Trends in child support outcomes

This paper examines trends in child support award rates, award amounts, and receipts, We investigate four hypotheses that have been proposed to explain the downward trend in these outcomes during the 1980s: (1) changes in the demographic composition of the population eligible for child support, (2) increases in mothers/ income, (3) decreases in fathers’ income, and (4) inflation. Our results indicate that trends in nonmarital fertility can explain much of the decline in award rates. The steady downward trend in fathers’ incomes during the 1980s also explains a considerable portion of the decline in award rates, award amounts, and receipts. Our results are also consistent with the notion that persistent money illusion is responsible for the decline in real child support awards.     

Altruism Within the Family: A Comparison of Father and Mother Using Life Happiness and Life Satisfaction

Studies on intra-household allocation of resources show that exogenous increase in mothers’ income has larger effect on children’s outcomes than the same increase in fathers’ income, suggesting gender differences may exist in parents’ altruism towards their children. Using self-reported life happiness and life satisfaction, we investigate the differences by gender in mutual altruism between father and child as well as mother and child dyads in Singapore. We found that mutual altruism exists between mother and child, but not between father and child. These findings are robust to the measure of self-reported well-being. Further, we find that gender difference in altruism of fathers and mothers is not driven by the difference in the extent of future old age support desired by fathers and mothers from their children.     

Child Support in Immigrant Families

In this study, we use nationally representative data from the U.S. Current Population Survey-Child Support Supplement (N = 28,047) to examine differences in nonresident fathers’ material contributions between children of native and foreign-born mothers. We focus on contributions provided through the formal child support system (whether the mother has a child support agreement and the amount received), as well as support provided informally (the amount of informal cash and whether she receives any in-kind support). We control for a variety of individual and household characteristics, including whether the nonresident father lives in a different state or in a different country. We find that foreign-born mothers are much less likely to have a child support agreement than native-born mothers, but have similar amounts of formal support, once an agreement is in place. Compared to native-born mothers, foreign-born mothers are also much less likely to receive in-kind support, but this difference is completely explained by fathers’ distance from the child. Foreign-born mothers do not differ at all on the amount of informal cash support received from fathers. Nonresident fathers’ residence outside the U.S. is an important mechanism through which nativity affects the likelihood of having a child support order and receiving any in-kind support, but not the amount of formal support (given an order) or the amount of informal cash support. Aggregate comparisons mask important differences within the foreign-born group by mothers’ and children’s citizenship status, years in the U.S., and region of origin.     

Relationship Transitions and the Risk for Child Maltreatment

Family structure as a risk for child maltreatment has long been viewed as a static state in the child maltreatment literature. Drawing on data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, the author uses a series of individual fixed-effects models to investigate whether particular types of relationship transitions over children’s first decade of life are associated with increased risk for maternal and paternal child abuse and maternal neglect. Findings question and confirm a number of long-standing theoretical and empirical findings from the child maltreatment literature. Results indicate that transitions to being single are associated with increased risk for maternal child abuse and neglect. In addition, the frequency and severity of paternal harsh parenting may be closely linked with the nature of fathers’ relationship transitions. Last, results largely do not provide support for the theory that the presence of social (nonbiological) fathers increases mothers’ risk for engaging in child abuse or neglect.     

The effect of divorce on intergenerational transfers: New evidence

This paper draws on new data on intergenerational transfers of time and money that were collected in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. We use these data to examine the effects of divorce on these transfers. We find that the timing of divorce is critical. Fathers and mothers involved in late divorces have similar levels of transfers with their adult children, while divorce during a child’s childhood years increases transfers with mothers and sharply lowers them with fathers. Somewhat surprisingly, we find no evidence that divorced fathers who paid child support are more likely to be involved in intergenerational transfers than those who did not pay child support.     

Going it alone and adrift: the socioeconomic profile and parental involvement of single-father and single-mother families in post-industrial Taiwan

In spite of the rising prevalence of marital dissolution in Asia over the past decades, little is known about single-parent families in Asia. The present study aims to contribute to the literature by investigating the changing socioeconomic characteristics and parental involvement (measured by parent–child activities and parental awareness of children) of single-father and single-mother families in Taiwan around the millennium. Using a nationally representative sample of 641 single fathers and 730 single mothers from the Taiwan Social Trend Survey collected in 1998, 2002 and 2006, this study found that the apparent socioeconomic advantage of single-father families over single-mother families has weakened. Parent–child activities and parental awareness are lower for single fathers than for single mothers and married fathers. The association between higher parental education and more parent–child activities and parental awareness is more pronounced among single fathers than among single mothers. The presence of co-residential grandparents is associated with lower parent–child activities with pre-teen children among single mothers. The results warrant greater attention to the wellbeing and development of adults and children from low SES single-father families in post-industrial Taiwan.     

