Charting Parenthood: A Statistical Portrait of Fathers and Mothers in America

Parenting Section:

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Contents

• Attitudes Towards Parenting
  • P1 - Importance of Becoming a Parent
  • P2 - Adult Attitudes About the Value of Children
  • P3 - Parents: Can One Be as Good as Two?
  • P4 - Parents' Beliefs About Raising Children
  • P5 - Adults' Attitudes Toward Spanking
  • P6 - Parents' Responsibility for Children
• Parenting Practices
  • P7 - Limit Setting
  • P8 - Conflict Resolution in Families
• Closeness and Conflict between Parents and Children
  • P9 - Degree of Closeness Adolescent Feels Toward Parent
  • P10 - Warmth and Affection
  • P11 - Conflict Between Parents and Adolescents
  • P12 - Incidence of Harsh Punishment, Violence, or Abuse
• Child Care and Other Activities with Children
  • P13 - Direct Care of Pre-school Children by Fathers
  • P14 - Time Spent with Children
  • P15 - Parents' Activities with Children
  • P16 - Religious Activities With Children
• Parenting and School
  • P17 - Parental Participation in Child's School Activities
  • P18 - Encouragement of Child(ren)'s School Achievement
• Nonresidential Parenting
  • P19 - Child Custody Arrangements
  • P20 - Contact With Nonresident Parent
• Parental Income
  • P21 - Earnings and Income
  • P22 - Receipt of Child Support
  • Endnotes for Parenting Section

P1 - Importance of Becoming a Parent

By the age of 35, it has been estimated that eighty-three percent of adults in the U.S. will be the parent of a child. ^{(1), (2)} Research indicates that the proportion of women that expect to be permanently childless remains low, and the proportion voluntarily childless even lower. ⁽³⁾, ⁽⁴⁾

Attitudes about becoming a parent can change over time, and are not perfect predictors of future behavior. One study reports that a quarter of women who were "very sure" that they did not want to have children changed their minds over just two years. ⁽⁵⁾ Still, adults' attitudes about the importance of becoming a parent provide insight into how critical being a parent is to feeling fulfilled as an adult.

In order to assess the attitudes of adults concerning the importance of having children, two questions from the General Social Survey (GSS) are examined. Adult respondents were asked to report how much they agreed with the following two statements: 1) "People who have never had children lead empty lives;" and 2) "A marriage without children is not fully complete." The first item was measured in 1988 and 1994, while the second was only measured in 1988 (refer to Table P1.1 and P1.2).

Attitudes About The Fulfillment Of Having Children

By Gender. Males and females were just as likely to agree or strongly agree that people who never have children lead empty lives, although the overall percentage is low (about one-fifth of the total male and female respondents in 1994). The percentage of women in this category dropped from 28 to 18 percent between 1988 and 1994.

By Parental Status. Not surprisingly, parents of both sexes were significantly more likely than nonparents to believe that people who have never had children lead empty lives (28 percent compared to 9 percent among males, and 21 percent compared to 9 percent among female)

By Age. Those ages 45 and over were significantly more likely than younger adults to agree or strongly agree that people who have never had children lead empty lives. For males in 1994, 11 percent of respondents ages 18 to 24, 16 percent of the respondents ages 25 to 44, and 29 percent of respondents ages 45 and older agreed or strongly agreed. Among females the percentages were 15, 11, and 25 percent, respectively.

By Educational Attainment. Respondents with less than a high school education place greater emphasis on the importance of having a child than those with higher levels of educational attainment (see Figure P1.1). In 1994, 41 percent of males and 38 percent of females with less than a high school education agreed or strongly agreed that people who never have children lead empty lives as compared to 13 percent of males and 7 percent of females with a college degree.

By Employment Status. Males and females who are not in the labor force are considerably more likely than others to feel that those without children lead empty lives. For example, among males in 1994 the percentage ranged from 33 percent among those not in the labor force to 19 percent for those working 35 or more hours per week.

Attitudes About The Fulfillment of Having Children in a Marriage

By Gender. Almost one-half of all respondents in 1988 agreed or strongly agreed that a marriage without children is not fully complete. There was no significant difference between males and females. In fact, with few exceptions there was no substantial difference between men and women in any population category on this issue.

By Marital Status. Married men were more likely (49 percent) than nonmarried men (38 percent) to agree or strongly agree that a marriage without children was not complete; however, no significant difference was noted for women.

By Parental Status. Parents were substantially more likely than nonparent respondents to agree or strongly agree that a marriage without children is not fully complete (52 percent compared to 28 percent among males and 49 percent compared to 30 percent among females).

By Age. Adults ages 45 and over were more likely than younger respondents to believe that a marriage without children is not fully complete. For males, 35 percent of respondents ages 18 to 24, 33 percent of the respondents ages 25 to 44, and 59 percent of respondents ages 45 and older agreed or strongly agreed. Among females, the numbers were 41, 35, and 55 percent, respectively.

By Educational Attainment. Substantial differences were also found by education level. For males in 1988, 53 percent of respondents with less than a high school education agreed or strongly agreed with the statement as compared to 45 percent of those with a high school diploma or equivalent and only 33 percent of college graduates. The same pattern emerges for females with 56, 44, and 34 percent, respectively.

By Employment Status. Adults who were not in the labor force were significantly more likely to agree or strongly agree that a marriage without children is not fully complete compared to their counterparts who worked more than 35 hours per week. In 1988, 55 percent of men and 53 percent of women who were not in the labor force agreed or strongly agreed with this statement as compared to 38 percent of men and 37 percent of women who worked 35 hours or more per week.

Figure P1.1
Percentage of respondents who agree or strongly agree that people who have never had
children lead empty lives, by level of educational attainment: 1994

Table P1.1
Percentage of adults ages 18 to 65 who either agree or strongly agree that people
who have never had children lead empty lives: 1988 &1994

	Males		Females
	1988	1994	1988	1994
Total	25	21	28	18
Race and Hispanic Origin1
White non-Hispanic	25	21	28	17
Black non-Hispanic	21	24	23	19
Hispanic	22	26	37	20
Asian/Pacific Islander	*	*	*	*
American Indian/Alaskan Native	28	*	18	17
Poverty Status
Poor	34	na	34	na
Borderline poor2	42	na	35	na
Non-poor	24	na	27	na
Marital Status
Currently married	30	24	25	17
Not currently married	20	19	30	19
Parental Status
Parent	32	28	32	21
Non-parent	12	9	16	9
Age of Respondent
18 to 24 years old	10	11	16	15
25 to 44 years old	17	16	20	11
45 to 65 years old	40	29	38	25
Educational Attainment
Less than high school	43	41	44	38
High school diploma or GED	21	20	26	17
Vocational/technical or some college	20	12	27	12
College graduate	16	13	11	7
Employment Status
Not in labor force	42	33	34	30
Looking for work	*	8	*	20
Less than 35 hours per week	18	17	24	16
35 hours or more per week	19	19	23	8
Note: Scores based on three categories - Strongly Agree or Agree, Neither Agree nor Disagree,and Disagree or Strongly Disagree. 1Estimates for all race categories exclude Hispanics of those races. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. 2 Since GSS respondents reported their income in categories, it was unclear whether some respondents' incomes fell above or below the poverty threshhold. These cases were designated "borderline poor". * = This information has been suppressed due to an insufficient number of cases. na = data not available Source: Estimates calculated by Child Trends based on analyses of the 1988 and 1994 General Social Surveys.

Table P1.2
Percentage of adults ages 18 to 65 who either agree or strongly agree that
a marriage without children is not fully complete: 1988

	Males	Females
Total	43	45
Race and Hispanic Origin1
White non-Hispanic	43	46
Black non-Hispanic	49	44
Hispanic	46	45
Asian/Pacific Islander	*	*
American Indian/Alaskan Native	33	30
Poverty Status
Poor	51	48
Borderline poor2	54	59
Nonpoor	42	44
Marital Status
Currently married	49	46
Not Currently Married	38	45
Parental Status
Parent	52	49
Nonparent	28	30
Age of Respondent
18 to 24 years old	35	41
25 to 44 years old	33	35
45 to 65 years old	59	55
Educational Attainment
Less than high school	53	56
High school diploma or GED	45	44
Vocational/technical or some college	34	39
College graduate	33	34
Employment Status
Not in labor force	55	53
Looking for work	*	*
Less than 35 hours per week	46	44
35 hours or more per week	38	37
Note: Scores based on three categories - Strongly Agree or Agree, Neither Agree nor Disagree, and Disagree or Strongly Disagree. 1Estimates for all race categories exclude Hispanics of those races. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. 2Since GSS respondents reported their income in categories, it was unclear whether some respondents' incomes fell above or below the poverty threshhold. These cases were designated "borderline poor." * = This information has been suppressed due to an insufficient number of cases. Source: Estimates calculated by Child Trends based on analyses of the 1988 General Social Survey.

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P2 - Adult Attitudes About the Value of Children

Parents' attitudes about children's worth and importance play a large role in shaping the ways in which they interact with their children and the types of expectations that they set for them. ⁽⁶⁾, ⁽⁷⁾ Research suggests that the different styles of valuing children that parents adopt are often related to parents' desired outcomes for their children. For instance, parents that value children for their economic utility tend to seek obedience from them, and more educated parents tend to encourage their children toward finding good jobs in adolescence and adulthood. In contrast, children valued for their love and companionship tend to have parents who are seeking pleasant and sociable children. Across these different styles, children who are valued more tend to be less likely to end up the victims of maltreatment ⁽⁸⁾ or verbal abuse. ⁽⁹⁾

More broadly, the degree to which adults value children highly has implications for public policy and social programs aimed at the welfare of children. A society that places great emphasis on children and their development is more likely to make the social investments critical to children's well-being.

In order to assess the attitudes of adults concerning the value of children, two questions from the General Social Survey (GSS) are examined. Adult respondents were asked to report how much they agreed with the following two statements: 1) "watching children grow up is life's greatest joy;" and 2) "it is better not to have children because they are such a heavy financial burden." The first item was measured in both 1988 and 1994, while the second was only measured in 1988 (refer to Table P2.1 and P2.2).

Attitudes about the Joys of Watching Children Grow Up

By Gender. The overwhelming majority of adults agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that "watching children grow up is life's greatest joy." There was a modest decline between 1988 and 1994, however, from 84 to 78 percent among males, and from 88 to 83 percent among females. In both years a greater percentage of females than males endorsed this statement (see Figure P2.1).

Figure P2.1.
Percentage of men and women who agree or strongly agree
that watching children grow up is life's greatest joy: 1988 and 1994

Table P2.1
Percentage of adults ages 18 to 65 who either agree or strongly agree that
watching children grow up is life's greatest joy: 1988 & 1994

	Males		Females
Total	84	78	88	83
Race and Hispanic Origin1
White non-Hispanic	83	77	87	81
Black non-Hispanic	86	85	89	87
Hispanic	81	73	91	90
Asian/Pacific Islander	*	*	*	*
American Indian/Alaskan Native	98	*	87	96
Poverty Status
Poor	88	na	94	na
Borderline poor2	88	na	82	na
Nonpoor	84	na	87	na
Marital Status
Currently married	90	83	88	87
Not Currently Married	78	74	88	80
Parental Status
Parent	90	87	91	89
Nonparent	73	62	77	61
Age of Respondent
18 to 24 years old	77	82	88	89
25 to 44 years old	85	76	87	80
45 to 65 years old	85	81	89	84
Educational Attainment
Less than high school	89	86	92	94
High school diploma or GED	86	79	89	87
Vocational/technical or some college	76	76	95	91
College graduate	78	71	75	62
Employment Status
Not in labor force	87	86	91	91
Looking for work	*	87	*	87
Less than 35 hours per week	75	71	88	79
35 hours or more per week	84	76	85	76
Note: Scores based on three categories - Strongly Agree or Agree, Neither Agree nor Disagree,and Disagree or Strongly Disagree. 1Estimates for all race categories exclude Hispanics of those races. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. 2 Since GSS respondents reported their income in categories, it was unclear whether some respondents' incomes fell above or below the poverty threshhold. These cases were designated "borderline poor". * = This information has been suppressed due to an insufficient number of cases. na = data not available Source: Estimates calculated by Child Trends based on analyses of the 1988 and 1994 General Social Surveys.

Table P2.2
Percentage of adults ages 18 to 65 who either agree or strongly agree
that it is better not to have children because a heavy they are such financial burden: 1988

	Males	Females
Total	5	4
Race and Hispanic Origin1
White non-Hispanic	5	4
Black non-Hispanic	1	1
Hispanic	17	10
Asian/Pacific Islander	*	*
American Indian/Alaskan Native	3	0
Poverty Status
Poor	9	5
Borderline poor2	8	7
Nonpoor	5	4
Marital Status
Currently married	3	3
Not Currently Married	8	5
Parental Status
Parent	5	4
Nonparent	6	5
Age of Respondent
18 to 24 years old	6	5
25 to 44 years old	4	2
45 to 65 years old	7	6
Educational Attainment
Less than high school	16	7
High school diploma or GED	3	3
Vocational/technical or some college	0	16
College graduate	2	2
Employment Status
Not in labor force	8	5
Looking for work	*	*
Less than 35 hours per week	8	2
35 hours or more per week	4	4
Note: Scores based on three categories - Strongly Agree or Agree, Neither Agree nor Disagree, and Disagree or Strongly Disagree. 1Estimates for all race categories exclude Hispanics of those races. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. 2Since GSS respondents reported their income in categories, it was unclear whether some respondents' incomes fell above or below the poverty threshhold. These cases were designated "borderline poor." * = This information has been suppressed due to an insufficient number of cases. Source: Estimates calculated by Child Trends based on analyses of the 1988 General Social Survey.

By Parental Status. Parents of both genders are considerably more likely than nonparents to believe that watching children grow up is life's greatest joy. In 1994, 87 percent of fathers compared to 62 percent of nonfathers agreed or strongly agreed with this statement. The results were similar among women.

By Educational Attainment. As educational attainment increases, adults are generally less likely to agree with the statement that "watching children grow up is life's greatest joy." In 1994, 94 percent of women with less than a high school education agreed or strongly agreed compared to only 62 percent of women who were college graduates. The percentages for men were 87 and 71 percent, respectively.

Attitudes about Whether It Is Better Not To Have Children Because They Are Such A Heavy Financial Burden

By Gender. In general, adults do not tend to think that children are such a heavy financial burden that they would refrain from having them. In 1988, only 5 percent of men and 4 percent of women agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that "it is better not to have children because they are such a heavy financial burden."

By Educational Attainment. Men and women with less than a high school education are more likely than are college graduates to agree or strongly agree that it is better not to have children because they are such a heavy financial burden. In 1988, 16 percent of men and 7 percent of women with less than a high school education agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, compared to 2 percent of men and 2 percent of women who were college graduates.

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P3 - Parents: Can One Be as Good as Two?

The number of children living in households with two biological parents has been steadily declining over the past two decades and has only recently begun to level off. ⁽¹⁰⁾, ⁽¹¹⁾ Although the majority of single parents are mothers, ⁽¹²⁾ in recent years the number of single-father families has increased, accounting for 18 percent of all single parent families with children under age 18 in 1998. ⁽¹³⁾ There are several possible routes - both voluntary and involuntary - to single parenthood including getting a divorce, becoming a widow or widower, and being an unmarried parent. Regardless of the reason, most researchers agree that the fewer economic resources that single parents are able to offer and subsequent time restraints of single parenting place children raised in single-parent homes at a disadvantage. ^{(14), (15)}, ⁽¹⁶⁾ Children raised by single parents have lower levels of social and academic well-being ⁽¹⁷⁾, ⁽¹⁸⁾ and more behavior problems ⁽¹⁹⁾ than those from intact families. In addition, McLanahan and Sandefur (1994, p. 1) report that "…adolescents who have lived apart from one of their parents during some period of childhood are twice as likely to drop out of high school, twice as likely to have a child before age twenty, and one and a half times as likely to be 'idle' - out of school or out of work - in their late teens and early twenties." ⁽²⁰⁾ It is important to note however, that the absolute differences between children with one parent and children with two biological parents are moderate to small. ⁽²¹⁾

In order to assess the attitudes of adults concerning single parenting, one question from the General Social Survey (GSS) is examined. Adult respondents were asked to report how much they agreed with the following statement - "One parent can bring up a child as well as two parents together." The question was asked in 1994 only (refer to Table P3.1).

By Gender. Women were significantly more likely than men to agree or strongly agree that one parent can bring up a child as well as two parents together, 42 percent of women compared to 26 percent of men (see Figure P3.1).

