Berger, Lawrence Marc
Children Living Out-Of-Home: Effects of Family and Environmental Characteristics
Children and Youth Services Review 28,2 (February 2006): 158-179.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740905000824
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Childhood Residence; Family Structure; Foster Care; Household Composition; Income; Parents, Single; Pre/post Natal Behavior; Residence; Welfare;

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This paper uses data from the NLSY to estimate the effects of income, family structure, and public policies on the probability that a mother has children living in various out-of-home settings. Results suggest that lower-income mothers and those living in single-parent and mother–partner families are more likely to have children living out-of-home in a given year than are mothers in higher-income and mother–father families. Higher welfare benefits are associated with decreased probabilities that children are living in service settings, but increased probabilities that they are living with relatives. Higher foster care payments are associated with increased service setting placements. NOTE: This analysis uses the Geocode data.

Berger, Lawrence Marc
Income, Family Structure, and Child Maltreatment Risk
Children and Youth Services Review 26,8 (August 2004): 725-799.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740904000465
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Child Health; Children, Health Care; Children, Well-Being; Family Structure; Home Environment; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Income; Parents, Single; Punishment, Corporal; Unemployment; Welfare;

This paper uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to explore the effects of income, family structure, and public policies on several indicators of child maltreatment. Results suggest that income and family structure affect a family's overall risk of child maltreatment, and that these factors differentially affect various outcome measures. In particular, income impacts routine medical and dental care, the quality of the caregiving environment, and to a lesser extent, spanking behaviors. Single-parent families and families with a biological mother and non-biological father figure tend to have lower quality caregiving environments than mother-father families, and single-mother families with working mothers are at even greater risk of poor caregiving. Finally, this analysis provides some tentative evidence that higher welfare benefits and lower unemployment rates may serve as protective factors for children. [Copyright 2004 Elsevier]

Berger, Lawrence Marc
Cancian, Maria
Meyer, Daniel R.
Maternal Re-Partnering and New-Partner Fertility: Associations with Nonresident Father Investments in Children
Children and Youth Services Review 34,2 (February 2012): 426-436.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740911004245
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Child Support; Childhood Residence; Fathers and Children; Fathers, Absence; Fathers, Presence; Marital Stability; Parental Investments; Parental Marital Status; Parents, Non-Custodial; Remarriage;

Research suggests that paternal re-partnering and new-partner fertility are associated with decreased nonresident father investments in children. Few studies, however, have examined the influence of maternal re-partnering and new-partner births on nonresident father investments. We use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to examine associations of maternal re-partnering (through cohabitation or marriage with a new partner) and new-partner births with nonresident father visitation and child support payments. Results suggest that maternal re-partnering is associated with a decrease in both yearly father-child contact and child support received by the mother. New-partner fertility for mothers who are co-residing with a partner is associated with an additional decrease in monthly father-child contact, but does not have an additional influence on yearly father-child contact or child support receipt.

Berzin, Stephanie Cosner
Vulnerability in the Transition to Adulthood: Defining Risk Based on Youth Profiles
Children and Youth Services Review 32,4 (April 2010): 487-495.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740909003119
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Delinquency/Gang Activity; Dropouts; Educational Status; Gender Differences; Home Environment; Modeling, Logit; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Racial Differences; Resilience/Developmental Assets; Risk-Taking; Transition, Adulthood;

In spite of an extended transition to adulthood for many segments of the population, many youth still struggle considerably with transition outcomes. With data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (N =8984), this study uses latent class analysis to identify patterns of youth development in emerging adulthood based on education level and social outcomes. These classes are used to identify risk and protective factors for class membership. Four profiles of youth were identified with two groups showing positive outcomes and two groups struggling considerably. Bivariate and cumulative logit analysis shows that demographic characteristics, childhood home environment, and psychosocial resources predict class membership. Involvement in youth-serving government systems is associated with poorer outcomes and remains salient when considered with other risk factors. The emergence of this new developmental stage requires a reexamination of vulnerability and how we understand risk and resiliency during this period. [Copyright Elsevier]

Berzin, Stephanie Cosner
Rhodes, Alison M.
Curtis, Marah A.
Housing Experiences of Former Foster Youth: How Do They Fare in Comparison to Other Youth?
Children and Youth Services Review 33,11 (November 2011): 2119-2126.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740911002325
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Foster Care; Public Housing; Transition, Adulthood;

Research indicates that foster youth tend to fare poorly in a number of domains in the transition to adulthood, and the shift to independent living may be particularly challenging. However, it is unclear whether negative housing outcomes are attributable to foster care history or if they are due to other risk factors. This study uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 to compare housing outcomes for foster youth to a matched sample of youth who share similar risk factors and to an unmatched sample. Results indicate that foster youth struggle more in the transition to independent living in comparison to both groups, showing higher rates of homelessness, less housing stability, poorer neighborhood quality, and more reliance on public housing assistance. The paper explores how factors related to foster care and confounding risk factors that tend to have higher prevalence among foster youth may contribute to these outcomes.

