Children living in single-parent families, particularly those born to unmarried parents, are at high risk for experiencing material hardship. Previous research based on cross sectional data suggests that father involvement, especially visitation, diminishes hardship. In this paper, we use...

In this study, we use nationally representative data from the U.S. Current Population Survey-Child Support Supplement (N = 28,047) to examine differences in nonresident fathers’ material contributions between children of native and foreign-born mothers. We focus on contributions provided...

Research shows that stronger child support enforcement increases the amount of formal support received by children from their nonresident fathers. Yet, little is known about: 1) the informal cash and non-cash contributions that nonresident fathers make—especially to nonmarital children, 2) the...

Research shows that stronger child support enforcement increases the amount of formal support received by children from their nonresident fathers. Yet, little is known about: 1) the informal cash and non-cash contributions that nonresident fathers make—especially to nonmarital children, 2) the...

Despite interest in the potential of the welfare system as a tool to affect marriage behaviors among low-income women, little is known about how welfare participation affects decisions to marry. We employ an event history approach to examine transitions to marriage over a five-year period among...

Despite interest in the potential of the welfare system as a tool to affect marriage behaviors among low-income women, little is known about how welfare participation affects decisions to marry. We employ an event history approach to examine transitions to marriage over a five-year period among...

Three waves of panel data are used to examine the relationship between child support payments and fathers’ contact with their nonmarital children. Cross-lagged effects models are incorporated to identify the direction of causality between these two behaviors. Controlling for the lagged term...

Three waves of panel data are used to examine the relationship between child support payments and fathers’ contact with their nonmarital children. Cross-lagged effects models are incorporated to identify the direction of causality between these two behaviors. Controlling for the lagged term...

There are well-documented and as yet unexplained disparities in birth outcomes by race in the USA. This paper examines the sources of disparities in low birth weight between blacks and whites in the US, by focusing on differences in disparities between two very distinct geographic areas, the...

We examine the extent to which disparities in wealth by race/ethnicity are related to gaps in children's educational outcomes, and find that family socio-demographics and parental resources account for a substantial proportion of black/white and Hispanic/white disparities in children's...