Figure P3.1
Percentage of adults who agree or strongly agree
that one parent can bring up a child as well as
two parents together, by gender: 1994

Table P3.1
Percentage of adults ages 18 to 65 who either agree or strongly agree
that one parent can bring up a child as well as two parents together: 1994

	Males	Females
Total	26	42
Race and Hispanic Origin1
White non-Hispanic	25	38
Black non-Hispanic	35	64
Hispanic	29	61
AsianlPacific Islander	*	*
American Indian/Alaskan Native	*	58
Poverty Status
Poor	na	na
Borderline poor	na	na
Nonpoor	na	na
Marital Status
Currently married	20	37
Not Currently Married	32	46
Parental Status
Parent	25	44
Nonparent	27	39
Age of Respondent
18 to 24 years old	34	66
25 to 44 years old	32	51
45 to 65 years old	18	32
Educational Attainment
Less than high school	23	44
High school diploma or GED	28	45
Vocationalltechnical or some college	32	49
College graduate	24	33
Employment Status
Not in labor force	22	35
Looking for work	32	66
Less than 35 hours per week	23	51
35 hours or more per week	27	45
Note: Scores based on three categories - Strongly Agree or Agree, Neither Agree nor Disagree, and Disagree or Strongly Disagree. 1Estimates for all race categories exclude Hispanics of those races. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. * = This information has been suppressed due to an insufficient number of cases. Source: Estimates calculated by Child Trends based on analyses of the 1994 General Social Survey.

By Race and Hispanic Origin. Differences among men by race and Hispanic origin were comparatively modest, ranging between 25 and 35 percent. Among women, however, non-Hispanic whites were far less likely than other groups to believe that one parent can bring up a child as well as two parents together. In 1994, only 38 percent of white, non-Hispanic women agreed as compared to 64 percent of black, non-Hispanic, 61 percent for Hispanic women, and 58 percent for American Indian/Alaskan Native women.

By Parental Status. Interestingly, parents were about as likely as nonparents to believe that one parent can be just as effective as two in raising a child. However, female parents were significantly more likely than male parents to believe this (44 percent compared to 25 percent).

By Age. Adults ages 45 and older were less likely than younger adults to believe that one parent can be just as effective in raising a child as two parents. Among women in 1994, 32 percent ages 45 and older agreed or strongly agreed with this compared to 66 percent of those ages 18 to 24. For men, the numbers were 18 percent and 34 percent for the respective age groups.

By Employment Status. Differences across employment categories were more pronounced among women than men. Estimates for men across employment categories ranged between 22 and 32 percent. Among females, however, those who were not in the labor force were substantially less likely than those in all other employment categories to believe that one parent can bring up a child as well as two parents together. In 1994, 35 percent of females not in the labor force believed that one parent can be as effective as two in raising a child as compared to 66 percent of those looking for work, 51 percent of those working less than 35 hours a week, and 45 percent of those working 35 or more hours per week.

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P4 - Parents' Beliefs About Raising Children

The types of values that parents seek to instill in their children provide the foundation and direction for their moral and ethical growth. Contemporary research suggests that the development of children's moral sense is contingent upon many factors including experiences with parents and peers and wider cultural influences. ⁽²²⁾ Research examining family interactions indicates that children achieve more advanced levels of moral reasoning when their parents engage them in rational styles of discourse. ⁽²³⁾ Evidence suggests that parental modeling plays a key role in the formation of prosocial behaviors, such as volunteering and charitable giving, ⁽²⁴⁾ and that such influence is well underway by the age of 30 months ⁽²⁵⁾.

Five items from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics - Child Development Supplement (PSID-CDS) are examined to assess the sorts of values parents would like to see instilled in their children. Parents were asked to report which of five qualities (i.e., obedience, popularity, independence, hard worker, helper) they thought was the most important quality for their child (under age 13) to learn to prepare him or her for life. These items were all asked in 1997 (refer to Table P4.1).

Figure P4.1
Qualities that fathers think are most important
for their child (under age 13) to learn, by race of father: 1997

Table P4.1
Percentage of parents who reported various qualities as the most important for their child (under age 13)
to learn to prepare him/her for life: 1997

	Fathers					Mothers
	Obey	Be Liked	Think for Oneself	Work Hard	Help Others in Need	Obey	Be Liked	Think for Oneself	Work Hard	Help Others in Need
Total	21	1	52	18	7	17	1	59	13	10
Race and Hispanic Origin1
White non-Hispanic	16	1	59	17	7	10	0	68	11	11
Black non-Hispanic	28	0	40	26	6	31	0	41	22	5
Hispanic	50	9	18	13	11	43	9	29	8	11
Other	35	0	29	26	10	18	2	54	18	8
Poverty Status
Poor (0 to 99% poverty)	44	5	20	17	13	28	2	42	17	11
Extreme Poverty (at 50% or less)	37	10	14	17	21	32	1	39	12	16
Nonpoor	18	1	56	18	7	15	1	63	11	10
100% to 199% of poverty	28	4	39	18	12	24	1	53	13	9
200% to 299% of poverty	16	0	55	23	5	19	2	59	9	11
300% or more of poverty	15	0	64	16	5	8	1	70	12	10
Family Structure
Two parents	21	1	52	18	7	17	1	59	11	11
Both biological and/or adoptive	20	1	53	18	7	16	1	60	12	11
Mother only	-	-	-	-	-	19	1	56	17	7
Age of Child's Mother in Household
18 to 24 years old	16	0	26	42	16	23	1	37	16	22
25 to 44 years old	21	1	53	17	7	16	1	61	13	9
45 to 65 years old	11	0	73	12	4	6	0	67	10	18
Age of Child's Father in Household
18 to 24 years old	26	0	36	33	4	22	0	53	10	i5
25 to 44 years old	22	1	53	18	7	16	2	60	12	i 1
45 to 65 years old	15	0	61	13	11	14	0	69	9	8
Educational Attainment of Child's Mother in Household
Less than high school	40	6	21	22	11	34	5	35	12	14
High school diploma or GED	24	0	47	22	6	18	1	53	16	12
Vocational/technical or some college	19	1	56	15	8	13	1	67	13	8
College graduate	11	0	71	13	6	8	0	74	10	9
Educational Attainment of Child's Father in Household
Less than high school	36	5	27	22	9	30	7	42	12	9
High school diploma or GED	26	0	44	22	7	20	1	52	13	14
Vocational/technical or some college	15	0	60	17	8	11	0	67	10	12
College graduate	13	0	68	13	6	9	0	72	11	8
Employment Status of Child's Mother in Household
Not in labor force	27	1	48	12	12	20	3	52	11	14
Looking for work	27	8	25	37	4	29	6	47	7	12
Working	17	1	57	20	5	13	0	65	14	8
Employment Status of Child's Father in Household
Not in labor force	28	0	36	29	7	14	0	56	20	10
Looking for work	42	0	30	7	21	12	3	65	7	13
Working	20	1	55	18	7	16	1	61	11	10
1Estimates for whites and blacks exclude Hispanics of those racers. Persons of Hispanic origin maybe of any race. Source: Estimates supplied by Sandra Hofferth, Univeristy of Maryland, based on data from the 1997 Panel Study of Income Dynamics -Child Development Supplement

By Gender. Mothers and fathers both thought that the most important quality for their child to learn to prepare him or her for life is the ability to think for oneself. Fifty-nine percent of mothers and 52 percent of fathers thought that this was the most important quality for their child to learn. The second most important quality ranked by mothers (17 percent) and fathers (21 percent) was obedience, followed by working hard, helping others in need and, finally, being liked.

By Race and Hispanic Origin. While thinking for oneself was most highly prized among white and black, non-Hispanic parents, obedience was considered most important by Hispanic parents. Among fathers, 59 percent of white, non-Hispanics, 40 percent of black, non-Hispanics, but only 18 percent of Hispanics reported thinking for oneself as the most important quality for their child to learn. Fifty percent of Hispanic fathers report that obedience is the most important quality, compared to 16 percent of white, non-Hispanic and 28 percent of black, non-Hispanic fathers (see Figure P4.1). The same pattern is seen with mothers. Sixty-eight percent of white, non-Hispanic mothers and 41 percent of black, non-Hispanic mothers report that thinking for oneself is the most important quality that their child can learn, compared to 29 percent of Hispanic mothers. Forty-three percent of Hispanic mothers favored obedience as the most important quality compared to 31 percent of black, non-Hispanic and 10 percent of white, non-Hispanic mothers (see Figure P4.2).

By Poverty Status. Nonpoor mothers and fathers were more likely than poor parents to endorse thinking for oneself as the most important quality for their child to learn, while poor parents were more likely to report obedience as the most important quality.

By Educational Attainment. As parental education level rises, the appreciation for thinking for oneself goes steadily up, while the relative importance of obedience decreases. Seventy-four percent of mothers with a college degree but only 35 percent of mothers with less than a high school education ranked thinking for oneself as the most important quality their child can learn. This can be contrasted with the fact that 34 percent of mothers with less than a high school education report obedience as the most important quality for their child to learn, compared to only 8 percent of mothers with a college degree. A similar pattern exists among fathers.

By Age. Parents under 25 years of age are significantly less likely than parents who are older to report that thinking for oneself is the most important quality that their child can learn. Thirty six percent of fathers and 37 percent of mothers under age 25 report that thinking for oneself is the most important quality, compared to 61 percent of fathers and 67 mothers who are ages 45 and older. The fact that young parents are more likely to have very young children may account in part for these differences.

Figure P4.2
Qualities that mothers think are most important
for their child (under age 13) to learn, by race of mother: 1997

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P5 - Adults' Attitudes Toward Spanking

One of the most frequently used strategies to discipline a child, especially a younger child, is spanking. ⁽²⁶⁾ Research suggests that about 90 percent of parents in the United States report having spanked their children. ⁽²⁷⁾ At the same time, however, use of corporal punishment is often linked to negative outcomes for children (e.g., delinquency, antisocial behavior, and low self-esteem), and may be indicative of ineffective parenting. ⁽²⁸⁾, ⁽²⁹⁾ Positive child outcomes can be obtained when parents refrain from spanking and other physical punishment and alternatively discipline their children through firm, rational control and nurturing communication. ⁽³⁰⁾ Studies show that this type of disciplinary style may foster positive psychological outcomes such as high self-esteem and cooperation with others, as well as improved achievement in school. ⁽³¹⁾

The type of discipline employed is often influenced by both the age and the reasoning ability of the child. ⁽³²⁾ For example, younger children may have greater difficulty responding to rational communicative discipline, whereas older children may respond more readily to firm and nurturing communication. For younger children, an alternative strategy may be to redirect the child's attention, rather than use rational communication or spanking.

In order to assess the attitudes of adults about spanking a child, a question from the General Social Survey is examined. Adults were asked to report the degree to which they agreed or disagreed that it is sometimes necessary to discipline a child with a good, hard spanking. These items were all asked in 1986 and 1988 through 2000 (refer to Table P5.1).

By Gender. In the period between 1986 and 2000, the percentage of men who agreed that it is sometimes necessary to spank a child hard varied between 73 and 84 percent, with no clear historical pattern. Women exhibited a similar pattern, with estimates ranging between 69 and 82 percent. Approval of spanking was at its highest in 1986 for both sexes. In general, men are more likely than women to agree that sometimes it is necessary to spank a child. For example, in 2000, 79 percent of men agreed that spanking a child is sometimes necessary, compared to 71 percent of women.

By Educational Attainment. Adults who are college graduates were less likely than parents without a high school diploma or equivalent to say that spanking a child is sometimes necessary. In 2000, 66 percent of men who were college graduates agreed that spanking is sometimes necessary compared to 87 percent of men with less than a high school education. Among women, 55 percent of college graduates agreed that it was sometimes necessary to spank a child, compared to 80 percent of those who did not graduate from high school (see Figure P5.1).

By Race and Hispanic Origin. For both men and women, white, non-Hispanic adults are less likely than black, non-Hispanic adults to say that spanking a child is sometimes necessary. For example, in 2000, 87 percent of black men, compared to 79 percent of white men, agreed that a child sometimes needs a good hard spanking. In 2000, black men were also more likely than Hispanic men (69 percent) to agree that spanking a child was sometimes necessary.

Figure P5.1
Percentage of men and women who agree that it is sometimes necessary
to give a child a good hard spanking, by educational attainment: 2000

[Go To Contents]

P6 - Parents' Responsibility for Children

Mothers and fathers often assume different roles with regard to their children. Researchers find that fathers are more likely to assume a greater role in play activities with young children, while mothers generally assume the role of primary caretaker. ⁽³³⁾, ⁽³⁴⁾ Despite these differences, both parents have a significant effect on children's development. ⁽³⁵⁾ It is through the gradual developmental process of interpreting, transforming, and evaluating the norms of their parents that children acquire their own moral values. ⁽³⁶⁾ Similarly, parental input and involvement in choosing and engaging in their child's school is crucial. Children with involved parents are more likely to have positive educational outcomes, higher aspirations, and increased graduation rates. ⁽³⁷⁾ Father involvement, particularly involvement in their children's school activities, is associated with decreases in problem behaviors (e.g., drug use, delinquency) among their children. ⁽³⁸⁾

The responsibilities of parents for their children were assessed by examining three questions from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics - Child Development Supplement (PSID-CDS). Parents were asked if they shared, performed alone, or if someone else performed three responsibilities for their children (under age 13): 1) playing with their children; 2) disciplining their children; and 3) selecting a child care program, preschool, or school for their children (refer to Table P6.1, P6.2, and P6.3). These items were all asked in 1997.

By Gender. The majority of mothers and fathers reported that they shared responsibility for playing with their children (77 and 91 percent, respectively), and for discipline (70 and 89 percent). When it came to selecting a child care program, preschool, or school, however, only 38 percent of mothers and 60 percent of fathers reported sharing responsibility. Sixty percent of mothers reported sole responsibility for this activity, compared to 7 percent of fathers (see Figure P6.1 and P6.2).

By Race and Hispanic Origin. White, non-Hispanic mothers were more likely to report sharing responsibility for playing with their child, disciplining them, or choosing their care or school than were Hispanic or black, non-Hispanic mothers. Among fathers, Hispanics were more likely than white, non-Hispanic or black, non-Hispanic fathers to report having sole responsibility for taking care of these three sorts of activities with their children.

By Poverty Status. Poor mothers and fathers were more likely than nonpoor parents to report sole responsibility for playing with their children, disciplining them, and choosing their care program or school (refer to Table P6.1, P6.2, and P6.3). For example, 55 percent of poor mothers reported sole responsibility for disciplining their children compared to 22 percent of nonpoor mothers. The difference among fathers is less pronounced (18 percent compared to 7 percent).