The impact of child support on cognitive outcomes of young children

We use the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-Child data to address three questions. First, does the receipt of child support have beneficial effects for children with absent fathers apart from increasing income? Second, do the effects of child support differ when child-support awards and payments are made cooperatively as opposed to being court ordered? Third, are any positive effects of child support solely a product of unmeasured differences among fathers and families? Controlling for the socioeconomic characteristics of the child and family, we find some evidence that receipt of child support has a positive impact on children’s cognitive test scores over and above its contribution to total income. However, the effects vary by test, by race, and by reason for Father’s absence. Our results also indicate that the distinction between cooperative and noncooperative awards is important. Finally, our instrumental variables estimates show that the effects of child support persist after we control for unobserved characteristics of fathers and families.     

Work, income, the economy, and married fathers as child-care providers

Previous research on fathers as child-care providers indicates a need to study the father’s role in child care in the context of different economic cycles. Using data from the 1988, 1991, and 1993 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation, we examine whether father’ availability and the couple’s economic resources are differentially related to child care by fathers over time. We focus on the differences between 1991—a recession year—and 1988 and 1993—two nonrecession years. Increased availability of fathers is significantly related to higher levels of fathers’ participation in child care in all three years. Relative economic resources between husbands and wives help explain care by fathers only during the recession year, whereas family income is important only in the nonrecession years. These results suggest that in the future, researchers should acknowledge fluctuations in the economy when studying husbands’ participation in traditional female tasks, as macroeconomic shifts appear to impact the likelihood of married fathers caring for their preschoolers during mothers’ working hours.     

The roles of child support enforcement and welfare in non-marital childbearing

This paper examines the effects of stronger child support enforcement and declines in welfare benefits on changes in non-marital childbearing between 1980 and 1996. Economic theory suggests that stricter child support enforcement will increase the costs of children for unwed fathers, making them less likely to have a child outside marriage. Reductions in welfare benefits also are expected to increase the costs of non-marital childbearing for both mothers and fathers. We examine these hypotheses, using aggregate state-level data and fixed effects regression models to identify the effects of policies on non-marital birth rates. We find that both stricter child support enforcement and declines in welfare benefits deter non-marital births. However, the estimated effects of child support enforcement are more robust and larger than those of welfare. The estimates imply that in the 1980–1996 period, increases in child support enforcement led to a decline in non-marital birth rates in the range of 6% to 9%, whereas decreases in welfare benefits led to a decline in the range of 2% to 4%. Received: 28 June 2000/Accepted: 17 September 2001     

Time or Money: The Relationship Between Educational Attainment,Income Contribution,and Time with Children Among Korean Fathers

Korean parents’ enthusiasm for and financial investment in children’s education are well known. However, parental time with children, particularly fathers’ time, and how it differs by parental education and income are not fully explored. Using the 2009 Korean Time Use Survey data, this paper examines how much time Korean fathers spend with children, how it differs by their education and income contribution to household, and which aspect Korean fathers choose to prioritize: time or money. In order to investigate a cross-couple effect, this paper also considers mothers’ time with children and their level of education. The sample is limited to married couples with the youngest child aged between 0 and 12. The stepwise multivariate regression analysis indicates that fathers’ education consistently shows a positive relationship with childcare time. Although fathers’ income contribution to household income has a negative effect on childcare time, positive effects of fathers’ education remain. Both mother’s education and childcare time increase fathers’ time with children. Korean fathers seem to juggle dual demands for money and time contribution and highly educated fathers tend to prioritize time over money. Given that time has become an important resource, different time investment in children by parental socioeconomic status may exacerbate social inequality.     