Besharov, Douglas J.
Gardiner, Karen N.
Preventing Youthful Disconnectedness
Children and Youth Services Review 20,9-10 (November-December 1998): 797-818.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740998000450
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Disconnected Youth; Educational Attainment; Family Income; Fertility; Marital Status; Occupational Status; Psychological Effects; Sociability/Socialization/Social Interaction; Social Roles; Work History;

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this article examined the characteristics (and later life histories) of youths who, during the 1980s, were "disconnected" from mainstream society, that is, they were not enrolled in school, not gainfully employed, not in the military, and not married to someone who was "connected" in one of these ways. The study followed 4,000 youths from 1979, when they were 14, 15, and 16 years old, through 1991, when they were in their mid-to-late 20s. Results show that 1 in 3 youths was disconnected for at least half of a calendar year. As adults, youths who were disconnected for a short time (in only 1 or 2 years) did not differ substantially from those who were never disconnected in terms of educational attainment, work history, family income, reliance on government programs, and marital status. However, those who were disconnected in 3 or more years experienced significantly greater hardships. This article suggests that school-related interventions (such as career-oriented education, after-school "safe havens," and targeting individual deficits) might help prevent youthful disconnectedness. ((c) 1999 APA/PsycINFO, all rights reserved)

Han, Wen-Jui
Waldfogel, Jane
Parental Work Schedules, Family Process, and Early Adolescents' Risky Behavior
Children and Youth Services Review 29, 9 (September 2007): 1249-1266.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740907001181
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Adolescent Behavior; Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Delinquency/Gang Activity; Depression (see also CESD); Home Environment; Parent Supervision/Monitoring; Parent-Child Relationship; Parents, Single; Risk-Taking; Shift Workers; Substance Use; Work Hours; Work, Atypical;

Using data on a large contemporary sample of 10 to 14 year olds from the NLSY-CS, this paper examines whether mothers' and fathers' work schedules are associated with parental monitoring and adolescent–parent closeness, and with adolescents' substance use and delinquency. Regression results for two-parent families indicate that parental nonstandard work schedules have mixed associations with family process, tending to improve monitoring but also having some deleterious effects on reported closeness. Regression results for single-mother families also show mixed effects. These results provide support for the hypothesis that nonstandard work schedules have offsetting effects on family process. Consistent with this hypothesis, in analyses for both two-parent and single-parent families, there are few significant associations between parents' work schedules and adolescents' risky behavior. These findings suggest that parental nonstandard work schedules have mainly neutral effects on early adolescents' risky behavior, because although they may reduce closeness, they also tend to improve monitoring. However, the results also raise a red flag about single mothers working rotating shifts, which we find is associated with an elevated likelihood that children have engaged in all three types of delinquent behavior.

Kim, Youngmi
Sherraden, Michael
Do Parental Assets Matter for Children's Educational Attainment?: Evidence from Mediation Tests
Children and Youth Services Review 33,6 (June 2011): 969-979.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740911000144
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Assets; College Enrollment; Educational Aspirations/Expectations; Educational Attainment; Educational Outcomes; Family Income; Family Resources; High School Completion/Graduates; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) (see Self-Esteem); School Quality; Self-Esteem;

This study investigates (1) the effects of parental assets on children's educational attainment from high school completion to college degree attainment, and (2) mediating roles played by parental involvement, child's educational expectations, and child's self-esteem. The study sample (N = 632) is drawn from the Child and Young Adult data supplement to the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979. Results indicate that parental assets are associated with children's later educational attainment. Financial assets and home-ownership are significantly associated with high school completion and college attendance. In addition, family income becomes non-significant when specific measures of assets and liabilities are taken into account. Non-financial assets and income are significant predictors of college degree attainment. Children's educational expectations mediate the effect of financial assets on high school completion. Empirical evidence provides support for asset-building programs and policies designed to promote long-term educational attainment.