Figure P6.1
Parental responsibility for playing with and disciplining their children,
and for choosing a child care, preschool,
or school according to fathers of children under age 13: 1997

Figure P6.2
Parental responsibility for playing with and disciplining their children,
and for choosing a child care, preschool,
or school according to mothers of children under age 13: 1997

Table P6.1
Percentage of parents who reported particular responsibility for playing with their child(ren) under age 13): 1997

	Fathers			Mothers
	Someone Else Responsibility	Shared Responsibilty	Father-Only Responsibility	Someone Else Responsibility	Shared Responsibilty	Mother-Only Responsibility
Total	4	91	6	2	77	20
Race and Hispanic Origin1
White non-Hispanic	4	94	2	1	84	15
Black non-Hispanic	10	86	5	4	60	36
Hispanic	0	70	30	8	57	34
Other	2	86	12	2	76	22
Poverty Status
Poor (0 to 99% poverty)	1	84	15	4	58	38
Extreme poverty (at 50% or less)	3	82	14	2	61	37
Nonpoor	4	92	4	2	82	16
100% to 199% of poverty	4	87	9	3	71	26
200% to 299% of poverty	7	87	6	1	80	19
300% or more of poverty	3	96	1	1	88	10
Family Structure
Two parents	3	91	5	2	85	13
Both biological and/or adoptive	3	91	5	2	86	12
Mother only	-	-	-	2	46	52
Age of Child's Mother in Household
18 to 24 years old	5	91	5	1	70	29
25 to 44 years old	4	91	5	2	80	18
45 to 65 years old	5	92	3	2	69	29
Age of Child's Father in Household
18 to 24 years old	1	90	10	3	86	10
25 to 44 years old	3	92	5	2	87	11
45 to 65 years old	10	84	6	3	74	23
Educational Attainment of Child's Mother in Household
Less than high school	5	73	22	5	63	31
High school diploma or GED	5	90	5	2	78	20
Vocational/technical or some college	1	97	2	1	79	20
College graduate	3	95	2	1	87	12
Educational Attainment of Child's Father in Household
Less than high school	8	73	19	8	71	21
High school diploma or GED	3	94	2	1	86	12
VocationaUtechnical or some college	1	94	5	2	86	12
College graduate	4	94	2	1	89	11
Employment Status of Child's Mother in Household
Not in labor force	3	89	8	2	80	18
Looking for work	10	75	15	3	50	47
Working	4	94	3	2	80	18
Employment Status of Child's Father in Household
Not in labor force	21	74	4	0	75	24
Looking for work	0	90	10	2	70	28
Working	3	92	5	2	86	12
1Estimates for whites and blacks exclude Hispanics of those racers. Persons of Hispanic origin maybe of any race. Source: Estimates supplied by Sandra Hofferth, Univeristy of Maryland, based on data from the 1997 Panel Study of Income Dynamics -Child Development Supplement

Table P6.2
Percentage of parents who reported particular responsibility for disciplining their child(ren) (under age 13): 1997

	Fathers			Mothers
	Someone Else	Shared Responsibility	Father-Only Responsibility	Someone Else	Shared Responsibility	Mother-Only Responsibility
Total	3	89	8	2	70	28
Race and Hispanic Origin1
White non-Hispanic	3	94	3	1	79	21
Black non-Hispanic	6	84	10	3	42	55
Hispanic	1	67	32	4	60	36
Other	4	73	23	4	61	35
Poverty Status
Poor (0 to 99% poverty)	3	79	18	2	43	55
Extreme poverty (at 50% or less)	0	85	15	1	37	62
Nonpoor	3	90	7	1	77	22
100% to 199% of poverty	1	84	15	2	63	35
200% to 299% of poverty	6	89	5	2	75	24
300% or more of poverty	3	94	3	1	85	14
Family Structure
Two parents	3	89	8	2	83	15
Both biological and/or adoptive	2	90	8	2	85	14
Mother only	-	-	-	1	19	81
Age of Child's Mother in Household
18 to 24 years old	7	90	2	2	61	37
25 to 44 years old	3	89	8	1	73	25
45 to 65 years old	1	96	3	0	60	40
Age of Child's Father in Household
18 to 24 years old	0	99	1	3	76	20
25 to 44 years old	3	90	7	1	86	13
45 to 65 years old	0	91	9	3	71	26
Educational Attainment of Child's Mother in Household
Less than high school	5	73	22	3	55	42
High school diploma or GED	3	88	9	2	67	31
Vocational/technical or some college	3	92	4	1	72	27
College graduate	2	96	2	0	85	15
Educational Attainment of Child's Father in Household
Less than high school	3	76	21	4	64	32
High school diploma or GED	1	92	7	1	86	12
Vocational/technical or some college	3	94	3	1	86	13
College graduate	4	92	4	1	89	11
Employment Status of Child's Mother in Household
Not in labor force	3	87	10	1	74	25
Looking for work	0	82	18	6	44	50
Working	3	92	5	1	73	26
Employment Status of Child's Father in Household
Not in labor force	1	82	17	0	79	21
Looking for work	0	86	14	1	72	27
Working	3	91	7	2	85	14
1Estimates for whites and blacks exclude Hispanics of those racers. Persons of Hispanic origin maybe of any race. Source: Estimates supplied by Sandra Hofferth, Univeristy of Maryland, based on data from the 1997 Panel Study of Income Dynamics -Child Development Supplement

Table P6.3
Percentage of parents who reported particular responsibility for selecting a child care program, preschool,
or school for their children) (under age 13): 1997

	Fathers			Mothers
	Someone Else	Shared Responsibility	Father-Only Responsibility	Someone Else	Shared Responsibility	Mother-Only Responsibility
Total	34	60	7	2	38	60
Race and Hispanic Origin1
White non-Hispanic	37	60	3	1	43	56
Black non-Hispanic	41	54	5	3	18	79
Hispanic	17	60	23	3	29	68
Other	15	61	24	3	42	54
Poverty Status
Poor (0 to 99% poverty)	24	59	17	3	18	78
Extreme poverty (at 50% or less)	23	56	21	3	22	75
Nonpoor	35	60	5	2	42	56
100% to 199% of poverty	34	55	11	3	32	65
200% to 299% of poverty	34	59	7	2	34	64
300% or more of poverty	36	62	2	1	51	48
Family Structure
Two parents	34	60	6	2	46	53
Both biological and/or adoptive	33	61	6	2	47	51
Mother only	-	-	-	2	6	92
Age of Child's Mother in Household
18 to 24 years old	28	65	8	1	30	69
25 to 44 years old	34	59	6	1	39	60
45 to 65 years old	41	58	1	5	39	56
Age of Child's Father in Household
18 to 24 years old	20	76	4	3	38	59
25 to 44 years old	34	60	6	1	48	51
45 to 65 years old	37	58	6	4	40	57
Educational Attainment of Child's Mother in Household
Less than high school	24	54	22	1	21	78
High school diploma or GED	33	59	7	1	37	62
Vocational/technical or some college	37	60	3	2	41	57
College graduate	38	62	1	1	47	52
Educational Attainment of Child's Father in Household
Less than high school	31	54	15	3	31	66
High school diploma or GED	33	58	8	1	46	53
Vocational/technical or some college	35	62	3	2	41	57
College graduate	35	63	2	1	56	43
Employment Status of Child's Mother in Household
Not in labor force	32	57	10	1	39	60
Looking for work	37	53	10	2	18	81
Working	35	61	4	2	40	58
Employment Status of Child's Father in Household
Not in labor force	34	46	21	6	35	59
Looking for work	38	41	22	0	30	70
Working	34	61	5	1	48	51
1Estimates for whites and blacks exclude Hispanics of those racers. Persons of Hispanic origin maybe of any race. Source: Estimates supplied by Sandra Hofferth, Univeristy of Maryland, based on data from the 1997 Panel Study of Income Dynamics -Child Development Supplement

By Educational Attainment. Mothers and fathers with less than a high school education are more likely than more educated parents to report having sole responsibility for play, discipline, and choosing a school or child care provider. For example, 42 percent of mothers and 21 percent of fathers with less than a high school education reported sole responsibility for disciplining their children, compared to 15 percent of mothers and 4 percent of fathers who had graduated from college.

By Employment Status. Patterns of responsibility are similar for working mothers and mothers who are not in the labor force. About three quarters of mothers in both categories report sharing responsibility for discipline, eight in ten share responsibility for play, and four in ten share responsibility for choosing a child care program, preschool, or school. The responsibility of fathers for these activities was only modestly affected by whether the mother worked or not, with fathers slightly more likely to share responsibility for discipline and play when the mother worked.

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P7 - Limit Setting

Setting guidelines or rules for children teaches them the difference between right and wrong and clarifies what sorts of behavior are considered acceptable and unacceptable. Thus, limit setting constitutes a critical element in shaping children's judgement, developing conscience, and learning how to understand one's surroundings. ⁽³⁹⁾ In addition, it has been found that parenting that combines limit setting and responsiveness to a child's needs (i.e., "authoritative parenting") is associated with positive outcomes for children. Limit setting not only enhances child development, but also increases the likelihood of compliance with parental expectations. ⁽⁴⁰⁾, ⁽⁴¹⁾

In order to gauge the limit setting patterns of adults, three questions from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics - Child Development Supplement (PSID-CDS) are examined. Parents of children ages 3 to 12 were asked to report how often they: 1) set limits on the time their children can watch TV in a day; 2) set limits on what television programs their children watch; and 3) control who their children spend time with (refer to Table P7.1). These items were all asked in 1997.

Figure P7.1
Percentage of fathers and mothers of children ages 3 to 12
who (often or very often) set limits on who their children spend time with,
by race and Hispanic origin: 1997

Table P7.1
Percentage of parents who reported that they often or very often set various limits
on their children's activities (children ages 3 to 12): 1997

	Fathers			Mothers
	How Much time their children can watch TV in a day	What TV programs their children watch	Who their children spend time with	How Much time their children can watch TV in a day	What TV programs their children watch	Who their children spend time withr
Total	40	61	40	48	71	51
Race and Hispanic Origin1
White non-Hispanic	37	64	41	49	78	53
Black non-Hispanic	49	68	60	42	61	52
Hispanic	42	30	21	45	48	37
Other	50	65	38	49	58	49
Poverty Status
Poor (0 to 99% poverty)	41	48	34	46	59	47
Extreme poverty (at 50% or less)	52	45	34	51	59	49
Nonpoor	39	63	41	48	73	52
100% to 199% of poverty	35	59	48	45	66	54
200% to 299% of poverty	42	67	39	46	73	56
300% or more of poverty	40	63	39	50	77	49
Family Structure
Two parents	39	61	40	48	72	50
Both biological and/or adoptive	40	61	40	48	72	52
Mother only	-	-	-	45	65	53
Age of Child's Mother in Household
18 to 24 years old	27	50	52	46	68	60
25 to 44 years old	40	61	40	48	71	51
45 to 65 years old	50	68	37	46	69	47
Age of Child's Father in Household
18 to 24 years old	*	*	*	*	*	*
25 to 44 years old	40	61	41	49	73	51
45 to 65 years old	47	67	41	47	69	55
Educational Attainment of Child's Mother in Household
Less than high school	33	45	27	44	56	38
High school diploma or GED	35	66	45	41	66	54
Vocational/technical or some college	39	56	44	47	76	55
College graduate	49	68	39	59	80	48
Educational Attainment of Child's Father in Household
Less than high school	42	45	28	40	56	50
High school diploma or GED	34	61	49	41	71	58
Vocational/technical or some college	42	68	38	51	76	52
College graduate	45	67	43	57	79	48
Employment Status of Child's Mother in Household
Not in labor force	47	61	47	54	74	59
Looking for work	36	41	38	51	57	48
Working	36	63	37	45	71	57
Employment Status of Child's Father in Household
Not in labor force	33	61	67	40	67	56
Looking for work	43	49	45	37	47	32
Working	41	62	40	50	74	52
Note: Scores based on two categories: 'very often' or'often', and 'sometimes', 'seldom, or'never'. 1Estimates for whites and blacks exclude Hispanics of those races. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. * = This information has been suppressed due to an insufficient number of cases. Source: Estimates supplied by Sandra Hofferth, Univeristy of Maryland, based on data from the 1997 Panel Study of Income Dynamics - Child Development Supplement

By Gender. Mothers are somewhat more likely to set all three types of limits for their children than are fathers. For example, in 1997, 48 percent of mothers and 40 percent of fathers set limits often or very often on how many hours of television their children could watch in a day. Seventy one percent of mothers and 61 percent of fathers set limits often or very often on the types of programs their children can watch on television. The same pattern is seen for the percentage of mothers and fathers who regulate their children's interactions with peers. In 1997, 51 percent of mothers and 40 percent of fathers often or very often controlled with whom their children spent time.

By Race and Hispanic Origin. There are considerable differences in patterns of limit setting among mothers and fathers of different racial/ethnic backgrounds. Hispanic fathers (30 percent) are less likely to set limits on what television programs their children watch compared to fathers of other racial/ethnic backgrounds (64, 68, and 65 percent, respectively, for white, black, and other racial/ethnic groups), while white, non-Hispanic mothers (78 percent) are the most likely to set limits on what television programs their children watch, compared to mothers of other racial/ethnic backgrounds (61, 48, and 58 percent, respectively, for black, Hispanic, and other racial/ethnic groups). Black, non-Hispanic fathers (60 percent) are the most likely and Hispanic fathers (21 percent) are the least likely to set limits on who their children spend time with. Similarly, Hispanic mothers (37 percent) are less likely than other mothers to set limits on who their children spend time with (see Figure P7.1).

By Educational Attainment. Parents who are college graduates are generally more likely than parents without a high school education to set limits for their children. For each of the activities examined, mothers with college degrees were more likely than mothers with less than a high school education to set limits. For instance, while only 56 percent of mothers with less than a high school education often or very often set limits on the types of television programs their children watch, 80 percent of mothers who are college graduates do so. For fathers, this pattern holds true for the degree to which they set limits on whom their children spend time with and which television programs they allow their children to watch, but not for the amount of time they allow their children to spend watching television.

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P8 - Conflict Resolution in Families

Children who are exposed to styles of conflict resolution that involve positive verbal communication are more obedient and less belligerent than those who are not. ⁽⁴²⁾ Research points to poor communication and problem-solving skills for resolving disputes as a contributing factor to negative outcomes, such as an increased likelihood of adolescent criminal behavior. ⁽⁴³⁾ When examining conflict resolution, researchers have primarily focused on how parents and children respond to conflict with one another. ⁽⁴⁴⁾

To evaluate the conflict resolution tactics of parents, three questions from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics -Child Development Supplement (PSID-CDS) are examined. Parents of children under age 13 were asked to report if they agreed or disagreed with three statements: 1) we fight a lot in our family; 2) family members hardly ever lose their tempers; and 3) family members always calmly discuss problems. These items were all asked in 1997 (refer to Table P8.1).

By Gender. More than half of mothers (52 percent) and fathers (56 percent) report "calmly discussing problems" as a way of resolving family conflicts. Twelve percent of both mothers and fathers report that there is a lot a fighting in their family.

By Race and Hispanic Origin. Hispanic mothers and fathers are more likely to report a lot of family fighting than are white, non-Hispanic or black, non-Hispanic mothers and fathers. Twenty-one percent of Hispanic mothers report that they fight a lot in their family, compared to 7 percent of black, non-Hispanic and 13 percent of white, non-Hispanic mothers. Similarly, 20 percent of Hispanic fathers report that they fight a lot in their family compared to 8 percent of black, non-Hispanic fathers and 11 percent of white, non-Hispanic fathers.

By Poverty Status. While there do not appear to be significant differences between poor and nonpoor fathers in the degree to which they are likely to report "fighting a lot" in their family, or "calmly discussing problems," the same does not hold true for mothers. Poor mothers (18 percent) are more likely to report "a lot of family fighting" than are nonpoor mothers (11 percent). However, poor mothers (60 percent) are also more likely than nonpoor mothers (50 percent) to report "calmly discussing problems" in their family.

By Educational Attainment. The same pattern that emerges for poor compared to nonpoor mothers regarding their reported conflict resolution styles emerges for mothers with less than a high school education compared to mothers who are college graduates (see Figure P8.1). Nineteen percent of mothers with less than a high school education, compared to only 8 percent of mothers with a college degree, report a lot of family fighting. Seventy percent of mothers with less than a high school education report calmly discussing family problems compared to 46 percent of mothers with a college degree. Fathers with less than a high school education (24 percent) are significantly more likely than fathers who are college graduates (8 percent) to report a lot of family fighting.

Figure P8.1
Percentage of parents of children under age 13
who report that the family fights a lot, by educational attainment: 1997

Table P8.1
Percentage of parents of children under age 13 who agree or completely agree with
various statements about family conflict and various resolution styles: 1997

	Fathers			Mothers
	We Fight A Lot in Our Family	Family Members Hardly Ever Lose Temper	Family Members Always Calmly Discuss Problems	We Fight A Lot in Our Family	Family Members Hardly Ever Lose Temper	Family Members Always Calmly Discuss Problems
Total	12	44	56	12	46	52
Race and Hispanic Origin1
White non-Hispanic	11	45	51	13	44	43
Black non-Hispanic	8	33	61	7	35	65
Hispanic	20	57	78	21	66	76
Other	14	29	82	6	51	72
Poverty Status
Poor (0 to 99% poverty)	9	55	64	18	47	60
Extreme poverty (at 50% or less)	14	36	59	15	37	57
Nonpoor	12	43	55	11	45	50
100% to 199% of poverty	19	35	58	15	43	57
200% to 299% of poverty	11	40	55	10	44	55
300% or more of poverty	9	47	54	9	47	44
Family Structure
Two parents	12	44	56	12	48	51
Both b;ological and/or adoptive	11	45	57	12	48	51
Mother only	-	-	-	13	38	55
Age of Child's Mother in Household
18 to 24 years old	18	49	59	19	48	52
25 to 44 years old	12	43	57	11	46	52
45 to 65 years old	4	45	41	13	48	46
Age of Child's Father in Household
18 to 24 years old	34	49	55	24	40	46
25 to 44 years old	12	42	57	12	48	53
45 to 65 years old	8	49	49	12	46	41
Educational Attainment of Child's Mother in Household
Less than high school	18	49	64	19	50	70
High school diploma or GED	9	37	53	11	47	51
Vocational/technical or some college	14	46	57	11	45	49
College graduate	8	46	56	8	44	46
Educational Attainment of Child's Father in Household
Less than high school	24	40	62	16	51	58
High school diploma or GED	10	42	56	15	48	50
Vocational/technical or some college	13	43	53	12	49	47
College graduate	8	47	56	8	45	51
Employment Status of Child's Mother in Household
Not in labor force	9	53	61	12	45	55
Looking for work	33	41	64	18	45	65
Working	11	38	53	11	46	49
Employment Status of Child's Father in Household
Not in labor force	9	24	51	26	39	26
Looking for work	27	27	70	40	48	55
Working	12	45	56	11	48	52
Note: Scores based on two categories: 'Completely agree' or'agree', and 'Completely disagree' or'disagree'. 1Estimates for whites and blacks exclude Hispanics of those races. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. *= This information has been suppressed due to an insufficient number of cases. Source: Estimates supplied by Sandra Hofferth, Univeristy of Maryland, based on data from the 1997 Panel Study of Income Dynamics - Child Development Supplement

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P9 - Degree of Closeness Adolescent Feels Toward Parent

Recent research suggests that a positive, close relationship between parents and adolescents is related to lower rates of adolescent early sexual activity, drug use, and emotional distress. ⁽⁴⁵⁾ Negative relationships, on the other hand, have been found to be related to negative psychological functioning. ⁽⁴⁶⁾ Research also shows that adolescents may react differently to certain types of parental behavior depending on whether it involves the mother or the father. ⁽⁴⁷⁾ Adolescents tend to express negative feelings for mothers who demonstrate high levels of control, but have more positive feelings for fathers who show high levels of control.