Shifting Childrearing to Single Mothers: Results from 17 Western Countries

We investigate how recent changes in the Western family have affected childhood living arrangements. For 17 developed countries, we use multistate life table techniques to estimate childhood trajectories of coresi‐dence with biological fathers versus other maternal partners. In all countries childhood exposure to single parenting is more often caused by parental separation than out‐of‐partnership childbearing. Both exposure to single parenting and expectancy of childhood spent with a single non‐cohabiting mother vary widely across countries, with the United States exhibiting the highest levels of each at early 1990s rates. The greatest international variations concern parental cohabitation—its prevalence, durability, and the degree to which its increase has compensated for a decrease in the expectancy of childhood spent with married parents. Overall, we find little evidence of international convergence in childrearing arrangements, except that in countries where parental marriage has declined over time, childrearing has predominantly shifted to single mothers.     

Toward a Fuller Understanding of Nonresident Father Involvement: An Examination of Child Support,In-Kind Support,and Visitation

The majority of studies of nonresident father involvement focus on either child support payments or visitation. However, nearly 60% of custodial parents receive in-kind (i.e., noncash) support of some form. Using data from a nationally representative sample of children with nonresident fathers (the Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics), we simultaneously investigate via a trivariate probit model the relationships among three aspects of father involvement: child support, in-kind support, and visitation. We find that these dimensions of involvement are positively related and highly intertwined with the strongest positive relationship being between in-kind support and visitation. Additionally, these aspects of involvement have different sets of determinants. Economic characteristics of the resident household are more frequently associated with the receipt of child support, while demographic characteristics of the child, mother, father and resident household are related to all three aspects of nonresident father involvement. Generally speaking, when differences in impacts of determinants vary for lower and higher income resident families, the differences are related to the receipt of child support. Fewer differences are observed with regard to in-kind support receipt or with visitation. Our model also measures how unobserved factors are related to these facets of involvement. Most notable across income groups is that unobserved factors are positively related for child support and in-kind support receipt for higher income resident households. This relationship is insignificant for lower income resident households.     

Child poverty and changes in child poverty

This article offers a cross-country overview of child poverty, changes in child poverty, and the impact of public policy in North America and Europe. Levels and changes in child poverty rates in 12 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries during the 1990s are documented using data from the Luxembourg Income Study project, and a decomposition analysis is used to uncover the relative role of demographic factors, labor markets, and income transfers from the state in determining the magnitude and direction of the changes. Child poverty rates fell noticeably in only three countries and rose in three others. In no country were demographic factors a force for higher child poverty rates, but these factors were also limited in their ability to cushion children from adverse shocks originating in the labor market or the government sector. Increases in the labor market engagement of mothers consistently lowered child poverty rates, while decreases in the employment rates and earnings of fathers were a force for higher rates. Finally, there is no single road to lower child poverty rates. Reforms to income transfers intended to increase labor supply may or may not end up lowering the child poverty rate.     

Child support and the postdivorce economic well-being of mothers, fathers, and children

This article provides national estimates of the current and potential impact of private child support transfers on the economic well-being of custodial and noncustodial families following marital dissolution. Mothers and children fare dramatically worse than fathers after marital dissolution; these differences, however, would be much more pronounced in the absence of private child support. Simulations of four existing child support guidelines show that substantial increases in economic well-being among mother-custody families are possible within the structure of the existing child support system, with minimal impact on poverty among nonresident fathers. Under all of these guidelines, however, custodial-mother families would continue to fare substantially worse than nonresident fathers.     

Noncustodial Fathers’ Ability to Pay Child Support

This article explores the extent to which noncustodial fathers can pay child support by estimating the income of noncustodial fathers and coupling these estimates with simulations of alternative normative standards for how much absent parents should be expected to contribute to the costs of rearing their children. The study indicates that the amount that is currently paid in child support ($6.8 billion in 1983) is far below the amount that should be paid under the various standards--from $24 billion to $29 billion.     

