Prior research has noted that although cooperative coparenting between resident and nonresident parents is beneficial to children, this form of shared parenting is relatively uncommon. Relying on nationally representative data from two waves of the National Survey of Families and Households (N = 628), this study examines the importance of…

Trends in divorce and nonmarital childbearing suggest that the marriage market is increasingly filled with people who have been married and/or have children. This study examines the effect of personal attitudes on entrance into a union with a partner who has been previously married or has children. Using data from two waves of the National Survey…

The authors examine whether young adults who experienced their parents' divorce and new relationships have different relationship trajectories than those who spent their childhoods living with biological parents in married-couple families. The analysis is based on longitudinal reports from more than 1,500 children from Wave 1 of the 1987-1988…

As a result of the growth in out-of-wedlock childbearing and union instability, adults contemplating forming a new union are often already parents. This article examines the role of children in stepfamily formation, both coresident and not, using the 2,594 respondents in the National Survey of Families and Households who were not living with a…

Examines gender differences in how nonresident parents spend time with their absent children. Results suggest that nonresident mothers and fathers exhibit a similar pattern of participation in activities with their absent children. Most nonresident parents either engage in only leisure activities with their children or have no contact. (Author/MKA)

Compared mothers (n=1,433) and fathers (n=128) in one-parent families on time spent with children and in household work. Found that family work in one-parent households, like family work in two-parent households, is gendered, consistent with theories indicating parenting behavior is gendered. (JBJ)

Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households, comparisons were made with quality of family relationships and well being across five different family structures with a particular focus on adoptive households. Findings indicated the most support for the perspective stressing importance of family processes, rather than family…

U.S. federal policies do not provide a universal social safety net of economic support for women during pregnancy or the immediate postpartum period but assume that employment and/or marriage will protect families from poverty. Yet even mothers with considerable human and marital capital may experience disruptions in employment, earnings, and…

This study examined the effect of family composition on high school graduation and level of completed education. It tests the hypotheses that children in single-mother households may be adversely affected in their educational attainment because of the economic deprivation common to such households, the stress caused by family separation, and…

This study uses data (N = 3,088) from the first two waves of the National Survey of Families and Households to explore the effects of the transition to fatherhood and the addition of subsequent children on men's psychological and physical health, contacts with extended family, social interactions, and work behaviors. The results suggest that new…

Despite the large number of children in stepfamilies, there is little research on the implications of large families for child well-being. This paper used three traditionally representative data sets--the National Commission on Children Survey (NCC), the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) and the National Survey of Children…

This study used data from the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) to explore the relationship between family functioning and adolescent behavior problems. The data covered five family types: married, two-biological parent families (TP); stepfamilies; divorced/separated female-headed families (DSF); never married female-headed…