In order to assess the degree to which adolescents feel close to their parents, a question from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health is examined. Adolescents in grades 7 through 12 in 1995 (Wave I) and in grades 8 through 12 in 1996 (Wave II) were asked to report the degree of closeness they feel toward their parents. Closeness was reported on a scale from 1 to 5 (1- not close at all, 2 - not very close, 3 - somewhat close, 4 - quite close, 5 - extremely close; refer to Table P9.1).

Figure P9.1
Degree of closeness adolescent feels toward his or her parent, by residence of parent: 1996

By Gender. Boys and girls reported feeling very close to both their resident parents but adolescents of both sexes also report being somewhat closer to their mothers than to their fathers. The same pattern holds true for feelings toward nonresident parents.

By Residential Status of Parent. Adolescents of both genders report being closer to their resident mothers and fathers than to their nonresident counterparts (see Figure P9.1). They are least close to nonresident fathers.

By Biological or Step Relationship. Among adolescents in two-parent families, relationships with biological parents are closer than those with step-parents, regardless of the sex of the parent.

By Gender of Child. Boys report being somewhat closer to their mothers and their fathers than do girls. This finding holds regardless of parental residential status.

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P10 - Warmth and Affection

Many studies have shown that warmth in the parent-child relationship predicts positive child outcomes. Higher self-esteem, better parent-child communication, and fewer psychological and behavior problems have been linked to warmth and affection between parent and child. ⁽⁴⁸⁾ Parental warmth and affection is also positively related to adolescent academic competence and negatively related to teen pregnancy and associations with deviant peers. ⁽⁴⁹⁾ Parental warmth is even found to encourage children's use of social support and proactive, problem-focused coping styles. ⁽⁵⁰⁾ Conversely, receiving insufficient levels of parental support fosters feelings of alienation, expressions of hostility and aggression, diminished self-esteem, and antisocial and risk behaviors. ⁽⁵¹⁾

To assess the amount of warmth and affection parents show their children, three questions from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics - Child Development Supplement (PSID-CDS) are examined. Parents of children ages 12 and younger who are living with their children were asked to report how often, in the past month, they: 1) hugged or showed physical affection to their child; 2) told their child that they loved him/her; and 3) told their child that they appreciated something he/she did. These items were all asked in 1997 (refer to Table P10.1).

Figure P10.1.
Percentage of resident fathers and mothers of children under age 13
who hugged their child every day in the past month: 1997

Table P10.1
Percentage of parents of children under age 13 who treated their children
with various forms of warmth and affection every day in the past month: 1997

	Fathers			Mothers
	Hugged or showed physical affection to their children	Told their child that they love him/her	Told their child that they appreciated something he or she did	Hugged or showed physical affection to their children	Told their child that they love him/her	Told their child that they appreciated something he or she did
Total	73	62	37	87	85	55
Race and Hispanic Origin1
White non-Hispanic	76	65	36	93	91	56
Black non-Hispanic	56	45	40	75	76	56
Hispanic	73	63	41	81	77	52
Other	61	40	32	78	76	53
Poverty Status
Poor (0 to 99% poverty)	67	63	44	78	80	55
Extreme poverty (at 50% or less)	58	60	47	78	80	49
Nonpoor	74	61	36	90	87	55
100% to 199% of poverty	74	60	43	88	85	58
200% to 299% of poverty	73	58	32	86	86	53
300% or more of poverty	74	64	34	93	88	55
Family Structure
Two parents	73	62	37	89	86	55
Both biological and/or adoptive	75	63	37	89	86	55
Mother only	-	-	-	81	83	56
Age of Child
0 to 2 years old	90	80	56	98	95	73
3 to 5 years old	84	69	44	93	91	66
6 to 9 years old	70	55	31	87	85	48
10 to 12 years old	50	45	17	74	72	39
Age of Child's Mother in Household
18 to 24 years old	88	82	55	94	93	70
25 to 44 years old	73	61	35	87	86	55
45 to 65 years old	57	47	27	77	65	37
Age of Child's Father in Household
18 to 24 years old	89	86	63	93	91	75
25 to 44 years old	74	61	36	89	87	55
45 to 65 years old	62	54	29	87	78	49
Educational Attainment of Child's
Less than high school	67	58	45	75	75	46
High school diploma or GED	71	60	33	87	87	56
Vocational/technical or some college	76	63	35	91	90	60
College graduate	75	63	37	94	88	54
Educational Attainment of Child's
Less than high school	68	63	38	86	82	55
High school diploma or GED	70	59	37	87	85	56
Vocational/technical or some college	75	63	37	90	87	52
College graduate	77	62	34	95	90	58
Employment Status of Child's Mother
Not in labor force	78	67	44	86	82	57
Looking for work	49	31	21	81	80	59
Working	71	60	32	89	88	54
Employment Status of Child's Father in Household
Not in labor force	61	46	36	81	75	52
Looking for work	60	41	36	86	77	68
Working	74	62	36	90	87	55
1Estimates for whites and blacks exclude Hispanics of those races. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. Source: Estimates supplied by Sandra Hofferth, Univeristy of Maryland, based on data from the 1997 Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development Supplement

By Gender. Mothers are more likely than fathers to report showing their children warmth across all three behaviors. Eighty-seven percent of mothers compared to 73 percent of fathers hug or show physical affection to their child at least once a day. Eighty-five percent of mothers and 62 percent of fathers tell their child that they love him or her at least once a day. Though the percentage of mothers and fathers who tell their child that they appreciate something he or she did is lower than the previous two behaviors, the difference between mothers and fathers is found here as well (55 percent and 37 percent, respectively).

By Race and Hispanic Origin. White, non-Hispanic mothers were more likely than Hispanic and black, non-Hispanic mothers to report daily hugging and telling their child that he or she is loved. For example, 93 percent of white, non-Hispanic mothers report hugging their child at least once a day, compared to 81 percent of Hispanic mothers and 75 percent of black, non-Hispanic mothers. Among fathers, more white, non-Hispanics and Hispanics report daily hugging (76 percent and 73 percent, respectively) than do black, non-Hispanics (56 percent). White, non-Hispanic and Hispanic fathers (65 percent and 63 percent, respectively) are also more likely than black, non-Hispanic fathers (45 percent) to tell their child he or she is loved. The percentage of parents reporting that they told their child that they appreciated something he or she did varied little across these groups for mothers or fathers.

By Age of Child. Overall, displays of warmth by both mothers and fathers decrease with the increased age of the child for all three behaviors. For example, over 90 percent of mothers and fathers report hugging children under the age of 3 on a daily basis, compared to 74 percent for mothers and 50 percent for fathers of children ages 10 to 12 (see Figure P10.1).

By Educational Attainment. For all three behaviors, mothers with less than a high school education are less likely to show their child warmth than are parents with higher levels of educational attainment. For example, 75 percent of mothers with less than a high school education hug or show physical affection to their child at least once a day, compared to 87 percent of mothers with a high school diploma, 91 percent of mothers with some college, and 94 percent of mothers with college degrees. Among fathers, educational attainment generally did not seem to affect the amount of warmth and affection directed to children. However, more college-educated fathers (77 percent) report hugging their child daily than do fathers with less than a high school education (68 percent) or fathers with a high school diploma (70 percent).

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P11 - Conflict Between Parents and Adolescents

Conflict between parents and youth is a routine aspect of family life, and it should be understood as a process that can have both positive and negative effects for the youth and the entire family. ⁽⁵²⁾ As they become older, adolescents often show a greater willingness to openly disagree with parents, feel less close, and question parental authority. ⁽⁵³⁾ Conflict with parents is a normal part of the development process for adolescents, however, and can be positive within the context of a warm and supportive parent-child relationship. ⁽⁵⁴⁾

Data from the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) are used to assess parent-adolescent conflict. Parents were asked to report the frequency with which they had disagreements in the last 12 months with their adolescent (ages 12-18) regarding: 1) his or her friends; and 2) how late the child stays out at night (refer to Table P11.1 and P11.2).

By Gender. The overall frequency of disagreement between parents and adolescents on these subjects is relatively modest, with only 10 percent of fathers and 11 percent of mothers reporting disagreements once a week or more often about staying out too late (see Figure P11.2). Eight percent of fathers and 10 percent of mothers reported disagreements about the youth's friends at that level.

Figure P11.1
Percentage of parents that report disagreements between parents and adolescents
regarding friends, by frequency of disagreements: 1988

By Family Structure. Disagreements over staying out late are more common in single-parent families than in two-parent families. Twenty-two percent of mothers in single-parent families reported disagreeing once per week or more on this topic compared to 8 percent of mothers in two-parent families. The percentages for fathers are 20 percent and 9 percent, respectively.

Figure P11.2
Percentage of parents that report disagreements between
parents and adolescents regarding staying out late, by frequency of disagreements: 1988

Table P11.1
Percentage of parents who had open disagreements with their child age 12 to 18 in the last 12 months
about his or her friends, by frequency of disagreement: 1988

	Fathers			Mothers
	Monthly or Less Often	About Once a Week	Several Times a Week or More	Monthly or Less Often	About Once a Week	Several Times a Week or More
Total	92	7	1	89	8	2
Race and Hispanic Origin1
White non-Hispanic	93	6	1	91	8	2
Black non-Hispanic	91	8	2	84	12	4
Hispanic	93	8	0	86	11	3
Asian/Pacific Islander	*	*	*	*	*	*
American Indian/Alaskan Native	*	*	*	*	*	*
Poverty Status
Poor (0 to 99% poverty)	92	8	0	87	10	4
Extreme poverty (at 50% or less)	86	14	0	84	10	6
Nonpoor	93	6	1	90	8	2
100% to 199% of poverty	96	3	1	89	9	2
200% to 299% of poverty	86	13	1	86	10	4
300% or more of poverty	94	5	1	92	7	1
Family Structure
Two parents	92	6	1	92	7	1
Single parent	93	7	0	84	12	4
Age of Parent
18 to 24 years old	*	*	*	*	*	*
25 to 44 years old	91	9	1	89	9	2
45 year and older	93	4	2	91	7	2
Educational Attainment
Less than high school	82	13	5	85	11	4
High school diploma or GED	94	6	0	88	9	3
Vocational/technical or some college	95	5	0	92	7	0
College graduate	93	6	1	94	4	2
Employment Status
Not in labor force	87	6	7	90	8	2
Looking for work	*	*	*	92	7	2
Less than 35 hours per week	90	10	0	92	8	1
35 hours or more per week	93	7	1	88	9	3
Note: Response categories were combined as follows: 'Monthly or less often' reflects responses of "never cr rarely" and "once a month or less"; 'About once a week' reflects responses of "several times a month" and "about once a week"; and'Several times a week or more' reflects responses of "several times a week" and "once a day." 1Estimates for all race categories exclude Hispanics of those races. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. * = This information has been suppressed due to an insufficient number of cases. Source: Estimates supplied by R. Day, School of Family Life, Brigham Young University, based on data from the 1988 National Survey of Families and Households.

Table P11.2
Percentage of parents who had open disagreements with their child age 12 to 18
in the last 12 months about how late children stay out at night, by frequency of disagreement: 1988

	Fathers			Mothers
	Monthly or Less Often	About Once a Week	Several Times a Week or More	Monthly or Less Often	About Once a Week	Several Times a Week or More
Total	90	8	2	88	9	2
Race and Hispanic Origin1
White non-Hispanic	89	9	2	90	8	2
Black non-Hispanic	91	9	0	82	13	5
Hispanic	97	3	0	89	9	1
Asian/Pacific Islander	*	*	*	*	*	*
American Indian/Alaskan Native	*	*	*	*	*	*
Poverty Status
Poor (0 to 99% poverty)	96	4	0	83	14	3
Extreme poverty (at 50% or less)	93	7	0	77	18	5
Nonpoor	90	9	1	90	8	2
100% to 199% of poverty	96	4	0	89	9	2
200% to 299% of poverty	82	15	3	89	8	3
300% or more of poverty	91	9	1	90	8	2
Family Structure
Two parents	91	8	2	92	7	1
Single parent	80	20	0	78	17	5
Age of Parent
18 to 24 years old	*	*	*	*	*	*
25 to 44 years old	89	9	2	87	10	3
45 years and older	91	7	1	93	6	1
Educational Attainment
Less than high school	83	12	5	86	12	2
High school diploma or GED	89	10	1	89	9	3
Vocational/technical or some college	90	7	3	86	11	3
College graduate	93	6	1	97	3	0
Employment Status
Not in labor force	91	2	7	92	5	3
Looking for work	*	*	*	84	15	2
Less than 35 hours per week	95	0	5	90	8	1
35 hours or more per week	89	9	1	87	11	3
Note: Response categories were combined as follows: 'Monthly or less often' reflects responses of "never cr rarely" and "once a month or less"; 'About once a week' reflects responses of "several times a month" and "about once a week"; and'Several times a week or more' reflects responses of "several times a week" and "once a day." 1Estimates for all race categories exclude Hispanics of those races. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. * = This information has been suppressed due to an insufficient number of cases. Source: Estimates supplied by R. Day, School of Family Life, Brigham Young University, based on data from the 1988 National Survey of Families and Households.

By Educational Attainment. Parents who have graduated from college reported a lower level of disagreement regarding the adolescent's friends and staying out late than parents with less than a high school education. For example, among those with a college degree, 6 percent of mothers and 7 percent of fathers reported disagreeing once per week or more about friends, compared to 15 percent of mothers and 18 percent of fathers with less than a high school education (refer to Table P11.1). Similar differences exist for disagreements over staying out late (refer to Table P11.2).

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P12 - Incidence of Harsh Punishment, Violence, or Abuse

In 1999, approximately 826,000 children were identified as victims of substantiated (i.e.,. confirmed) or indicated (i.e.,. reported) abuse or neglect. ⁽⁵⁵⁾ Research shows that abused children lag behind nonabused children in learning new cognitive and social skills and have shown delayed academic achievement. ⁽⁵⁶⁾ Current findings indicate that children who are hit repeatedly and with more frequency develop behavior problems, especially aggression, and have more emotional and mental health problems, particularly with depression, and are more likely to experience future family violence. ⁽⁵⁷⁾, ⁽⁵⁸⁾, ⁽⁵⁹⁾ Childhood abuse predicts higher rates of criminality and arrests for violent offenses in adolescence and adulthood. ⁽⁶⁰⁾

The incidence of harsh punishment and physical abuse is based on data from a 1995 Gallup Survey on Disciplining Children in America. ⁽⁶¹⁾ The rates are derived from the Physical Abuse subscale on the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) ⁽⁶²⁾ which includes a number of items assessing physical abuse. Parents responded either "ever" or "never" when asked if they had used any of the following forms of physical abuse: hitting child with fist or kicking, throwing child or knocking them down, beating up child, hitting child with hard objects not on the bottom, choking child, burning child, or using a knife or gun on child (refer to Table P12.1).

By Gender. Few parents report ever having physically abused their children: 6 percent among mothers and 3 percent among fathers (see Figure P12.1).

