Nola du Toit

Kate Bachtell

Catherine Haggerty

Where Poor Children Live: Household Structure through the Eyes of Children

2

Background

• Household structure is important for child well-being

• Married two-parent families are best for child wellbeing = more resources, more stable

• Children in single parent and cohabiting homes do less well

(Waldfogel et al 2010, Manning and Brown 2006, Amato 2005, McClanahan and Sandefur

1994)

3

Background

• Most examine relationships of parents• Single, two-parent, married, cohabiting,

step, etc…

• What about other people in the home?• Grandparents, uncles, aunts, roommates,

etc.

4

Overall Research Agenda

• Purpose of our research

• Zoom in on low-income communities

• Determine how many children live with other adults in the home

• Who are other adults living with children?

• Do they matter for child well-being?

5

Data

• Making Connections Survey• Annie E. Casey Foundation• Households in low-income neighborhoods• 10 US cities• 3 waves of data (7-8 years)

• Baseline (2002-2004)• Wave 2 (2005-2007)• Wave 3 (2008-2011, 7 cities)

6

Previous Findings

• du Toit, Bachtell, and Haggerty (2011, 2012)

• Among households with children (N=1,964), other adults are not uncommon

12% extended family12% adult siblings22% grandparent6% non-related adult10% no parent present

7

Previous Findings (cont’d.)

Other adults matter!

Compared to two-parent-only households, children in our sample who live with other adults have significantly…

• Less income per capita

• More economic hardship

8

Limitations to Previous Findings

Limitation #1: Mixing others

• Grandparents lumped in with extended and non-related roommates, boarders, etc.

• Are there differences for children depending on the type of other adult?

9

Limitations to Previous Findings

Limitation #2: Only one or two waves of data

• Defined household structure at one point in time

• What if we look at presence of other adults over a longer period of time?

10

Current Study: RQ1

How many children will ever live with ….?

• Other adult?

• Grandparent?

• Extended family?

• Non-related adult?

• No parents?

Covers longer time period

• 3 waves of data, 6 years

11

Current Study: RQ2

Do outcomes in child well-being vary by type of other adult?

• Household income

• Economic hardship

E.g. Are there long-term effects of children ever living with grandparents compared to never living with grandparents? Are grandparents in household beneficial?

12

Analytic Sample

• Inclusion criteria:• Participated in all 3 waves• Reported relationship of each adult in home to focal child

• Same focal child in all three waves

• N=672

13

Dependent Variables

• Household income at Wave 3• Log

• Economic hardship at Wave 3• 5 item scale (0 to 5)• No money for….

• Rent, food, phone, utilities, prescriptions

14

Control Variables

• Respondent race/ethnicity• Non-Hispanic White (contrast)• Non-Hispanic Black• Non-Hispanic Other• Hispanic

• Respondent education• Less than HS• HS/GED (contrast)• BA+

15

Control Variables

• Number of adults

• Number of children

• Public assistance• Sum of 5 types of assistance

• Public housing, section 8, food stamps, public assistance, and subsidized rent

16

Analysis

• Regression Models

• Linear regression for each type of other adult

• Controlled for race, education, number of adults, number of children, public assistance

• Weighted to represent households with children in the neighborhoods as of wave 1

17

Descriptive Results - IVs

Nominal/Ordinal %Non-Hispanic White 20Non-Hispanic Black 18Non-Hispanic Other 12Hispanic 50Less than high school 33High school/GED 58BA+ 9Continuous Mean Std Dev. RangeNumber of adults 1.92 4.41 1-6Number of children 2.19 5.88 1-12Public assistance usage 0.48 1.60 0-4

18

Descriptive Results - DVs

Continuous Mean Std Dev. Range

Income $31,594 $126,146 $0-$150K

Economic Hardship 1.21 2.07 0-5

19

How many will ever….?

• Over 3 waves of data…

• 48% will ever live with some other adult

• 20% will ever live with grandparents

• 28% will ever live with extended family adult

• 12% will ever live with non-related adult

• 14% will ever live without parent

20

Regression of type of other adult on income (log) at wave 3

  Any otherGrand-parents

ExtendedNon-

relatedNo

Parents

Intercept 10.161 *** 10.104 *** 10.148 *** 10.130 *** 10.182 ***

Ever [X] present -0.117 -0.159 -0.165 * -0.031 -0.268 *

LT HS -0.392 *** -0.384 *** -0.384 *** -0.389 *** -0.386 ***

BA+ 0.305 * 0.314 * 0.308 * 0.331 * 0.326 *

NH-Black -0.249 * -0.233 -0.247 * -0.252 * -0.245 *

NH-Other 0.093 0.103 0.095 0.097 0.081

Hispanic -0.156 -0.144 -0.156 -0.161 -0.154

Number of adults 0.184 *** 0.194 *** 0.187 *** 0.173 *** 0.168 ***

Number of children -0.008 -0.008 -0.009 -0.006 -0.012

Public assistance -0.442 *** -0.438 *** -0.440 *** -0.443 *** -0.444 ***

F 25.80 *** 25.84 *** 26.03 *** 25.44 *** 26.39 ***

R2 0.260 0.260 0.261 0.257 0.264

df 9 9 9 9 9

*p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001.

21

Regression of type of other adult on economic hardship at wave 3

  Any otherGrand-parents

ExtendedNon-

relatedNo

Parents

Intercept 1.079 *** 1.069 *** 1.128 *** 1.077 *** 1.073 ***

Ever [X] present 0.025 -0.155 -0.276 * 0.058 0.070

LT HS -0.009 -0.006 -0.002 -0.009 -0.011

BA+ -0201 -0.227 -0.251 -0.203 -0.205

NH-Black -0.061 -0.045 -0.057 -0.056 -0.062

NH-Other -0.082 -0.077 -0.088 -0.081 -0.078

Hispanic -0.049 -0.034 -0.044 -0.043 -0.050

Number of adults -0.055 -0.031 -0.028 -0.053 -0.051

Number of children 0.084 0.081 0.077 0.084 0.085

Public assistance 0.230 *** 0.236 ** 0.234 *** 0.231 *** 0.231 ***

F 2.71 ** 2.85 ** 3.33 *** 2.72 ** 2.73 **

R2 0.036 0.037 0.043 0.035 0.035

df 9 9 9 9 9

*p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001.

22

Findings

• After controlling for race/ethnicity, education, household size, and public assistance….

• Ever living with extended family adults or without parents lower household income than never living with extended or without parents

• Ever living with extended family adults lower mean economic hardship than never living with extended

23

Extended Family Adults

*p<0.05 (after controlling for other factors)

24

Grandparents

*p<0.05 (after controlling for other factors)

25

Limitations

• Sample size

• Do not know if other adults are living with focal child or focal child is living with other adults

• Lacking information about why other adults are present

26

Conclusions

• Many children live with adults who are not their parents

• The presence of these other adults matter• Effect can be good, can be bad…

• The absence of parents matters

• Need more research on differences in types of adults

• Economic and non-economic contributions

Thank You!

Nola du Toit: dutoit-nola@norc.org

Kate Bachtell: bachtell-kate@norc.org

Catherine Haggerty: haggerty-cathy@norc.org