Korenman, Sanders D.
Miller, Jane E.
Sjaastad, John E.
Long-Term Poverty and Child Development in the United States: Results from the NLSY
Children and Youth Services Review 17,1/2 (1995): 127-155.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/019074099500006X
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Age at First Birth; Alcohol Use; Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT); Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Birthweight; Child Development; Child Health; Children, Home Environment; Cigarette Use (see Smoking); Digit Span (also see Memory for Digit Span - WISC); Family Structure; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Marital Status; Memory for Digit Span (WISC) - also see Digit Span; Mothers, Behavior; Mothers, Education; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT); Poverty; Pre/post Natal Behavior; Verbal Memory (McCarthy Scale);

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Korenman, Miller, and Sjaastad found that the differences in the abilities of the poor and nonpoor children were not due to differences in the education of the children's mothers, the structure of the children's families (e.g., number of siblings), or whether a child's mother smoked or drank during pregnancy; nor were they explained by the health of the child in infancy or the age of the children's mothers when they first gave birth. The amount of emotional support and cognitive stimulation in a child's home, however, had a major impact on his or her development. The home environment accounted for one-third to one-half of the developmental disadvantage of chronically poor children (children from families whose income-to-needs ratio was below 1.0 over a thirteen-year period). Data used are from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, which tested children on such things as short-term memory, vocabulary, mathematics, reading comprehension, and word recognition. Sample sizes ranged from 1939 children to 3826 children, depending on the test. The children were tested during their pre-teenage years; most tests were given to children when they were younger than ten years.

Lee, Kyunghee
Do Early Academic Achievement and Behavior Problems Predict Long-Term Effects Among Head Start Children?
Children and Youth Services Review 32,12 (December 2010): 1690-1703.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740910002136
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Academic Development; Behavior; Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Children, Academic Development; Head Start; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading);

This study examines the effects of Head Start children's early achievement and behavioral scores on their long-term developmental outcomes. Using National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) data, a sample of 603 children was selected who had participated in Head Start from 1988 to 1994 and had longitudinal outcomes measured. Head Start children's reading, math, and behavioral scores, as measured at ages 5–6, were examined to determine whether these early scores affected outcomes measured at ages 11–12. Not surprisingly, there was a strong relationship between children's early and later educational and behavioral scores. Maternal education moderated these associations for reading and on behavioral outcomes. Associations between short-term and longer-term achievement and behavioral outcomes were less significant for children whose mothers had less education than for children whose mothers had more education. As expected, children's reading, math, and behavioral outcomes at ages 5–6 were inter-correlated, as were those measured at ages 11–12.

Romich, Jennifer L.
Trying to Keep Children Out of Trouble: Child Characteristics, Neighborhood Quality, and Within-Household Resource Allocation
Children and Youth Services Review 31,3 (March 2009): 338-345.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740908002089
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Armed Forces Qualifications Test (AFQT); Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Birth Order; Child Growth; Child Self-Administered Supplement (CSAS); Family Characteristics; Family Structure; Geocoded Data; Geographical Variation; Household Income; Modeling, Fixed Effects; Neighborhood Effects; Parent-Child Interaction; Parent-Child Relationship; Risk-Taking; Siblings;

Prior ethnographic evidence suggests that parents combat neighborhood dangers through spending time with and money on children perceived to be at risk. This paper summarizes a secondary data investigation of whether interactions between neighborhood quality and child characteristics predict patterns of intra-household resource allocation. Using a sample of N =1879 12- and 13-year-olds from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, I find that in neighborhoods with greater numbers of problems, parents spend more time and money with firstborn children and children who are particularly short or impulsive relative to how parents treat such children in lower problem neighborhoods. Comparisons of cross-sectional and sibling fixed-effect models suggest the shortness and firstborn effects are not due to unobserved family characteristics. These results lend modest support to the assertion that parents systematically try to use within-family resources to protect certain children from threats posed by neighborhoods with high levels of crime or low levels of social cohesiveness. [Copyright 2009 Elsevier]

Schmitz, Mark F.
Effects of Childhood Foster Care and Adoption on Adulthood Childbearing
Children and Youth Services Review 27,1 (January 2005): 85-98.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740904001641
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Adoption; Childbearing; Childhood Residence; Family Structure; Foster Care; Modeling, Growth Curve/Latent Trajectory Analysis; Poverty;

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), latent growth curve modeling was used to examine the trajectories of adulthood childbearing. Respondents consisted of 195 subjects who were raised by an adoptive family, 78 who raised by a foster family for 4 months or more, 200 who were raised by stepparents for 4 months or more, and 200 who were raised by both biological parents until age 18. In the first-stage analyses, foster-parented respondents showed significantly greater linear increases in the number of childbirths per year and significant deceleration in childbirth, as compared with biological- and adoptive-parented respondents. In the second-stage analyses, there were significant differences between the groups in the effects of education on the initial level of childbirth, with step- and adoptive-parented respondents having significantly more negative relationships for education than did biological-parented respondents. Likewise, adoptive-parented respondents showed a significantly more positive relationship between persistent poverty status and the initial level of childbirth, as compared with biological- and foster-parented respondents.