Figure P12.1
Percentage of fathers and mothers
who have ever physically abused their child: 1995

Table P12.1
Percentage of parents who reported ever physically abusing their child: 1995

	Fathers	Mothers
Total	3	6
Race and Hispanic Origin1
White non-Hispanic	2	4
Black non-Hispanic	7	18
Hispanic	5	4
Other
Annual Household Income
Less than $20,000 per year	3	10
$20,000 to $49,999 per year	3	4
$50,000 or more per year	2	4
Marital Status
Currently married	2	3
Not currently married	6	10
Family Structure
Two parents	2	4
Single parent	7	9
Age of Respondent
18 to 24 years old		8
25 to 44 years old	2	7
45 to 72 years old	5	1
Educational Attainment
Less than high school	0	9
High school diploma or GED	3	7
Vocationalltechnical or some college	2	6
College graduate	3	3
Employment Status
Not in labor force	na	na
Looking for work	na	na
Less than 35 hours per week	na	na
35 hours or more per week	na	na
Note: Physical abuse measured by parent report of ever doing any of the following: hitting with fist or kicking child, throwing or knocking child down, beating up child, or hitting with a hard object on some other part of the body besides the bottom, choking child, burning child, or using a knife or gun on child. 1Estimates for all race categories exclude Hispanics of those races. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. na = data not available * = This information has been suppressed due to an insufficient number of cases. Source: Estimates calculated by Child Trends based on analyses of the 1995 Gallup Child Abuse Survey.

By Race and Hispanic Origin. Eighteen percent of black, non-Hispanic mothers report having ever physically abused their child, as compared to 4 percent of White, non-Hispanic mothers and 4 percent of Hispanic mothers. Differences among fathers are modest and not statistically significant.

By Annual Household Income. Mothers living in a household with less than $20,000 in income a year are more likely to report physically abusing their child (10 percent) than are mothers in households with over $20,000 in annual income (4 percent). Differences among fathers are not statistically significant.

By Family Structure. Children, while generally unlikely to be abused, are more likely to be physically abused by their mothers in single-parent families than in two-parent families. Nine percent of mothers in single-parent families report ever physically abusing their child compared to 4 percent of mothers in two-parent families. The differences between fathers in single- and two-parent families were similar in magnitude, but not statistically significant.

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P13 - Direct Care of Pre-school Children by Fathers

Child care is a particularly relevant issue in contemporary America. Many mothers no longer fulfill the traditional primary caregiver role; they populate the work force in increasingly high numbers and take significantly shorter leaves from employment following the birth of a child. ⁽⁶³⁾

Research shows that, nationally, fathers are spending more time providing care for children while mothers are engaged outside of the home. ^{(64), (65)} This phenomenon seems promising, as father-child relations may have significant effects on certain positive child outcomes (e.g. social competence, ⁽⁶⁶⁾ academic success, ⁽⁶⁷⁾ and personality development ⁽⁶⁸⁾) that are distinct from the effects of mother-child relations.

Data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), 1996, are used to calculate the percentage of children ages 0 to 5 whose fathers provide primary care for them while their mothers are working, looking for work or attending school. ⁽⁶⁹⁾ In the surveys, mothers were asked for child care information, including usage of a particular type of care arrangement (yes/no), and number of hours each type of care was used. Such questions were asked for eleven types of child care arrangements (e.g., father, grandparent, day care center, nursery/preschool, Head Start program) for up to five children ages 0 to 5. ⁽⁷⁰⁾ If a respondent reported the most hours for using father care among all types of arrangements, father care was considered the "primary arrangement" ⁽⁷¹⁾ (refer to Table P13.1).

By Gender. In 1996, approximately 18 percent of children ages 0 to 5 had their fathers as their primary caregivers while their mothers were working, attending school, or looking for work. Nineteen percent of preschool boys and 18 percent of preschool girls had their fathers as primary caregivers in 1996.

By Race and Hispanic Origin of Mother. White, non-Hispanic mothers (21 percent) are more likely than are black, non-Hispanic (10 percent) or Hispanic (15 percent) mothers to rely on preschoolers' fathers for providing primary care while they are at work, school, or looking for work. Hispanic mothers are also more likely than black non-Hispanic mothers to report fathers as primary caregivers of their preschoolers.

By Poverty Status. Mothers who are living at or below the poverty threshold are less likely than mothers who are not poor to report fathers as primary caregivers of their preschoolers. For example, 23 percent of nonpoor mothers report fathers as primary caregivers, compared to 18 percent of poor mothers.

By Family Structure. ⁽⁷²⁾ Preschoolers in two-parent families are far more likely than children in single mother households to have their father as their primary caregiver (23 percent compared to 6 percent).

Figure P13.1
Percentage of preschoolers whose fathers are their primary care giver,
by father's educational attainment: 1996

Table P13.1
Percentage of children ages 0 to 5 whose father is the primary care provider
while mother is working, looking for work, or attending school: 1996 ^1,2

	Boys	Girls	All Children
Total	19	18	18
Race and Hispanic Origin 3
White non-Hispanic	22	20	21
Black non-Hispanic	11	10	10
Hispanic	16	15	15
Asian/Pacific Islander	*	*	*
American Indian/Alaskan Native	*	*	*
Poverty Status
Poor (0 to 99% poverty)	20	15	18
Extreme poverty (at 50% or less)	16	12	14
Nonpoor
100% to 199% of poverty	24	21	23
200% to 299% of poverty	24	23	23
300% or more of poverty	13	13	13
Family Structure
Two parents	23	22	23
Both biological and/or adoptive	23	22	23
Mother only	5	6	6
Father only	*	*	*
Other	0	*	2
Educational Attainment of Child's Mother in Household
Less than high school	15	17	16
High school diploma or GED	20	18	19
Vocational/technical or some college	20	21	21
College graduate	20	17	18
Educational Attainment of Child's Father in Household
Less than high school	26	29	27
High school diploma or GED	23	25	24
Vocational/technical or some college	27	21	24
College graduate	21	17	18
1.1996 SIPP, Wave 4, had a considerable number of imputed data. Imputed cases are excluded from the calculation of the percentages. 2.All demographic information is based on Wave 2 of 1996 SIPP data. Since the information on child care was collected during the Wave 4, there is an 8 months difference between the demographic data and child care data. In particular, residential status of parents may have changed between the two waves but households were classified into two-parent families or single-parent families based on the residential status of parents at Wave 2. 3 Estimates for all race categories exclude Hispanics of those races. Persons of Hispanic origin maybe of any race. * = This information has been suppressed due to an insufficient number of cases. Source: Estimates supplied by S.Eshleman Systems Management, based on data from the 1996 Survey of Income Program Participation, Wave 4 - Topical Module 4

By Educational Attainment of Father. Fathers with college degrees are less likely than those with any other level of educational attainment to provide primary care for their child (see Figure P13.1). For example, in 1996, 27 percent of fathers with less than a high school education were primary caregivers to their preschoolers, compared to 18 percent of college-educated fathers. Fathers with high school or some college-level training were also more likely than college-educated fathers to be children's primary caregivers when mothers were at school or working (24 percent, respectively). The likelihood of fathers being primary caregivers to their preschoolers does not vary by mothers' level of educational attainment.

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P14 - Time Spent with Children

The time that parents and children spend together is instrumental in the social and intellectual development of the child. ^{(73), (74)} It is during this time that children benefit from important emotional supports and exposure to parental values and behavior.

On average, mothers occupy the majority of the total parental hours spent in direct care in two-parent families. ⁽⁷⁵⁾ Nonetheless, children who spend a substantial amount of time with their fathers benefit greatly. Research finds that children whose fathers assumed 40 percent or more of the family's care tasks had greater positive outcomes (e.g., better performance on tests and cognitive achievement), than those children whose fathers were less involved. ⁽⁷⁶⁾ Overall, studies show that involvement by both parents yields the most positive effects on the development of children. ⁽⁷⁷⁾

Data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics - Child Development Supplement, 1997 are used to calculate the average daily time children under age 13 spend with their parents doing some type of activity (refer to Table P14.1). The data are presented for two-parent families and for single-parent families.

By Gender. Children spend more time with their mothers than with their fathers. In two-parent families, the average daily time spent with a mother is 2 hours and 21 minutes, and 1 hour and 46 minutes with fathers. In single-parent families, children spend about one and a quarter hours daily with mothers, compared to less than half an hour with fathers.

By Family Structure. Children in two-parent families spend far more time with their parents than do those in single-parent families (see Figure P14.1). The average time spent with fathers is four times greater for children in two-parent families than for those in single-parent families, which are often headed by mothers (1 hour and 46 minutes compared to 25 minutes). The average time spent with mothers is almost twice as high for children in two-parent families as for those in single-parent families (2 hours and 21 minutes compared to 1 hour and 16 minutes).

By Race and Hispanic Origin. Black, non-Hispanic children spend less time with their mothers and fathers than parents from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. This is the case for children in two-parent and single-parent families. For example, for children in two-parent families the average daily time spent by black, non-Hispanic children with their fathers was an hour and 11 minutes, compared to slightly more than an hour and 45 minutes for white, non-Hispanic and Hispanic children, and about 2 hours for children of other racial/ethnic backgrounds.

Figure P14.1
Average daily time children under age 13 spend with their mothers and fathers
in an activity, by family structure: 1997

Table P14.1
Average daily time in hours children under age 13 are engaged in some activity with parents: 1997

	Two-Parent Families		Single-Parent Families
	Fathers	Mothers	Fathers	Mothers
Total	1:46	2:21	0:25	1:16
Race and Hispanic Origin1
White non-Hispanic	1:48	2:21	0:31	1:13
Black non-Hispanic	1:11	1:55	0:17	1:12
Hispanic	1:46	2:32	0:32	2:09
Other	2:06	2:33	0:24	1:06
Poverty Status
Poor (0 to 99% poverty)	1:28	2:23	0:26	1:23
Extreme poverty (at 50% or less)	1:27	2:27	0:29	1:26
Nonpoor
100% to 199% of poverty	1:48	2:26	0:25	1:09
200% to 299% of poverty	1:41	2:15	0:15	1:15
300% or more of poverty	1:51	2:21	0:30	1:09
Age of Child
0 to 2 years old	2:07	3:14	0:45	2:16
3 to 5 years old	1:53	2:29	0:24	1:34
6 to 9 years old	1:36	2:04	0:18	0:57
10 to 12 years old	1:30	1:45	0:20	0:44
Age of Parent in Household
18 to 24 years old	2:19	3:07	*	1:56
25 to 44 years old	1:49	2:19	*	1:10
45 to 65 years old	1:21	1:57	*	0:55
Educational Attainment of Parent in Household
Less than high school	1:38	2:22	*	1:10
High school diploma or GED	1:45	2:17	*	1:15
Vocational/technical or some college	1:42	2:20	*	1:14
College graduate	1:52	2:27	*	1:16
Employment Status of Parent in Household
Not in labor force	1:25	2:34	*	1:42
Looking for work	1:41	1:51	*	1:39
Less than 35 hours per week	1:42	2:16	*	1:14
35 hours or more per week	1:48	2:13	*	0:55
1.Estimates for whites and blacks exclude Hispanics of those races. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. * = This information has been suppressed due to an insufficient number of cases. Source: Estimates supplied by J. Sandberg, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, based on data from the 1997 Panel Study of Income Dynamics- Child Development Supplement.

By Poverty Status. Poor children in two-parent families spend less time with their fathers than do those in two-parent families with relatively high incomes. The average time spent per day with fathers was about an hour and a half for poor children compared to an hour and 51 minutes for those in families with incomes at 3 times the poverty level. By contrast, The time children spend with mothers in single- and two-parent families does not differ by their poverty status. ⁽⁷⁸⁾

By Educational Attainment. Children in two-parent families whose fathers have a college degree spend more time with their fathers than those whose fathers have less than a high school education (an hour and 52 minutes compared to an hour and 38 minutes). The time spent by children with mothers in single- or two-parent families does not substantially differ by the level of mother's educational attainment. ⁽⁷⁹⁾

By Employment Status. Children in two-parent families with mothers who are not in the labor force spend more time with their mothers (slightly more than 2 hours and a half) than those with mothers working part-time or full-time (about 2 hours and 15 minutes) or mothers looking for work (an hour and 51 minutes). Time spent with fathers in two-parent families does not vary significantly by fathers employment status. Among children in single-parent families, those with mothers who work either part-time or full-time spend substantially less time with their mothers than those with mothers who are not in the labor force or who are looking for work. ⁽⁸⁰⁾

By Age of Child. As children get older they spend less time with their parents. For example, children in two-parent families spend 3 hours and 14 minutes per day with their mother at ages 0 to 2, compared to an hour and 45 minutes by ages 9 to 12. Time with father in two-parent families decreases from two hours and 7 minutes at ages 0 to 2 to one and one-half hours by ages 9 to 12. (see Figure P14.2). A similar pattern emerges for children in single-parent families.

Figure P14.2
Average daily time children under age 13 in two-parent families
spend with mothers and fathers in an activity,
by age of child: 1997

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P15 - Parents' Activities with Children

Parents' participation in activities with their children is an important part of healthy cognitive, social, and emotional development. The range of activities in which children engage with their parents can span from the academic (e.g., reading books, helping with homework), to sports and games, to simply going to the store or movies. Research suggests that parent-child literacy activities in the home improve children's language skills and their interest in books, and enhance parent's self-esteem and sense of efficacy. ⁽⁸¹⁾, ⁽⁸²⁾ In addition, children who are high academic achievers tend to have parents who use more specific strategies to help their children with their schoolwork and who have more supportive conversations with them. ⁽⁸³⁾ Similarly, higher levels of parent-child number-related activities at home (e.g., helping with math homework, counting exercises) improved young children's performance on tests of early mathematical ability. ⁽⁸⁴⁾ Fathers' participation in play activities with their children especially contributes to the formation of a secure father-child relationship. ⁽⁸⁵⁾

In order to track the frequency that parents engage in various activities with their children, four questions from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics - Child Development Supplement (PSID-CDS) are examined. Parents of children ages 3 to 12 were asked to report how often they engaged in the following activities with their child: 1) played a board game, card game, or did puzzles; 2) looked at books; 3) talked about family; or 4) played sports or did outdoor activities. These items were all asked in 1997 (refer to Table P15.1).

Figure P15.1
Percentage of mothers and fathers of children ages 3 to 12
participating in various activities
with their children at least once a week: 1997

Table P15.1
Percentage of parents of children ages 3 to 12 who engaged in the following activities
with their child(ren) at least once a week: 1997

	Fathers				Mothers
	Played board games, puzzles	Looked at books	Talked about family	Played sports, outdoor activities	Played board games, puzzles	Looked at books	Talked about family	Played sports, outdoor activities
Total	33	39	72	68	44	55	81	54
Race and Hispanic Origin1
White non-Hispanic	33	40	72	70	49	60	84	60
Black non-Hispanic	37	45	75	67	45	50	80	46
Hispanic	26	26	74	63	26	40	75	42
Other	37	44	66	50	31	54	64	39
Poverty Status
Poor (0 to 99% poverty)	40	26	70	67	39	52	82	44
Extreme poverty (at 50% or less)	56	37	71	78	39	49	75	38
Nonpoor	32	40	72	68	45	56	81	56
100% to 199% of poverty	32	41	69	60	42	53	77	48
200% to 299% of poverty	39	41	76	65	45	52	81	53
300% or more of poverty	29	40	73	73	47	60	84	62
Family Structure
Two parents	33	39	72	68	43	56	81	54
Both biological and/or adoptive	33	40	74	70	44	57	81	55
Mother only	*	*	*	*	46	54	83	53
Age of Child
3 to 5 years old	43	60	79	81	55	79	84	71
6 to 9 years old	33	40	74	68	47	65	83	52
10 to 12 years old	25	18	65	57	30	24	77	39
Age of Child's Mother in Household
18 to 24 years old			83		61	76	71	55
25 to 44 years old	32	39	72	69	44	56	82	54
45 to 65 years old	31	31	67	51	30	35	72	44
Age of Child's Father in Household
18 to 24 years old								'
25 to 44 years old	35	40	73	71	44	58	81	55
45 to 65 years old	25	34	68	56	39	46	78	45
Educational Attainment of Child's Mother in Household
Less than high school	30	31	72	60	39	39	70	37
High school diploma or GED	36	39	71	68	46	56	83	53
Vocational/technical or some college	26	35	71	71	45	58	84	59
College graduate	36	46	76	70	45	65	86	62
Educational Attainment of Child's Father in Household
Less than high school	26	27	68	60	34	49	75	44
High school diploma or GED	36	42	71	67	46	54	78	52
Vocational/technical or some college	32	34	74	72	42	54	80	53
College graduate	35	45	76	72	49	65	87	63
Employment Status of Child's Mother in Household
Not in labor force	38	46	78	72	45	56	80	52
Looking for work	25	17	46	44	39	50	63	40
Working	31	36	71	68	44	56	83	56
Employment Status of Child's Father in Household
Not in labor force	37	42	82	48	28	49	75	28
Looking for work			60		37	43	72	26
Working	33	39	73	70	45	57	81	56
Note: Scores based on two categories: (A)'not in thepast month' or'1 or 2 times in the past month', and (B)'about once a week', 'several times a week', or 'every day. 'Estimates for whites and blacks exclude Hispanics of those races. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. * = This information has been suppressed due to an insufficient number of cases. Source: Estimates supplied by Sandra Hofferth, Univeristy of Maryland, based on data from the 1997 Panel Study of Income Dynamics - Child Development Supplement

By Gender. Mothers are generally more likely to engage in activities with their children than are fathers, though there are domains in which fathers participate more frequently. Mothers are more likely than fathers to play board games, cards, or puzzles with their children; look at books with their children; and have conversations with their children about the family at least once a week (see Figure P15.1). Fathers are more likely than mothers to play sports or do outdoor activities with their children at least once a week.

