Changes in the relationship between child support payments and educational attainment of offspring, 1979-1988.

We examine changes over the 1980s in the effect of child support payments on the educational attainment of children age 16 to 19 in the United States, and why child support has a stronger impact than other sources of income. We use 1979 and 1988 Current Population Survey data, covering a period when improvements in enforcement should have increased the proportion of reluctant fathers paying support. We hypothesize and find that the positive effect of child support on education diminished somewhat over this period, both absolutely and in relation to other income.

Family structure and educational attainment of children: effects of remarriage.

"This study explores how remarriage alters the effect of living in a female-headed family on children's educational attainment. The analysis is based upon data from a mother/child extract taken from the 1984 March/April Match file of the [U.S.] Current Population Survey. Ordinary least squares regression analysis and logit analysis are used. The results are mixed. While remarriage mitigates the negative effects of single-parent family living on years of school completed and the probability of high school graduation, it exacerbates these effects on the probability of entering college by ages 18-20 years, especially for boys. Thus, while remarriage increases income and reduces time pressures compared to single-parent family living, the presence of a stepfather appears to complicate the college entrance decision."

Educational attainment of children from single-parent families: differences by exposure, gender, and race.

This article examines the effect of living in a single-parent family on educational attainment by gender and race. According to household production theory, the reduction in parental resources for human capital investment in children living in a single-parent family should lower their educational attainment. Using matched mother-daughter and mother-son samples from the National Longitudinal Surveys, we constructed precise measures of the age and length of time a child lived in a single-parent family. Empirical findings show that the negative effect of living in a single-parent family (1) increases with the number of years spent in this type of family, (2) is greatest during the preschool years, and (3) is larger for boys than girls.

Child support awards: differentials and trends by race and marital status.

This study has analyzed data from combined 1979 and 1982 April supplements to the Current Population Survey to study differences in the award of child support by race and marital status. The following findings emerge from this study: The percentage of women with children present from an absent father who are awarded child support varies greatly by race and marital status. Among all women, nonblacks are more than twice as likely as blacks to have a child support award, and the ever-married are almost six times as likely as the never-married to have an award. Among the ever-married, currently separated women are approximately half as likely as the ever-divorced to have secured an award. The lower probability of child support awards among blacks can be attributed in part to their disproportionate membership in marital status groups with lower award probabilities. Blacks are four and one-half times as likely as nonblacks to be among the never-married and almost twice as likely to be among the currently separated. Racial differences in award probabilities exist within all marital status groups except the never-married. Among the currently separated, blacks are one-third less likely than nonblacks to have an award. Among the ever-divorced, blacks are almost one-fourth less likely than nonblacks to have an award. Among the never-married, unlike the ever-married, virtually no statistically significant socioeconomic characteristics appear to distinguish mothers who have a child support award from those who do not. Among all women, 50 to 60 percent of the gross racial differential in award rates can be explained by observed differences in such economic and demographic characteristics as marital status, educational attainment, age, place of residence, and number of children. Among the ever-married, 50 percent of the gross racial difference can be explained by these factors. Among the ever-married, the likelihood of being awarded child support at marital disruption has increased over time, but this upward trend has been different for blacks and nonblacks. Among nonblacks, the proportion of women obtaining a child support award increased 1.3 percent per year between 1960 and 1975 and then declined 0.4 percent per year since then. Among blacks, the proportion increased 0.8 percent per year between 1960 and 1975 and then accelerated to 1.6 percent per year since then.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)