Social support,parental role competence and satisfaction among Chinese mothers and fathers in the early postpartum period: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundA sense of parental competence and satisfaction during the transition to parenthood can have a tremendous impact on the quality of parenting behaviors, with social support being an important facilitator.AimTo examine parental role competence and satisfaction of Chinese mothers and fathers in the early postpartum period with regard to social support.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in a regional teaching hospital in Guangzhou, China. The study was conducted between June 5 and November 16, 2015. One hundred and eighty parental pairs at 6–8 weeks after birth completed the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale, Perceived Social Support Scale, and socio-demographic questionnaires.ResultsParental role competence and satisfaction of Chinese mothers and fathers were at a moderate level, affected each other and there were no significant differences between the mothers and the fathers. The Competence Scale scores had a significant positive correlation with social support. Multiple regression analysis revealed two variables that predicted maternal Competence Scale scores: maternal social support and the paternal Competence Scale scores. Paternal social support and maternal Competence Scale scores contributed significantly to paternal Competence Scale scores.ConclusionParental role competence and satisfaction of mothers and fathers were at a moderate level and affected by the parenting partner. To improve parental role competence and satisfaction, health care professionals should develop strategies that impact the whole family and not just a single individual. Supportive parenting programs should be implemented for both mothers and fathers.     

Changes in the Relationship Between Child Support Payments and Educational Attainment of Offspring, 1979–1988

We examine changes over the 1980s in the effect of child support payments on the educational attainment of children age 16 to 19 in the United States, and why child support has a stronger impact than other sources of income. We use 1979 and 1988 Current Population Survey data, covering a period when improvements in enforcement should have increased the proportion of reluctant fathers paying support. We hypothesize and find that the positive effect of child support on education diminished somewhat over this period, both absolutely and in relation to other income.     

Family Structure Transitions and Changes in Maternal Resources and Well-being

This article uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine whether family instability is associated with changes in perceived social support, material hardship, maternal depression, and parenting stress among mothers of young children. In addition to accounting for the number of transitions that a mother experiences during the first five years of her child’s life, we pay close attention to the type and timing of these transitions. We find that mothers who transition to cohabitation or marriage with their child’s biological father experience declines in material hardship and that those who transition to cohabitation or marriage with another man exhibit modest declines in both material hardship and depression. Mothers who exit cohabiting or marital relationships encounter decreases in perceived social support and increases in material hardship, depression, and parenting stress. Overall, our results suggest that both the type and, to a much lesser degree, the timing of family structure transitions may influence maternal well-being.     

Fathers and infant health and survival in Ende,a rural district of Eastern Indonesia

Studies have shown that child survival can be greater when fathers are more highly involved in infant care than when they are less involved. This paper investigates fathers’ and paternal grandmothers’ knowledge and experiences relating to infants’ survival in a rural district of Eastern Indonesia, a context for which such information is lacking. Twenty fathers or replacement relatives participated in in-depth interviews. Most had very limited knowledge of the danger signs of childhood illness. None of participants had received child health-related information from local health personnel. Male-dominated forms of decision-making in relation to infant health care are the norm. Inadequacies in the child health services, such as difficulties in accessing health facilities, health personnel unavailability and discomfort during delivery, remain as challenges. Fathers appear to rely largely on their wives for their infant health and survival knowledge and have little involvement with their infants. They see their roles in terms of providing economic support and basic care for their infants. Grandmothers are seen as a major source of health information by fathers, but have limited knowledge of infant survival. The findings demonstrate a need for child health promotion programs and campaigns, including the safe motherhood program, to include fathers as well as mothers, in order to increase their awareness of infant survival and involvement in infant raising, and to persuade them to allow mothers greater scope to make child health-seeking decisions, especially when children require emergency treatment.     

Father by law: Effects of joint legal custody on nonresident fathers’ involvement with children

Family membership and household composition do not always coincide. Joint legal custody after divorce formalizes the relationship between fathers and children who live apart. Policymakers hope that explicit acknowledgment of nonresident fathers’ rights and responsibilities will increase their involvement with their children. I use prospective data from the National Survey of Families and Households to examine the association between joint legal custody and two aspects of nonresident fathers’ contributions to their children—the frequency of visits between fathers and children and child-support payments. The analysis examines approximately 160 families in which parents divorced between interviews conducted for Wave 1 (1987–1988) and Wave 2 (1992–1994) of the survey. I investigate the effects of joint legal custody holding constant physical custody or placement by restricting the analysis to children who live with their mothers most of the year. Controlling for socioeconomic status and the quality of family relationships before separation, fathers with joint legal custody see their children more frequently and have more overnight visits than do other fathers. The positive effect of joint legal custody on frequency of visits persists once unobserved differences among families are taken into account. Although fathers with joint legal custody pay more child support than those without joint legal custody, this difference lacks statistical significance when other family characteristics are taken into account. These findings support the view that joint legal custody may encourage some aspects of paternal involvement after divorce.