By Age of Child. Parents tend to spend more time in activities with their younger children than with their older children. For example, more fathers of children ages 3 to 5 play sports and outdoor activities with their children at least once a week (81 percent) than do fathers of children ages 6 to 9 (68 percent) or 10 to 12 (57 percent). Similarly, more mothers of children ages 3 to 5 play board games, cards, or puzzles with their children at least once a week (55 percent) than do mothers of children ages 6 to 9 (47 percent) or 10 to 12 (30 percent). This same pattern holds true for parents' book reading activities with children. For talk about the family, fewer parents have conversations with their 10- to 12-year-old children than with younger children ages 3 to 9.

By Educational Attainment. Mothers who have a high school education or equivalent are more likely to engage in activities with their children than are mothers who have less than a high school education. This pattern was true of fathers also, but only for two of the four activities: looking at books and playing games. For example, 56 percent of mothers (and 42 percent of fathers) who attained a high school diploma or equivalent looked at books with their children at least once a week, compared to 39 percent of mothers (and 27 percent of fathers) with less than a high school education. Fathers who are college graduates are more likely to play sports (72 percent) and talk about the family (76 percent) with their children than are fathers with less than a high school education (60 and 68 percent, respectively).

By Race and Hispanic Origin. Among fathers, activities with children do not seem to vary across racial/ethnic groups. For example, Hispanic fathers are just as likely as white and black, non-Hispanic fathers to play games, talk about their family, and play sports or outdoor activities with their children. There is more variation among mothers of different racial/ethnic backgrounds, however. Hispanic mothers are less likely than white, non-Hispanic mothers to engage in activities such as playing games, looking at books, talking about the family, and playing sports with their children. For example, only 40 percent of Hispanic mothers looked at books with their children, compared to 60 percent of white, non-Hispanic mothers. Hispanic mothers are also less likely than black, non-Hispanic mothers to play games or look at books with their children. Hispanic fathers are less likely than white and black non-Hispanic fathers to look at books with their children (26 percent, compared to 40 and 45 percent, respectively).

By Family Structure. Interestingly, there is no difference between single mothers and mothers in two-parent households in the degree to which mothers engage in activities such as playing games, looking at books, talking about family, or playing sports with their children. There is insufficient data to report on single father families.

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P16 - Religious Activities With Children

For many, a key component of fostering moral and spiritual guidance in children and youth is participation in religious activities (e.g. attending church, synagogue, mosque, or temple) on a regular basis. Religiosity has been found to be positively related to volunteering, ⁽⁸⁶⁾ positive mother-child relationships, ⁽⁸⁷⁾ openness, and friendliness. ⁽⁸⁸⁾ Research suggests that a significant portion of men experience important changes in external behaviors (e.g., church attendance) and commitment to religion after becoming fathers. ⁽⁸⁹⁾ However, evidence suggests that mothers' personal religious practices are a more powerful predictor of children's religiosity than are those of their fathers. ⁽⁹⁰⁾ Higher parental religiosity is associated with more cohesive family relationships, lower levels of interparental conflict, and fewer behavior problems among children. ⁽⁹¹⁾

In order to assess the extent to which adolescents participated in religious activities with their parents, a question from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) is examined. Adolescents in grades 7 through 12 in the 1994 and 1995 (Wave I) and in grades 8-12 in 1996 (Wave II) were asked to report if they had gone to a church-related event with their parent in the last four weeks (refer to Table P16.1).

Figure P16.1.
Percentage of students in grades 8-12 who report
having gone to a church-related event with their parent in the last 4 weeks: 1996

By Gender. Adolescents are more likely to attend religious activities with their mothers than with their fathers, regardless of residential status. For instance, in 1996, 39 percent of girls attended a church-related event with their resident mother compared to 29 percent who attended an event with their resident father. In addition, a significantly larger percentage of girls attended religious activities with their nonresident mothers (13 percent) than with their nonresident fathers (9 percent). A similar pattern is found for boys' activities with their mothers and fathers. For example, 34 percent of boys attended events with resident mothers compared to 28 percent who attended with resident fathers (see Figure P16.1).

By Parental Residence Status. Adolescents are far more likely to attend religious activities with resident parents than with nonresident parents (seeFigure P16.1). For example, in 1996, 39 percent of girls attended a church-related event with their resident mother, whereas only 13 percent of girls attended such events with their nonresident mother.

By Age of Child. Younger adolescents are somewhat more likely to engage in religious activities with their resident parents than are older adolescents. In 1996, 38 percent of boys and 43 percent of girls under age 15 attended a religious activity with their resident mothers in a four-week period. Thirty-three percent of boys and 37 percent of girls age 15 and older did so.

By Education Attainment. In general, children of college graduates are more likely to attend religious activities with their parents than are children of less well-educated parents. For example, in 1996, 39 percent of adolescent boys who had at least one parent with a college degree attended a church-related event with their resident father. Only 18 percent of boys whose most educated parent had only a high school diploma or equivalent attended religious activities with their resident father. A similar pattern emerges for girls' religious activities with their parents, regardless of residential status. However, this pattern does not hold true for nonresident fathers and their sons.

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P17 - Parental Participation in Child's School Activities

Studies report that children whose parents are involved in their schooling are more likely to earn high grades and enjoy school than children whose parents are not involved in their children's schooling. This result holds for students in both elementary and secondary school. ⁽⁹²⁾, ⁽⁹³⁾ Children of involved parents are also more likely to have higher educational aspirations and motivation to achieve. ⁽⁹⁴⁾ In addition, parent involvement in school is related to fewer student suspensions and expulsions, and higher levels of student participation in extracurricular activities. Data also suggest that schools that welcome parental involvement are more likely to have highly involved parents. ⁽⁹⁵⁾

To assess parental participation in their child's school, data from the National Household Education Survey Program (NHES) were examined. The question asked if parents of children ages 3 to 17 participated in any or all of the following activities: a general school meeting, parent-teacher conference, class event, and volunteering at school. Parents who responded "yes" to 3 or 4 of the activities were categorized as "highly involved." This question was asked in 1996 and 1999 (refer to Table 17.1).

Figure P17.1
Percentage of fathers and mothers
who are highly involved in their child's school, by age of child: 1999

By Gender. Mothers are much more likely to be highly involved (i.e., participate in three or four of the following school activities: general school meeting, parent-teacher conference, class event, or volunteering at school) in their children's school than are fathers, regardless of the age of the child. For example, in 1999, among parents of 6- to 11-year-olds, 65 percent of mothers and 33 percent of fathers were highly involved in their children's school.

By Age of Child. Parents are more likely to be highly involved in their children's school when their children are between the ages of 6 to 11 than when they are older (see Figure P17.1). In 1999, 33 percent of fathers of 6- to 11-year-olds were highly involved as compared to 25 percent of fathers of 12- to 17-year-olds. Among mothers, the gap was even larger. In 1999, 65 percent of mothers of 6- to 11-year-olds were highly involved, while only 41 percent of mothers of 12- to 17-year-olds were highly involved.

By Educational Attainment. Better educated parents are generally more likely to be highly involved than are less educated parents. In 1999, 10 percent of fathers of 6- to 11-year-olds with less than a high school education were highly involved, compared to 25 percent of high school graduates, and 44 percent of college graduates. Similarly, for children ages 6 to 11, 42 percent of mothers with less than a high school education were highly involved, compared to 78 percent of mothers with a college degree.

By Age of Parent. In 1999, the youngest parents (ages 18 to 24) were less likely to be highly involved in their children's schools than were older parents. For example, 6 percent of fathers ages 18 to 24 were highly involved in their 6- to 11-year-olds' schools compared to 32 percent of fathers ages 25 to 44 and 35 percent of fathers ages 45 to 65. This pattern held true for mothers and fathers of 3- to 5-year-olds and 6- to 11-year olds in 1999.

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P18 - Encouragement of Child(ren)'s School Achievement

Children's academic achievement, including their competitiveness and drive to succeed, is largely influenced by their experience at home. For example, children whose parents encourage them and stimulate their intellect through enriching materials at home are more likely to have higher educational aspirations. ⁽⁹⁶⁾ In addition, involvement of parents in their child's education, at home and in school, serves as a form of social capital for that child, improving the quality and density of the relationships that he or she can utilize. ⁽⁹⁷⁾ Based on existing research, it has been hypothesized that maternal involvement is beneficial for the social and emotional adjustment of children to school, and that the involvement of fathers, while often less frequent but more engaged, is critical for academic achievement. ⁽⁹⁸⁾ Most research uses parental education and income as indicators of a child's educational success, but there are other ways parents influence a child's academic success, such as quality parental involvement in school-related activities.

Data from the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) is presented. Three variables are examined: 1) the number of days in a typical week that the parent talks with his/her child about the things she/he has learned in school; 2) the number of days in a typical week the parent talks with his/her child about school activities or events; and 3) the number of days in a typical week the parent checks whether his/her child did homework or other school assignments. These items were all asked in 1992 ⁽⁹⁹⁾ (refer to Table P18.1).

Figure P18.1
Number of days per week mothers and fathers talk about
school-related events with their child: 1992

By Gender. Mothers appear to be more likely than fathers to talk with their child about school-related events and about things that he or she has learned in school. Mothers talk to their child about these topics about 4.3 days during the week compared to fathers, who do so about three and a half days a week. Mothers are also more likely than fathers to check on whether or not their child has done homework or other school assignments (see Figure P18.1).

By Age of Parent. Generally, younger mothers and fathers spend more time talking to their children about school and checking on their assignments than do older parents. For example, fathers ages 25 to 44 talk with their child about things they learned in school about 3.6 days a week, and fathers ages 45 and older talk about these things 3 days a week.

By Educational Attainment. Parents with a college degree generally talk with their child about school more frequently than parents without a high school education. This difference is particularly pronounced among fathers. Fathers with a college degree talk with their child about school activities 4.2 days a week, and about the things she or he has learned in school about 3.7 days a week, which is a day more a week than fathers with less than a high school education (3 days and 2.7 days, respectively).

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P19 - Child Custody Arrangements

Child custody can most easily be divided into two categories: legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody refers to "the parental right to make major decisions regarding the child's health, education and welfare," while physical custody refers exclusively to the living arrangements of the child. ⁽¹⁰⁰⁾ These privileges can be awarded to either or both parents. Sole custody is the most common arrangement currently in the United States, and is most often awarded to the mother. Joint custody is a less common but increasingly popular arrangement, especially in states that encourage its application. Joint physical custody, in which the child spends roughly 25 or more of his or her time at each parent's home, ⁽¹⁰¹⁾ was the chosen arrangement in over 20 percent of post-divorce families in the late 1990's. ⁽¹⁰²⁾ Other forms of custody exist but are awarded rather infrequently compared to sole and joint arrangements. Split custody, which allows "one or more children [to] live with one parent while the remaining live with the other parent," is uncommon because courts discourage the separation of siblings. ⁽¹⁰³⁾ Divided, or alternating, custody is similarly uncommon. This arrangement alternately gives each parent full custody of the child over long periods of time, often of one to two years. Each parent maintains visiting rights during their off-custody period. ⁽¹⁰⁴⁾

Theoretically, all types of custody arrangements have the potential to be beneficial for the child. Several studies indicate that it is ultimately the quality of parent-child contact within these arrangements that determine child outcomes. ⁽¹⁰⁵⁾ See indicators on "Contact with Nonresident Parent" and "Parental Time with Children" for further discussion of the influences of parental contact on child well-being.

Data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), April Supplement, 1994, 1996, and 1998 are used to describe the types of custody awarded under the most recent agreement in the previous year. The percentages are calculated only for households with a child (under age 21) who lives with one biological parent and whose other parent is absent from the household. The data are presented by the socio-demographic characteristics of the resident parent who reported the information (refer to Table P19.1, P19.2, and P19.3). ⁽¹⁰⁶⁾

By Gender. Sole legal and physical custody awarded to mothers was the most common arrangement in 1994, 1996, and 1998. Sixty-eight percent of households with nonresident parents reported that mothers had sole custody. The percentage in each arrangement remained virtually the same between 1994 and 1998 except for a slight decline in the award of physical custody to fathers (12 percent compared to 10 percent).

By Poverty Status of Resident Parent. Poor mothers are more likely to have full custody whereas poor fathers are less likely to have full custody (seeFigure P19.1). In 1998, 82 percent of poor resident parents reported mothers had sole custody compared to 55 percent of those in the highest income bracket (incomes at 3 times the poverty level or above). On the other hand, parents with relatively high incomes are more likely than poor parents to report other types of arrangements. For instance, 15 percent of resident parents with incomes at three times the poverty level or more reported father's physical custody (with either sole or joint legal custody) whereas 4 percent of poor resident parents reported the same arrangement (see Figure P19.1).

Figure P19.1
Type of custody by poverty status of resident parent: 1998

Table P19.1
Type of child custody per most recent agreement(in percents): 1994¹

	Mother Legal and Physical Custody	Mother Physical, Joint Legal Custody	Father Physical (both joint and sole legal)	Joint Physical and Legal Custody	Other (includes split, etc.)
Total	68	8	12	8	4
Race and Hispanic Origin2
White non-Hispanic	60	11	14	10	5
Black non-Hispanic	84	2	7	3	3
Hispanic	72	6	10	7	5
Asian/Pacific Islander	68	7	13	10	2
American Indian/Alaskan Native	75	5	15	2	3
Poverty Status3
Poor (0 to 99% poverty)	81	4	6	4	5
Extreme poverty (at 50% or less)	83	3	4	4	6
Nonpoor
100% to 199% of poverty	71	7	10	7	5
200% to 299% of poverty	63	9	14	8	6
300% or more of poverty	53	12	19	13	3
Marital Status
Never married	85	3	6	2	4
Single, previously married	63	12	13	11	2
Currently married	62	7	15	9	7
Age of Resident Parent
18 to 24 years old	83	6	4	3	5
25 to 44 years old	68	8	11	8	5
45 years and older	55	9	23	10	2
Educational Attainment of Resident Parent
Less than high school	79	2	9	4	6
High school diploma or GED	70	7	13	6	4
Vocational/technical or some college	65	10	12	9	5
College graduate	52	14	16	16	3
Employment Status of Resident Parent
Not in labor force	81	5	3	5	6
Looking for work	78	5	10	5	3
Less than 35 hours per week	72	11	6	7	4
35 hours or more per week	60	9	17	9	4
1Estimates are calculated only for households with a child (under age 21) who lives with one biological parent and whose other parent is absent. 2 Estimates for all race categories exclude Hispanics of those races. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. 3 Income and poverty status are based on data from the previous year. Source: Estimates calculated by Child Trends based on analyses of the 1994 April Supplement of the Current Population Survey.

By Employment Status of Resident Parent. Mothers who are working full-time are less likely to have full custody of their children than mothers in all other employment categories. In 1998, only 62 percent of households where the mother works full-time reported that the mother had legal and physical custody compared to 77 percent of those working part-time, 77 percent of those looking for work, and 79 percent of those not in the labor force. On the other hand, full-time workers are more likely than those who are not working to report other types of arrangements including joint and sole father custody, except the "other" arrangements (e.g., split custody). For example, 12 percent of resident parents who work full-time reported a joint custody arrangement compared to 4 percent of those who were not working in 1998.

By Marital Status of Resident Parent. Resident mothers who have never married are more likely to have sole custody of their children than resident mothers who are currently married or who were once married (85 percent compared to 65 percent and 58 percent, respectively) (see Figure P19.2). On the other hand, resident parents who were once married are more likely to have joint custody than those with another marital status. Similarly, resident fathers who were previously married are more likely to have physical custody of their children than resident fathers with another marital status.

By Educational Attainment of Resident Parent. Custody arrangements differ by educational attainment of the resident parent. Sole custody by mother is more frequently reported among households where the resident parent has less than a high school education (77 percent) than when a parent has a college degree (53 percent). Better-educated parents are more likely to have joint custody, or joint legal custody with mother's physical custody. The likelihood of fathers being awarded physical custody (with either sole or joint legal custody) does not substantially differ by level of educational attainment.

