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Several features of this study are unique:
While much is known about women who give birth outside of marriage, nonresident fathers are largely underrepresented in national and local surveys. The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study will shed light on the relationships of these men with their children and the mothers of their children, their employment histories and earnings capacity, and tradeoffs between enforced and voluntary roles in their families.
Prior research has sought to understand the relationship between unwed mothers and fathers from the perspective of one or the other. The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study will facilitate the development of models of marriage and cohabitation that include information from both mothers and fathers.
Extant data rarely allow researchers to measure culture directly. The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study will address this limitation by providing data on differences in values with respect to pregnancy intentions, families of origin, marital values and cost-benefit perceptions, gender role ideology, and kin relationships.
The welfare reform process is taking shape rapidly, creating strong incentives for parents to remain together. The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study will provide critical new information about the impact of these changes for children, e.g. economic gain or loss, greater emotional support or more conflict, more or less involvement of grandparents, etc.
Sampling from the hospital rather than from birth records is done to yield a higher response rate, and concentrating in cities allows for testing for differences in welfare rules, child support practices, and labor market strength across cities.
Visit the project website.
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