1 Family Structure Transitions and Children’s Socioemotional Wellbeing Catherine Boyd Laura Freeman Rachel Tolbert Kimbro Rice University Abstract Numerous studies have found that family structure instability is negatively associated with children’s social skills and behavior. However, key questions remain as to whether all changes in family structure are equally detrimental to child socioemotional wellbeing and if there are differences by gender. Understanding how the effects of family instability vary by initial family structure and gender is important not only for understanding the role of the family environment on children’s socioemotional development, but also for developing policies for improving child wellbeing. To anticipate the potential consequences of suggested programs, we need a better understanding of how different groups of children respond to different types of family structure transitions. We address these questions using newly-available data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011 (ECLS-K:2011), a nationally representative sample of children living in the United States. First, we compare the social skills and behaviors (self-control, tendency to internalize problem behaviors, tendency to externalize problem behaviors, and interpersonal skills) of children across different initial family structures. Then, among children within the same family structure, we compare these measures of socioemotional wellbeing of those who experienced a family transition with their counterparts who did not. Finally, we consider differences by child gender to determine if and how family instability, within the same family structure, affects boys and girls differently.
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Family Structure Transitions and Children’s Socioemotional Wellbeing
Catherine Boyd
Laura Freeman
Rachel Tolbert Kimbro
Rice University
Abstract
Numerous studies have found that family structure instability is negatively associated with
children’s social skills and behavior. However, key questions remain as to whether all changes in
family structure are equally detrimental to child socioemotional wellbeing and if there are
differences by gender. Understanding how the effects of family instability vary by initial family
structure and gender is important not only for understanding the role of the family environment
on children’s socioemotional development, but also for developing policies for improving child
wellbeing. To anticipate the potential consequences of suggested programs, we need a better
understanding of how different groups of children respond to different types of family structure
transitions. We address these questions using newly-available data from the Early Childhood
Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011 (ECLS-K:2011), a nationally
representative sample of children living in the United States. First, we compare the social skills
and behaviors (self-control, tendency to internalize problem behaviors, tendency to externalize
problem behaviors, and interpersonal skills) of children across different initial family structures.
Then, among children within the same family structure, we compare these measures of
socioemotional wellbeing of those who experienced a family transition with their counterparts
who did not. Finally, we consider differences by child gender to determine if and how family
instability, within the same family structure, affects boys and girls differently.
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Introduction
Numerous studies have found that family structure instability is negatively associated with child
wellbeing (Waldfogel, Craigie, and Brooks-Gunn 2010). Changes in family structure and
declines in child wellbeing have been documented across a range of outcomes, including
increases in socioemotional problems, declines in cognitive performance, and declines in
physical health (Acs 2007; Amato 2005, 2010; Bzostek and Beck 2011; Cavanagh and Huston
2006, 2008; Cooper et al. 2011; Craigie, Brooks-Gunn, and Waldfogel 2012; Fomby and Cherlin
2007; Fomby and Osborne 2010; Magnuson and Berger 2009; McLanahan, Tach, and Schneider
2013; Mitchell et al. 2015; Osborne and McLanahan 2007; Ryan and Claessens 2013; Ryan,
Claessens, and Markowitz 2015; Schmeer 2011; Waldfogel et al. 2010). Thus, there is a
growing body of literature that finds children who experience family structure transitions lag
behind children who grow up in stable families across different domains.
A key question is whether all changes in family structure are equally detrimental. Earlier
research indicated that all changes were harmful (Cavanagh and Huston 2006; Fomby and
Cherlin 2007; Osborne and McLanahan 2007; Wu 1996). Yet, more recent studies suggest that
the timing and type of transition have different impacts, depending on the outcome (Cavanagh
and Huston 2008; Lee and McLanahan 2015; Magnuson and Berger 2009; Mitchell et al. 2015;
Ryan and Claessens 2013). Similarly, there are questions as to whether family instability
involves differences across subgroups within the population. While there has been some
attention paid to how boys and girls may respond differently to family structure transitions, with
boys exhibiting more behavioral problems than girls, more attention must be paid to interactions
by gender with regard to a wider range of social skills and behaviors (Brown 2004; Carlson and
Corcoran 2001; Cavanagh and Huston 2008; Cooper et al. 2011; Craigie et al. 2012; Lee and
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McLanahan 2015; McLanahan et al. 2013; Mitchell et al. 2015). Child socioemotional
development at school entrance is particularly important because problem behaviors during
childhood often persist with long-term implications (Fischer et al. 1984). Behavior problems in
early childhood are associated with lower levels of academic achievement, reduced high school
graduation rates, and lower probabilities of college enrollment (McLeod and Kaiser 2004).
Thus, child social adjustment has long-term implications for socioeconomic success, which in
turn affects health outcomes in adulthood (Mirowsky and Ross 2003).
Understanding how the effects of family instability vary by initial family structure and by
outcome examined is important not only for understanding the role of the family environment
children’s socioemotional development, but also for developing policies for improving child
wellbeing. To anticipate the potential consequences of suggested programs, we need a better
understanding of how different groups of children respond to different types of family structure
transitions. We address these questions using newly-available data from the Early Childhood
Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011 (ECLS-K:2011), a nationally
representative sample of children living in the United States. First, we compare the social skills
and behaviors (self-control, tendency to internalize problem behaviors, tendency to externalize
problem behaviors, and interpersonal skills) of children across different initial family structures.
Then, among children within the same family structure, we compare these measures of
socioemotional wellbeing of those who experienced a family transition with their counterparts
who did not. Finally, we consider differences by child gender to determine if and how family
instability, within the same family structure, affects boys and girls differently.
Background
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Family Structure
Children born to unmarried parents tend to have poorer outcomes relative to children born into
families with married parents (Amato 2005; Waldfogel et al. 2010). Specifically with regards to
behavior, when compared with children in continuous two-parent families, children in all other
family types have a higher level of behavioral problems (Brown 2004, 2010; Carlson and
Corcoran 2001). However, it appears that most differences in family structure operate through
economic status. Married parents typically have more resources to invest in children due to
higher levels of income and education (Manning and Brown 2006; McLanahan and Sandefur
1994). Thus, the inclusion of material resources reduces the relationship between two biological
cohabiting families and behavioral and emotional problems to non-significance (Brown 2004).
Similarly, Carlson and Corcoran (2001) found that once income was controlled, the family
structure effects on children’s behavior primarily disappeared.
Family Structure Instability
Previous studies have found that family structure instability is negatively associated with child
wellbeing (Amato 2005; Waldfogel et al. 2010). Social stress theory posits that changes in
family structure can lead to stress on families and adverse child outcomes (George 1993). The
instability hypothesis suggests that family transitions disrupt the roles and routines of parents and
children, and are often accompanied by changes in parental resources and parenting quality,