By Race and Hispanic Origin of Resident Parent. Black, non-Hispanics are more likely to report mothers having sole custody of their children than most other ethnic groups (excluding American Indians and Alaskan Natives). Eighty-five percent of non-Hispanic black resident parents report the sole custody of mothers compared to 60 percent of non-Hispanic whites, 72 percent of Hispanics, and 62 percent of Asians. On the other hand, non-Hispanic whites are more likely than non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics to have other types of arrangements, including mother physical and joint legal custody, joint custody, and father's sole custody. This statement does not hold true however when comparing non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics where the father has physical custody.

Figure P19.2
Type of custody by marital status of resident parent: 1998

Table P19.2
Type of child custody per most recent agreement (in percents): 1996¹

	Mother Legal and Physical Custody	Mother Physical, Joint Legal Custody	Father Physical (both joint and sole legal)	Joint Physical and LegalCustody	Other (includes split, etc.)
Total	65	10	11	9	5
Race and Hispanic Origin 2
White non-Hispanic	57	12	12	13	5
Black non-Hispanic	78	5	9	4	4
Hispanic	75	6	9	4	6
Asian/Pacific Islander	52	18	15	11	4
American Indian/Alaskan Native	69	4	11	5	10
Poverty Status3
Poor (0 to 99% poverty)	77	5	6	6	6
Extreme poverty (at 50% or less)	78	5	5	6	7
Nonpoor
100% to 199% of poverty	70	8	10	7	5
200% to 299% of poverty	57	13	13	12	5
300% or more of poverty	52	14	16	14	4
Marital Status
Never married	82	4	8	2	4
Single, previously married	56	14	14	14	2
Currently married	62	9	10	10	9
Age of Resident Parent
18 to 24 years old	84	3	4	4	4
25 to 44 years old	64	11	10	9	6
45 years and older	56	8	18	15	3
Educational Attainment of Resident Parent
Less than high school	74	4	12	3	6
High school diploma or GED	67	7	11	9	5
Vocational/technical or some college	63	12	9	11	4
College graduate	48	19	11	17	4
Employment Status of Resident Parent
Not in labor force	77	7	6	5	6
Looking for work	76	4	10	5	4
Less than 35 hours per week	70	12	6	8	5
35 hours or more per week	58	11	14	12	5
1 Estimates are calculated only for households with a child (under age 21) who lives with one biological parent and whose other parent is absent. 2 Estimates for all race categories exclude Hispanics of those races. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. 3 Income and poverty status are based on data from the previous year. Source: Estimates calculated by Child Trends based on analyses of the 1996 April Supplement of the Current Population Survey.

Table P19.3
Type of child custody per most recent agreement (in percents): 1998¹

	Mother Legal and Physical Custody	Mother Physical, Joint Legal Custody	Father Physical (both joint and sole legal)	Joint Physical and Legal Custody	Other (includes split, etc.)
Total	68	7	10	9	6
Race and Hispanic Origin 2
White non-Hispanic	60	10	13	12	5
Black non-Hispanic	85	1	5	4	5
Hispanic	72	3	10	5	9
Asian/Pacific Islander	62	11	10	12	5
American Indian/Alaskan Native	75	0	14	2	9
Poverty Status3
Poor (0 to 99% poverty)	82	3	4	4	7
Extreme poverty (at 50% or less)	83	2	4	4	7
Nonpoor
100% to 199% of poverty	72	6	11	6	6
200% to 299% of poverty	63	8	13	11	6
300% or more of poverty	55	10	15	15	5
Marital Status
Never married	83	2	7	3	4
Single, previously married	58	10	15	14	4
Currently married	65	7	9	10	9
Age of Resident Parent
18 to 24 years old	84	3	4	3	6
25 to 44 years old	67	7	10	9	7
45 years and older	60	7	18	12	3
Educational Attainment of Resident Parent
Less than high school	77	2	10	3	8
High school diploma or GED	69	5	11	8	6
Vocational/technical or some college	68	8	9	10	5
College graduate	53	14	11	18	4
Employment Status of Resident Parent
Not in labor force	79	4	5	4	8
Looking for work	77	5	9	4	5
Less than 35 hours per week	77	5	3	8	6
35 hours or more per week	62	8	14	12	5
1 Estimates are calculated only for households with a child (under age 21) who lives with one biological parent and whose other parent is absent. 2 Estimates for all race categories exclude Hispanics of those races. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. 3 Income and poverty status are based on data from the previous year. Source: Estimates calculated by Child Trends based on analyses of the 1998 April Supplement of the Current Population Survey.

By Age of Resident Parent. Younger resident mothers are more likely to have sole custody of their children than are older mothers. In 1998, 84 percent of resident parents under age 25 were mothers with sole custody compared to 60 percent of parents ages 45 and older. On the other hand, resident parents that are 45 and older are more likely to have joint custody than parents under the age of 25 (12 percent of parents age 45 and older compared to 3 percent of those under age 25). Older resident parents are more likely to have agreements where the father has physical custody or sole custody of their children than younger parents. Eighteen percent of resident parents ages 45 and older are fathers with physical custody or full custody, compared to 4 percent of parents under age 25.

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P20 - Contact With Nonresident Parent

Due to the increase in divorce, separation, and nonmarital childbearing over recent years, a significant number of children in the United States today have experienced living separately from at least one biological parent during their childhood. This phenomenon has inspired a great deal of research regarding contact between children and their nonresident parent. Most of this work investigates contact experiences of fathers, who represent 85 percent of nonresident parents. ⁽¹⁰⁷⁾

There are many factors that influence whether nonresident parents maintain contact with their child. Employment status, level of education, age at birth of the child, the character of the relationship with resident parent, the geographical proximity to the child, ⁽¹⁰⁸⁾ and the presence of a step-parent in the residential home all affect the likelihood as well as the frequency of visitation and phone or letter contact. ⁽¹⁰⁹⁾ The likelihood and frequency of contact between nonresident parents and their children also varies over time and by the age of the child. Specifically, several studies show that contact becomes less frequent with time after marital separation. ⁽¹¹⁰⁾, ⁽¹¹¹⁾ In addition, several studies have found contact between unwed fathers and their children to be relatively frequent soon after the child's birth, but contact declines significantly as the child reaches school age. ⁽¹¹²⁾, ⁽¹¹³⁾

Regular contact with a nonabusive, nonresident parent has the potential to encourage positive development and life satisfaction in the child. ⁽¹¹⁴⁾ Indeed, several studies have shown that involvement of the nonresident parent is beneficial to children's cognitive and social development. ⁽¹¹⁵⁾

Data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), April Supplement, 1994, 1996, and 1998 ⁽¹¹⁶⁾ were used to calculate a) the percentage of children who had contact with their nonresident parent in the previous calendar year, and b) of those who had any contact, the average number of days children had contact with their nonresident parent in the previous calendar year. The percentages were calculated only for households with a child (under age 21) who lives with one biological parent and whose other parent is absent from the household. The data are presented by the socio-demographic characteristics of resident parents who reported the information (refer to Table P20.1 and Table P20.2).

By Gender. The majority of children with a nonresident parent have at least some contact with that parent: 60 percent in the case of fathers and 78 percent for mothers in 1997. The number of days they have contact with such parents also varies by the gender of the parent; 69 days with the father and 86 days with the mother.

Figure P20.1
Percentage of children with contact with their nonresident parent,
by poverty status of the resident parent: 1997

Table P20.1
Percentage of children with any contact with nonresident parent in the previous year,
as reported by resident parent: 1993, 1995, & 1997^1,2

	Contact with nonresident father			Contact with nonresident mother
	1993	1995	1997	1993	1995	1997
Total	61	64	60	75	74	78
Race and Hispanic Origin of Resident Parent3
White non-Hispanic	69	72	68	79	79	81
Black non-Hispanic	55	57	51	60	64	70
Hispanic	45	44	48	69	62	63
Asian/Pacific Islander	47	61	53	*	*	*
American Indian/Alaskan Native	62	50	50	*	*	*
Poverty Status
Poor (0 to 99% poverty)	52	53	50	60	61	72
Extreme poverty (at 50% or less)	52	51	47	68	64	69
Nonpoor
100% to 199% of poverty	60	63	58	77	71	70
200% to 299% of poverty	66	71	66	74	72	77
300% or more of poverty	75	73	71	80	81	84
Marital Status
Never married	50	54	51	59	66	75
Single, previously married	68	69	67	82	77	77
Currently married	64	66	63	74	74	81
Age of Oldest Child
0 to 5 years	60	61	61	65	71	76
6 to 11 years	62	66	63	73	76	87
12 to 17 years	61	63	60	79	74	73
18 to 20 years	60	64	55	79	76	83
Age of Resident Parent
18 to 24 years old	59	62	60	59	65	71
25 to 44 years old	62	63	60	73	75	78
45 years and older	59	65	61	84	74	78
Educational Attainment of Resident Parent
Less than high school	48	47	44	72	59	69
High school diploma or GED	59	63	61	76	75	76
Vocational/technical or some college	68	70	65	72	78	81
College graduate	76	79	74	83	85	88
Employment Status of Resident Parent
Not in labor force	52	55	51	77	65	61
Looking for work	55	55	57	57	57	72
Less than 35 hours per week	65	65	60	64	70	77
35 hours or more per week	67	69	65	77	77	80
1 All demographic characteristics (excluding income and poverty status) are as of March the following year. 2 Estimates are calculated only for households with a child (under age 21) who lives with one bio;ogical parent and whose other parent is absent. 3 Estimates for all race categories exclude Hispanics of those races. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. * = This information has been suppressed due to an insufficient number of cases Source: Estimates calculated by Child Trends based on analyses of the 1994, 1996, & 1998 April Supplements of the Current Population Survey.

Table P20.2
Average number of days in the past year child had contact with nonresident parent
(among those with any contact), according to resident parent; 1993, 1995, & 1997^1,2

	Contact with nonresident father			Contact with nonresident mother
	1993	1995	1997	1993	1995	1997
Total	70	73	69	84	79	86
Race and Hispanic Origin of Resident Parent 3
White non-Hispanic	74	70	70	87	81	88
Black non-Hispanic	67	80	72	78	65	97
Hispanic	57	73	63	69	72	61
Asian/Pacific Islander	*	57	87	*	*	*
American Indian/Alaskan Native	*	92	*	*	*	*
Poverty Status
Poor (0 to 99% poverty)	80	83	69	66	74	58
Extreme poverty (at 50% or less)	78	91	70	70		66
Nonpoor
100% to 199% of poverty	68	72	68	89	68	75
200% to 299% of poverty	59	74	73	85	86	97
300% or more of poverty	68	62	69	85	82	91
Marital Status
Never married	76	83	79	92	115	88
Single, previously married	62	69	64	85	76	76
Currently married	74	70	67	81	70	93
Age of Oldest Child
0 to 5 years	87	88	79	96	110	100
6 to 11 years	70	77	74	86	82	94
12 to 17 years	67	69	64	84	70	73
18 to 20 years	66	70	71	72	74	95
Age of Resident Parent
18 to 24 years old	89	93	79	*	*	*
25 to 44 years old	67	70	70	87	80	86
45 years and older	68	66	58	71	72	80
Educational Attainment of Resident Parent
Less than high school	80	80	71	93	74	63
High school diploma or GED	70	74	68	81	75	85
Vocational/technical or some college	65	70	69	69	69	90
College graduate	70	67	74	86	90	96
Employment Status of Resident Parent
Not in labor force	75	79	61	66	75	61
Looking for work	74	81	85	*	*	110
Less than 35 hours per week	82	75	78	*	66	91
35 hours or more per week	64	69	68	87	80	86
1All demographic characteristics (excluding income and poverty status) are as of March the following year. 2 Estimates are calculated only for households with a child (under age 21) who lives with one biological parent and whose other parent is absent. 3 Estimates for all race categories exclude Hispanics of those races. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. * = This information has been suppressed due to an insufficient number of cases. Source: Estimates calculated by Child Trends based on analyses of the 1994, 1998, & 1998 April Supplements of the Current Population Survey.

By Poverty Status of Resident Parent. Children in poor families are less likely than those in high income (300 percent or more above poverty) families to have contact with their nonresident parent: 50 percent compared to 71 percent in the case of nonresident fathers, and 72 percent compared to 84 percent for nonresident mothers (see Figure P20.1). Among those who do have contact, poverty status is not related to the number of days of contact with nonresident fathers, but is strongly related to days of contact with nonresident mothers (58 days for poor children compared to 91 days for those living at 300 percent or more above poverty).

By Educational Attainment of Resident Parent. Children who are living with better-educated parents are more likely to have contact with their nonresident parent. In 1997, the percent that have contact with a nonresident father ranges from 44 percent of those living with a parent who has not graduated from high school to 74 percent for those living with a parent who has graduated from college. Percentages are higher for nonresident mothers (69 percent and 88 percent, respectively). For those who have some contact, the number of days with nonresident fathers does not differ by education level. For nonresident mothers, however, education level is a factor. Children living with a father who did not complete high school spend fewer days with their nonresident mother than those living with fathers who completed college (63 days compared to 96 days).

By Race and Hispanic Origin of Resident Parent. The children of white, non-Hispanic resident parents are more likely than Hispanic children or children of other races to have contact with their nonresident parent. For nonresident fathers and mothers in 1997 the percentages are, respectively, 68 percent and 81 percent for non-Hispanic whites, 51 percent and 70 percent for non-Hispanic blacks, and 48 percent and 63 percent for Hispanics.

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P21 - Earnings and Income

A family's income can affect children in a variety of ways. Family income, which is influenced by parental education and employment, affects the family's material level of living; neighborhood and housing quality; and opportunities for stimulating recreation and cultural experiences. Money can be used to buy things which promote children's cognitive growth and physical development, and to purchase health insurance and health care, which are associated with positive health outcomes for children and families. Economic advantage is also associated with increased academic success among children. ⁽¹¹⁷⁾, ⁽¹¹⁸⁾ Income is also related to the psychological well-being of the parent. ⁽¹¹⁹⁾, ⁽¹²⁰⁾, ⁽¹²¹⁾, ⁽¹²²⁾, ⁽¹²³⁾ In addition, the ability of parents to provide an emotionally stable home for their children is related to economic stability, as lower income is associated with higher levels of marital conflict. ⁽¹²⁴⁾

The median income data provided are from the Current Population Survey and include families with at least one child under 18 years of age. The data are for 1987 and 1990-2000 and are presented in constant year 2000 dollars (refer to Table P21.1).

Figure P21.1
Median income for families with children,
by race and Hispanic origin (in constant 2000 dollars): Selected years 1987-2001

Trends. In the period from 1987 through 1996, the median income of all families with at least one child under 18 fluctuated between a low of $42,579 in 1993 and a high of $44,931 in 1995. However, after 1996, the median income rose almost $6,000, to $50,777 in 2000. Overall there has been a 13 percent increase in median family income between 1987 to 2000 (see Figure 21.1).

By Family Structure. From 1987 to 2000, the median family income for female-headed households where no husband was present increased from $16,575 to $21,520, a 30 percent increase. Married couple families enjoyed an income increase as well, approximately 18 percent from $53,124 to $62,934. Conversely, male householders with no wife present have actually shown a slight decline in real wages from 1987 to 2000 from $33,832 to $32,490. Still, male householders enjoy an income about 51 percent greater than female householders.

By Race and Hispanic Origin. ⁽¹²⁵⁾ The median income for white, non-Hispanic families with children under 18 is considerably higher than that of blacks and Hispanics. For instance, in 2000, white, non-Hispanic families ($60,225) had 95 percent higher income than black families ($30,839) and 81 percent higher income than Hispanic families ($33,285).

Since 1987, female householders of all racial and ethnic backgrounds where no husband is present have seen increases in their income levels. Over that period the income of single, white, non-Hispanic women has increased by 23 percent (from $21,066 to $25,977 in 2000 dollars), the income of single, black women by 45 percent (from $12,618 to $18,250), and the income of single, Hispanic women by 56 percent (from $12,116 to $18,841). Among married couples, white, non-Hispanic couples have had the greatest income increase since 1987 (over $13,000 or 24 percent), whereas Hispanic married families have only seen an 11 percent increase ($4,073) in income. Black married couples have had an 18 percent income increase ($7,963).

