Reexamining the effects of family structure on children's access to care: the single-father family.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the effects of family structure, focusing on the single-father family, on children's access to medical care.


METHODS
The 1999 and 2002 rounds of the National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) including 62,193 children ages 0-17 years.


METHODS
We employ a nationally representative sample of children residing in two-parent families, single-mother families, and single-father families. Multivariate logistic regression is used to examine the relationship between family structure and measures of access to care. We estimate stratified models on children below 200 percent of the federal poverty threshold and those above.


METHODS
We combine data from the Focal Child and Adult Pair modules of the 1999 and 2002 waves of the NSAF.


RESULTS
Children who reside in single-father families exhibit poorer access to health care than children in other family structures. The stratified models suggest that, unlike residing in a single-mother family, the effects of residence in a single-father family do not vary by poverty status.


CONCLUSIONS
Children in single-father families may be more vulnerable to health shocks than their peers in other family structures.
Leininger
Lindsey Jeanne
LJ
Harris School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago, 1155 E. 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Ziol-Guest
Kathleen M
KM
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002669:Child Welfare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005192:Family Health; D005219:Father-Child Relations; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D011314:Preventive Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012309:Risk-Taking; D020954:Single-Parent Family; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D035862:Vulnerable Populations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data