A child growing up with a single parent or stepparent is a fairly recent phenomenon. During the period from post World War II to the late 1960s, a vast majority of children lived with their two biological parents. The 1950 census shows that about 85 percent of children living in the United States, under the age of eighteen, lived with both parents. Then, during the mid 1970s, a rapid decline began to occur. The 1998 census revealed that only 68 percent of children lived with two parents (Land and Zagorsky 2000).
The fact that a vast number of children are growing up in a single-parent
family is broadly considered a great social problem within the United States.
Growing up in a single-parent family is correlated with lower levels of
education and higher rates of teen out-of-wedlock fertility (Painter and
Levine 2000). In addition, "youths living with a single mother are
roughly twice as likely as other youths to drop out of high school, become
pregnant, or be arrested" (Painter and Levine 2000). Children who experience
a divorce between their parents are more likely to remarry later in life.
This paper discusses many of the consequences that come from divorce. It
pays particular attention to the socioeconomic disadvantages that affect
children from the years directly after the divorce through adulthood. This
paper is divided up into four sections. The first section discusses some
of impacts that divorce has on a child's social life. A majority of these
effects are based on a paper by Painter and Levine (2000).The second section
explorers the effects of having a step-parent present after the divorce.
The third section discusses the economic implications that divorce has on
a child's life. The fourth section concludes the paper.
I. Impacts of Divorce on the Social Life of the Child
Many economists have conducted survey studies that compare the social environments
of single-parent families and step-parent families to "intact families"
(Painter and Levine). One study reports that "nontraditional family
structures correlate strongly with both disadvantages and poor outcomes
for youth" (Painter and Levine 2000). This study analyzed the effects
of divorce on eight graders that lived in either one of the three family
structures mentioned above. It found that a single parent is less likely
to be involved "in school groups such as the PTA" and the child's
extracurricular activities (Painter and Levine 2000). The study also found
that children of divorced parents have more emotional problems in their
everyday life. In most cases, the single mother does not have the available
time to tend to some of the child's important needs. This can lead to depression
in the child due to lack of attention.
Another interesting find is that children of divorced parents smoke more
cigarettes daily, on average, than children of "intact families"
(Painter and Levine 2000). Here are two plausible explanations for this.
The first is that the single parent does not have a close enough relationship
with the child to influence his actions and deter him from smoking. The
second possible explanation is the use of the cigarette as a "stress
reliever" as the child sees smoking as a way to cope with the disadvantages
that resulted since the divorce (Painter and Levine 2000).
Furthermore, the study uses data and regression analysis to show that children
of divorced families score lower on standardized tests, have lower rates
of college entrance, and have higher dropout rates in school than children
who live with their biological parents (Painter and Levine 2000). These
economists conclude that single-parent families and even step-parent families
are more likely to provide disadvantaged socioeconomic environments for
their children.
Another potential non-economic cost of growing up in a single-parent family
is the "absence of a supportive relationship with a second parent,
or a shortfall in adult time" (Page and Stevens 2002). Come children
in single-parent homes are required to become more responsible as they take
on more chores or look after younger siblings while the single parent is
away from the home.
Some economists also have expressed that the major consequences of parental
divorce are on the marital behavior of children. In fact, parental divorce
has a "significant negative impact on the likelihood that children
will marry" (Corak 2001). These economists remark that children whose
parents divorced are more likely to "put off marriage relative to children
from intact families" (Corak 2001). In addition, these children, once
married are more likely to "suffer separation or divorce" (Corak
2001).
II. The Effects of Having a Step-Parent Present After Divorce
Academics believe that a step-parent can supply a number of advantages to
stepchildren such as "love, income, time, emotional support, mentoring,
acting as a role model, and access to social or work related networks"
( Painter and Levine 2000). However, it is noted that "constructing
a new, satisfying marital relationship commands a great deal of the recently
divorced parent's time and attention" (Painter and Levine 2000). This
may result in time and attention that is not directed toward the child.
During this transition period, it is likely that the children will experience
stress and anxiety and never fully adapt to the new step-parent. Furthermore,
"maternal remarriage frequently increases the physical and social distance
between the child and the biological father" and studies done in the
past "find that children with stepfathers have outcomes that are generally
better than children in single-parent families, although not as good as
the outcomes of children in intact families" (Painter and Levine 2000).
Evidence suggests that and revealed benefits from remarriage are partly
due to selection, and not causation. For example, it is "plausible
that potential husbands look for some of the same characteristics in a wife
that will lead to success for the mothers' children" (Painter and Levine
2000). Also, a mother who suffers from alcoholism, a drug addiction, or
depression will probably be less likely to remarry. This will lead to her
children having worse socioeconomic outcomes. It is also important to note
that youths with social problems, either at school or at home, may reduce
their mother's marriage rates. For instance, "a violent youth may scare
away potential stepfathers" and "a sexually active daughter means
a new husband is becoming not just a stepfather, but is at high risk or
becoming a stepgrandfather as well; this status may be less attractive to
many potential husbands" (Painter and Levine 2000).
III. The Economic Effects of Divorce on Children
The structure of the family has a compelling impact on the economic welfare
of families with children. One study claims that, in the long run, "family
income of children whose parents divorce and remain divorced for at least
six years falls by 45 percent and food consumption decreases by 16 percent"
(Page and Stevens 2002). When taking remarriage into account, the negative
economic effects of divorce decrease. This is largely due to the added income
from the second parent. These economists report that "allowing our
coefficient estimates to capture the possibility of remarriage, we find
income losses of about 20 percent and consumption losses of just 6 percent"
(Page and Stevens 2002). They do note that their model cannot provide information
"about the distribution of resources within families, and it may be
that parents work hard to ensure that their children's needs are met by
disproportionately reducing their own resources when income falls"
(Page and Stevens 2002).
In contrast, other economists report that "controlling for endogeneity
eliminates or reduces the estimated impact of parental presence on children's
outcomes. Once we control for correlated background characteristics, there
is little evidence that parental presence affects the economic well being
of their adult children" (Lang and Zagorsky1997). These economists
do state that the presence of a father affects the "cognitive performance
and education for sons and daughters while mother's presence influences
these outcomes for just daughters" (Lang and Zagorsky 1997).
IV. Conclusion
In conclusion, research indicates that children who experience divorce are
more likely to be either socially or economically disadvantaged in their
lives. Divorce is likely to remedy problems between the parents and this
may be beneficial to the health of the child if the marriage is highly unstable.
Yet this is one of the few positive outcomes of divorce on children. The
literature shared mixed views on the economic effects on children. Some
economists pointed to economic decline in the lives of children while others
claim that these effects are marginal. All academics in the literature point
towards a need for further research and analysis of family income distributions.
There is widely held agreement that many of the negative effects of divorce
on children are social. Divorce affects the attitudes of children, their
behavior, social networks with other children, and ideas about their future
marriage. To answer the question, divorce is bad for children, yet many
policies can be enacted that discourage divorce or provide income assistance
for single parents to lessen the burden of divorce.
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