Waldfogel, Jane
Child Welfare Research: How Adequate Are the Data?
Children and Youth Services Review 22,9-10 (2000): 705-741.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740900001122
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Adoption; Children, Well-Being; Data Analysis; Data Quality/Consistency; Exits; Foster Care; Kinship; Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID); Welfare;

This article discusses research on child welfare, focusing on efforts to improve data collection and outcome measurement for children at risk of abuse or neglect, placement in foster care or kinship care, or adoption. Three studies of outcomes of children in foster care illustrate trends in child welfare research: Maas and Engler's 1959 cross-sectional study, Fanshel and Shinn's 1978 longitudinal study, and the Wald, et al. 1988 study. Wald found that foster children may not be as disadvantaged as the two previous studies found, illustrating that more advanced study designs produced different results. Cross sectional datasets, however, have become more formalized through the development of the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), which coordinates data collected from state level agencies. To formalize data collection on foster care, the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) required states to submit data. This sharply increased the amount of data available. More data is needed for researchers to be able to compare child welfare systems across states and over time, as well as to analyze factors associated with entry and re-entry into care, exits from care, and other variables. Kinship care and adoption are other areas that can benefit from enhanced databases. Child welfare researchers must have access to longitudinal data. One development is the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAW), which provides descriptive data on children and families involved with the child welfare system, their experiences with the system, and their long- and short-term outcomes. The NSCAW follows children and their families for three years, collecting data from parents, children, caseworkers, caregivers, and teachers. NSCAW also collects data on foster care, kinship care, and adoption. AFCARS also has the potential for collecting longitudinal data; other surveys include the Panel Survey of Income Dynamics (PSID) and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). Outcome assessment can be summarized in three categories: safety, permanency, and well being. Of the three, permanency is the category for which the most data exists. Child and family well being is the category in the most need of a formalized system of identifying and tracking. The most pressing need in child welfare research is for a population-based sample of children at risk for abuse and neglect.

Zhan, Min
Assets, Parental Expectations and Involvement, and Children's Educational Performance
Children and Youth Services Review 28,8 (August 2006): 961-975.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740905002124
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Assets; Educational Aspirations/Expectations; Elementary School Students; Parent-School involvement; Parental Influences; Parental Investments; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading);

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This study examines the relationships between parental assets with their expectations and involvement of children's education, and children's educational performance measured 2 years later. Through the analysis of the mother–child data set of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79), results indicate that after controlling for family income and other parent characteristics, parental assets were positively related to children's math and reading scores. Parental assets were also positively associated with their expectations and involvement of school activities. Furthermore, parent expectations partially mediated the relationship between assets and children's educational performance. These findings imply that in order to improve children's education, how to enhance parental assets warrants the consideration of public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR; Copyright 2006 Elsevier]

Zhan, Min
Sherraden, Michael
Assets and Liabilities, Race/Ethnicity, and Children's College Education
Children and Youth Services Review 33,11 (November 2011): 2168-2175.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740911002386
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Assets; Black Family; Black Youth; College Enrollment; College Graduates; Credit/Credit Constraint; Debt/Borrowing; Educational Aspirations/Expectations; Educational Attainment; Educational Costs; Ethnic Groups/Ethnicity; Family Resources; Hispanic Youth;

This study examines the extent to which household assets and liabilities are related to disparities in children's college attendance and college graduation among White, Black, and Hispanic families. Results indicate that, after household assets are considered, a substantial portion of the Black–White gap in college attendance and college graduation disappears, and a small portion of the Hispanic–White gap in college graduation also disappears. Separate analyses of children from each racial/ethnic group further indicate that family income and financial assets are related to White children's college attendance and graduation, but nonfinancial assets and unsecured debt are associated with college attendance and graduation among Black and Hispanic children. Policy implications are considered.

Zhan, Min
Sherraden, Michael
Assets and Liabilities, Educational Expectations, and Children's College Degree Attainment
Children and Youth Services Review 33,6 (June 2011): 846-854.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019074091000407X
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Assets; College Enrollment; College Graduates; Credit/Credit Constraint; Debt/Borrowing; Educational Aspirations/Expectations; Educational Attainment; Educational Costs; Family Resources; High School Completion/Graduates;

This research examines relationships among household assets and liabilities, educational expectations of children and parents, and children's college degree attainment. Special attention is paid to influences of different asset types (financial vs. nonfinancial assets) and liabilities (secured vs. unsecured debt). Results indicate that, after controlling for family income and other parent/child characteristics, financial and nonfinancial assets are positively related to, and unsecured debt is negatively related to, children's college completion. Furthermore, there is evidence that financial assets are positively associated with the education expectations of parents and children. Policy directions are suggested.