This study examines the intergenerational consequences of growing up in a single-parent family or a reconstituted family. The primary question addressed is whether family disruptions in one generation encourage economic deprivation and dependency in subsequent generations. Three areas of socioeconomic attainment among offspring are examined: high school graduation, family stability and poverty and welfare status. Three specific hypotheses regarding the cause of family structure effects are tested: (1) the """"""""economic deprivation hypothesis"""""""" which states that negative family effects are due to the socioeconomic status of the family of origin, (2) the """"""""father-absence"""""""" hypothesis which argues that negative effects are due to the absence of a male role model, and (3) the """"""""family-stress"""""""" hypothesis which claims that negative consequences are due to family disruptions that occur at critical points in the life course of the child. The study is based on three surveys: the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, the National Survey of Family Growth (1982), and the June 1980 Current Population Survey. The analysis is based on logit models and statistical techniques developed for use with event history data, including discrete-time and continuous-time methods.
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