American educational leaders and philosophers have long valued schooling for its role in preparing the nation's youth to be civically engaged citizens. Numerous studies have found a positive relationship between education and subsequent civic participation. However, little is known about possible variation in effects by selection into higher…

Uses longitudinal data on sibling pairs from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth to investigate the influence of father presence on behavioral and cognitive outcomes for children. Results indicate that children who live in one-parent families exhibit more behavioral problems and have lower mathematics and reading ability than children in…

Investigated the association between married mothers' (n=1,502) employment and their reports of marital conflict and marital happiness in continuously married families with children and in mother-stepfather families. Found significant difference between types of families. Discusses findings and calls for additional research. (RB)

Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth were used to examine factors related to the achievement and adjustment of 378 African American children in the early elementary grades. Consistent with past research, there was a positive relationship between the number of risk factors children were exposed to and the probability that they were…

Education professionals have long known that family background is a stronger predictor of academic success than are school or teacher characteristics. The past 30 years have seen a series of drastic alterations in patterns of family living in the United States, and these changes mean that a substantial number of youngsters are being born or are…