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P22 - Receipt of Child Support

In 1997, roughly a third of American children had a parent living outside of the home. ⁽¹²⁶⁾ About half of all nonresident parents have a legal agreement to pay child support, the amount of which is determined by a variety of factors. ⁽¹²⁷⁾ In addition, a small percentage of nonresident parents have an informal agreement to pay support, while the remainder have no agreement. ⁽¹²⁸⁾ Certain factors have been shown to influence the likelihood of receiving child support payments. For example, those nonresident parents in a legally binding contract are twice as likely to pay child support as those without. ⁽¹²⁹⁾ However, almost 40 percent of legal child support agreements are satisfied irregularly. ⁽¹³⁰⁾ Furthermore, the amount of child support received is strongly associated with the amount initially established in each agreement.

Child support can benefit all types of families, as its receipt is positively related to child outcomes such as educational attainment, standardized test scores, school behavior, and access to health care and nutrition. ⁽¹³¹⁾ However, children in certain families may especially benefit from the protective effects that child support can have against poverty. ⁽¹³²⁾ Many poor families rely on child support for over one-quarter of their income. ⁽¹³³⁾

Payment of child support has other added benefits as well. The nonresident parent's payment of child support is positively related to contact with the child, a sense of involvement in the child's upbringing, and a positive relationship with the resident parent. ⁽¹³⁴⁾

Research from the early 1990s indicates that women who are black, Hispanic, never-married, less educated, of lower socioeconomic status, and/or who began childbearing as teens are markedly less likely to arrange child support agreements and, therefore, are less likely to receive payments; ⁽¹³⁵⁾, ⁽¹³⁶⁾ this population is also much less likely to win large support awards. ⁽¹³⁷⁾

In order to examine the characteristics of child support and those who receive child support payments, three variables from the Current Population Survey (CPS) are reviewed: the characteristics of child support agreements held by resident parents; the percent of resident parents with an agreement who receive child support payments; and the mean dollar amount received in the previous year for families receiving child support (refer to Table P22.1, P22.2, and P22.3). These data were collected in 1998.

By Gender. Resident mothers (50 percent) are more likely than resident fathers (35 percent) to have a child support agreement (refer to Table P22.1). Among resident parents who have an agreement, less than half are likely to receive full payment. Specifically, mothers are also more likely than fathers to receive full child support payments (48 percent and 35 percent, respectively) (refer to Table P22.2). Among families receiving child support payments, mothers receive more than fathers, ($3,702 compared to $3,185, respectively) (refer to Table P22.3).

By the Presence or Absence of an Agreement. Resident mothers who have child support agreements receive larger child support payments than resident mothers without agreements (refer to Table P22.3). In 1998, resident mothers with an agreement received almost 50 percent more annually than those without agreements ($3,978 and $2,681, respectively).

By Age. Mothers who are older are more likely than younger mothers to receive full child support payments (refer to Table P22.2). Only 36 percent of mothers 18- to 24- years old receive full payment, compared to 48 percent of 25- to 44-year-old mothers and 55 percent of mothers 45 or older. In addition, mothers 18- to 24- years old are less likely than older mothers to have a child support agreement.

By Educational Attainment. Education is strongly related to receipt of child support for resident mothers but not resident fathers. For example, mothers with a college degree (63 percent) are more likely to have a child support agreement than are mothers with less than a high school education (36 percent); this is not the case for fathers (refer to Table P22.1). However, both mothers and fathers with a college education are more likely than mothers and fathers without a high school education to receive full child support payment.

Figure P22.1 Percentage of resident mothers with an agreement, by marital status: 1998

Figure P22.2 Percentage of resident mothers with an agreement who received the full amount last year, by marital status: 1998

By Marital Status. Among mothers, those that were never married were less likely to have an agreement, less likely to receive full support payments if they had an agreement, and most likely to receive the least amount of money compared to mothers that were single but previously married or those that were currently married (see Figures P22.1 and P22.2). Mothers that were single but previously married were the most likely to have an agreement and those that were never married were least likely to have an agreement (64 percent and 38 percent, respectively). Those with an agreement that were currently married were most likely to receive full payment (58 percent). Mothers that were single but previously married and those that were currently married received about the same amount annually in child support payments ($4,263 and $4,162, respectively) while mothers that were never married received less than half the amount of money as mothers in the other two categories ($1,990).

Among fathers, those that were currently married were the least likely to have a child support agreement. Fathers that had an agreement were equally as likely to receive full payment and the amount of money received did not vary significantly by marital status.

By Race and Hispanic Origin. White, non-Hispanic mothers are more likely than black, non-Hispanic, and Hispanic mothers to have a child support agreement and to receive full payment of support. For example, 61 percent of white, non-Hispanic mothers have a child support agreement, compared to 40 percent of black, non-Hispanic and 34 percent of Hispanic mothers. In addition, the amount of child support received is higher for white, non-Hispanic mothers than it is for black, non-Hispanic mothers and Hispanic mothers.

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Endnotes for Parenting Section

1. Includes custodial, noncustodial, biological and nonbiological parents.

2. Berkowitz King, R. (1999). Time spent in parenthood status among adults in the United States. Demography, 36(3), 377-385.

3. 4.2 percent of ever-married women in 1995.

4. Abma, J. & Martinez, G. (2002, May). Childlessness in the U.S.: Trends, gender role attitudes, and community influences. Paper to be presented at the Annual Meetings of the Population Association of America, May 9-11, 2002.

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6. Hoffman, L. (1989). The value of children to parents and childrearing patterns. Social Behaviour, 2, 123-141.

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8. D'Antonio, I., Darwish, A., & McLean, M. (1993). Child maltreatment: International perspectives. Maternal-Child Nursing Journal, 21, 39-52.

9. Ney, P. (1987). Does verbal abuse leave deeper scars: A study of children. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 32, 371-378.

10. Phillips, D., & Shonkoff, J., eds. (2000). From neurons to neighborhoods: The science of early childhood development. Washington D.C.: National Academy of Sciences.

11. Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. (2001). America's children: Key national indicators of well-being 2001. Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

12. Phillips, D. & Shonkoff, J. eds. (2000)

13. Casper & Bryson, 1998, as cited in Peters, H., Peterson, G., Steinmetz, S., & Day, R. (2000). Fatherhood: Research, interventions and policies. New York: The Haworth Press Inc.

14. However, McLanahan & Sandefur (1994, p. 77) found that "children raised by widowed mothers do better across most dimensions than children raised by other single mothers."

15. Amato, P.R. (1993). Children's adjustment to divorce: Theories, hypotheses, and empirical support. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 55, 23-28.

16. Levine-Coley, 1998 as cited in Peters, H., Peterson, G., Steinmetz, S., & Day, R. (2000). Fatherhood: Research, interventions and policies. New York: The Haworth Press Inc.; McLanahan, S. & Sandefur, G., (1994). Growing up with a single parent: What hurts, what helps. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

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64. Daly, K. (2000). It keeps getting faster: Changing patterns of time in families. Ontario, Canada: Vanier Institute of the Family.

65. Casper, L.M. (1997). My daddy takes care of me! Fathers as care providers. Current Population Report. Washington, DC: US Bureau of the Census. P70-59.

66. Rice, K.G., Cunningham, T.J. & Young, M.B. (1997). Attachment to parents, social competence, and emotional wellbeing: A comparison of black and white late adolescents. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 44(1), 89-101.

67. Nord, C.W., Brimhall, D. & West, J. (1997). Father's involvement in schools. Washington, DC: US Department of Education.

68. Kerns, K.A. & Stevens, A. C. (1995). Parent-child attachment in late adolescence: Links to social relations and personality. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 25(3), 323-342.

69. Although SIPP has collected this information in previous years, historical data are not presented due to the fact that data were not collected at comparable times during the year. Child care arrangement data were collected in the spring in 1996, whereas in previous years these data were collected in the fall.

70. Data were collected for children of female respondents only.

71. When father care was tied with other types of care for "primary arrangement," one of the "tied" types of care was randomly chosen as the primary arrangement.

72. All demographic information is based on Wave 2 of 1996 SIPP data. Since the information on child care was collected during Wave 4, there is an 8 month difference between the demographic data and child care data. In particular, residential status of parents may have changed between the two waves but households were classified into two parent families or single parent families based on the residential status of parents at Wave 2.

73. Danziger, S.K., & Radin, N. (1990). Absent does not equal uninvolved: Predictors of fathering in teen mother families. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 52, 636-642.

74. Casper, L.M. (1997). My daddy takes care of me! Fathers as care providers. Current Population Report, P70-59. Washington, DC: US Bureau of the Census.

75. Bryant, W.K., & Zick, C.D. (1996). A new look at parents' time spent in child care: Primary and secondary time use. Social Science Research, 25, 260-280.

76. Le Menestrel, S. (2000). What do fathers contribute to children's well-being? Washington, DC: Child Trends.

77. Amato, P.R. (1998). More than money? Men's contributions to their children's lives. In Booth, A., & Crouter, A.C., (Eds.) Men in families: When do they get involved? What difference does it make? (P241-278). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

78. There are too few cases of single-father families to perform statistical analyses on differences by poverty level.

79. There are too few cases of single-father families to perform statistical analyses on differences by educational attainment.

80. There are too few cases of single-father families to perform statistical analyses on differences by employment status.

81. Primavera, J. (2000). Enhancing family competence through literacy activities. Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community, 20, 85-101.

82. Morrow, L. & Young, J. (1997). A family literacy program connecting school and home: Effects on attitude, motivation, and literacy achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89, 736-742.

83. Gutman, L. & McLoyd, V. (2000). Parents' management of their children's education within the home, at school, and in the community: An examination of African-American families living in poverty. Urban Review, 32, 1-24.

84. Blevins-Kanbe, B. & Musun-Miller, L. (1996). Number use at home by children and their parents and its relationship to early mathematical performance. Early Development and Parenting, 5, 35-45

85. Kazura, K. (2000). Fathers' qualitative and quantitative involvement: An investigation of attachment, play, and social interactions. Journal of Men's Studies, 9, 41-57.

86. Wilson, J. & Musick, M. (1997). Who cares? Toward an integrated theory of volunteer work. American Sociological Review, 62, 694-713.

87. Pearce, L. & Axinn, W. (1998). The impact of family religious life on the quality of mother-child relations. American Sociological Review, 63, 810-828.

88. Ellison, C. (1992). Are religious people nice people? Evidence from the National Survey of Black Americans. Social Forces, 71, 411-430.

89. Palkovitz, R., & Palm, G. (1998). Fatherhood and faith in formation: The developmental effects of fathering on religiosity, morals, and values. Journal of Men's Studies, 7, 33-51.

90. Francis, L. & Gibson, H. (1993). Parental influence and adolescent religiosity: A study of church attendance and attitude toward Christianity among adolescents 11 to 12 and 15 to 16 years old. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 3, 214-153.

91. Brody, G., Stoneman, Z., & Flor, D. (1996). Parental religiosity, family processes, and youth competence in rural, two-parent families. Developmental Psychology, 32, 696-706.

92. Nord, C. W., Brimhall, D., & West, J. (1997). Father's involvement in their children's schools. Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of Education (NCES 98-091).

93. Nord, C.W. & West, J. (2001). Fathers' and mothers' involvement in their children's schools by family type and resident status. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES 2001-032).

94. Wentzel, K. R. (1999). Social-motivational processes and interpersonal relationships: Implications for understanding motivation at school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91 (1), 76-97.

95. Epstein, J., & Dauber, S. (1991). School programs and teacher practices of parent involvement in inner-city elementary and middle schools. The Elementary School Journal, 91, 289-305.

96. Teachman, J., & Paasch, K. (1998). The family and educational aspirations. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 704-714.

97. Lee, S. (1993). Family structure effects on student outcomes. In B. Schneider and J. Coleman (Eds.) Parents, their children, and schools. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

98. Nord, C., Brimhall, D., & West, J. (1997). Fathers' involvement in their children's schools. Washington, DC.: U.S Department of Education

99. Significance tests were not performed on the data.

100. Kelly, J.B. (n.d). The determination of child custody in the USA. Retrieved November, 2001 from http://wwlia.org/us-cus3.htm

101. Kelly, (n.d.).

102. Children's Rights Council.(n.d). Joint custody and shared parenting: What the research says, what parents say. Retrieved November, 2001 from http://www.gocrc.com/research/

103. Kelly, (n.d.).

104. Kelly, (n.d.).

105. Stewart, S.D. (1999). Disneyland dads, Disneyland moms? How nonresident parents spend time with absent children. Journal of Family Issues, 20(4), 539-556.

106. Households are classified into having one of the following 5 types of custody: 1) physical and legal custody awarded to mother, 2) physical custody awarded to mother combined with joint legal custody, 3) physical and legal custody awarded to father or joint legal custody, 4) joint physical and legal custody, and 5) other types (e.g., split custody). The categories are mutually exclusive, meaning that households are classified into having one type of agreement or another. For households with multiple arrangements, one of the arrangements was selected by a hierarchical decision rule. For instance, if a household had both written and verbal agreements, the written agreement took precedence over the verbal agreement, and the household was classified according to the written agreement.

107. Stewart, S.D. (1999). Nonresident mothers' and fathers' social contact with children. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 894-907.

108. Halle, T., Moore, K., Greene, A., & LeMenestrel, S.M. (1998). What policymakers need to know about fathers. Policy Practice, December 1998, 21-35

109. Seltzer, J.A. & Bianchi, S.M. (1988). Children's contact with absent parents. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 50, 663-677.

110. Stewart (1999).

111. Seltzer, J.A. & Bianchi, S.M. (1988).

112. Mott, F. L. (1990). When is a father really gone? Paternal-child conduct in father-absent homes. Demography, 27, 499-517.

113. McLanahan, S., Garfinkel, I., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Zhao, H.Z. (1998). Unwed fathers and fragile families. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America, Chicago, IL.

114. Amato, P.R. (1998). More than money? Men's contributions to their children's lives. In Booth, A., & Crouter, A.C., (Eds.) Men in families: When do they get involved? What difference does it make? (pp. 241-278). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

115. Danziger, S.K. & Radin, N. (1990). Absent does not equal uninvolved: Predictors of fathering in teen mother families. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 52, 636-642.

116. Income and custody arrangements reflect status as of the year prior to interview.

117. Salomon, A., & Strobel, M. (1997). Social network, interpersonal concerns and help-seeking in primary grade school children as a function of sex, performance and economic status. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 12(3), 331-347.

118. Thompson, M., Alexander, K., & Entwisle, D. (1988). Household composition, parental expectations, and school achievement. Social Forces, 67, 424-451.

119. Pong, S., & Ju, D. (2000). The effects of change in family structure and income on dropping out of middle and high school. Journal of Family Issues, 21(2), 147-169.

120. Duncan, G. J., & Brooks-Gunn, J., (Eds.). (1997). The consequences of growing up poor. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

121. Huston, A. C., (Ed). (1994). Children in poverty. New York: Cambridge University Press.

122. Korbin, J., Coulton, C., Chard, S., Platt-Houston, C.& Su, M. (1998). Impoverishment and child maltreatment in African-American and European-American neighborhoods. Development and Psychopathology, 10, 215-233.

123. Hill, M. S., & Sandfort, J. R. (1995). Effects of childhood poverty on productivity later life: Implications for public policy. Children and Youth Services Review, 17, 91-126.

124. Conger, R. D., Conger, K. J., & Elder, G. H. (1997). Family economic hardship and adolescent adjustment: Mediating and moderating processes. In G. J. Duncan and J. Brooks-Gunn (Eds.), Consequences of growing up poor (pp.288-310). New York, NY: Russell-Sage.

125. Estimates for blacks include persons of Hispanic origin. Estimates for whites do not. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

126. Sorensen, E., & Zibman, C. (2000). Child support offers some protection against poverty. Series B, No. B-10, March 2000. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute.

127. The Administration for Children and Families: Office of Child Support Enforcement. (n.d.) Summary of findings, conclusions, and recommendations. In Evaluation of child support guidelines (chap. 4). Retrieved November, 2001 from http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cse/rpt/gdl_m.htm

128. Grall, T. (2000). Current population reports: Child support for custodial mothers and fathers, 1997. Washington, D.C.: US Census Bureau.

129. Sorensen & Zibman, (2000).

130. Peterson, J. L. & Nord, C. W. (1990). The regular receipt of child support : A multistep process. Journal of Marriage & Family, 52(2), pp. 539-551.

131. Amato, P.R. (1998). More than money? Men's contributions to their children's lives. Chapter in Booth, A., & Crouter, A.C., (Eds.). Men in families: When do they get involved? What difference does it make? New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., pp. 241-278.

132. Sorensen & Zibman, (2000).

133. Grall, (2000).

134. Amato (1998).

135. Peterson, J. L. & Nord, C. W. (1990).

136. Teachman, J. D. (1991). Who pays? Receipt of child support in the United States. Journal of Marriage & Family, 53(3), pp. 759-772.

137. Peterson, J. L. & Nord, C. W. (1990).

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