ERIC Number: EJ816367
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2008
Pages: 25
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0192-513X
EISSN: N/A
Family Structure and Children's Psychosocial Outcomes
Wu, Zheng; Hou, Feng; Schimmele, Christoph M.
Journal of Family Issues, v29 n12 p1600-1624 2008
This article examines the influence of family structure on children's short-term psychosocial behavioral outcomes, including emotional disorder, conduct disorder, and prosocial behavior. The analysis uses five waves of data (1994-2003) from Canada's National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth to model how living in a cohabitational household (two biological parents) and how experiencing cohabitation dissolution influence children's behaviors, comparing these effects to outcomes observed in children from married biological-parent households. The findings indicate that growing up in a married biological-parent household does not offer a clear advantage. Most differences in behavioral problems across family structure associate with household demographics, low-income status, family dysfunction, and parental nurturance. As such, this study contributes two important findings. First, the results do not support the hypothesis that nonmarital cohabitation represents an undesirable child-rearing environment. Second, cohabitation dissolution has a nonsignificant effect on children's behaviors, which is surprising considering that divorce has a well-established harmful effect. (Contains 1 figure and 4 tables.)
Descriptors: Family Structure, Child Behavior, Family Influence, Prosocial Behavior, Parent Child Relationship, Interpersonal Relationship, Divorce, Emotional Disturbances, Behavior Disorders, Foreign Countries, Longitudinal Studies
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A