The objective of this research is to explore how the socio-emotional well-being (e.g., psychological functioning and social relationships) of children, adolescents, and young adults is shaped by the marital histories of their parents. Drawing on the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, three cohorts (e.g., SECCYD middle childhood cohort, Add Health adolescent cohort, and Add Health young adult cohort) will be constructed to address two research objectives: 1) how family structure history, captured with dynamic, longitudinal indicators of family structure history that reflect level of change and the life stage in which change occurs, shapes a young person's psychological functioning and social relationships at each life stage; and 2) under what conditions family change might be beneficial to young people. These analyses will also pay close attention to the moderating role of race and ethnicity, poverty status, and gender on these associations. I will use a class of statistical models to estimate the effects of longitudinal dynamics (e.g., growth curve analysis, event history analysis, lagged logistic and OLS regression) between family structure history and socio-emotional well-being. This research will contribute to our theoretical understanding of the interlocking nature of the family and individual well-being and expand our knowledge of how the family context conditions the effects of family change.
