title: Family Structure, Family Stability, and Outcomes of Five-Year-Old Children.
abstract: This study exploits data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a birth cohort study of a diverse sample of children from twenty U.S. cities (N = 3,676), to examine how cognitive, behavioural, and health outcomes of five-year old children differ according to their family structure and family stability. We define three models: one that measures family structure at birth only, a second that measures current family structure at year five conditional on family structure at birth, and a third that measures changes in family structure from birth to age five. We find that while family structure has persistent links to child outcomes, the effects are significantly altered by stability of the family structure over time. These findings remain robust even after addressing selection.
authors.affiliation: Lenore Tingle Howard '42 Assistant Professor of Economics, Box 5308, Connecticut College, 270 Mohegan Avenue, New London CT 06320, terryanncraigie@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Terry-Ann L
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Craigie
authors.forename: Jeanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brooks-Gunn
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Waldfogel
keywords: Behavioural Problems; Child Health; Cognitive Ability; Family Stability; Family Structure