriage market, learning, and
evolutionary biology theories about union formation, and they provide support for qualitative
evidence that unmarried mothers have high standards for new partners. While many mothers are
able to successfully find new partners with better economic capabilities, many other mothers
remain unpartnered, likely due (at least in part) to the limited pool of potential partners with
relatively high levels of economic capabilities