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Does Children's Academic Achievement Improve when Single Mothers Marry?
Robert L Wagmiller1, Elizabeth Gershoff, Philip Veliz
1University at Buffalo.
Sociology of Education
|September 28, 2011
Summary
Marriage can benefit children
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Developmental Psychology
- Public Policy
Background:
- Marriage is promoted as a strategy to improve child outcomes.
- Previous studies show mixed or negative effects of maternal marriage on children's academic achievement.
Purpose of the Study:
- To re-evaluate the impact of mothers' marriages on children's academic trajectories.
- To distinguish short-term vs. long-term effects and identify beneficial contexts for marriage.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of multiple waves of data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K).
- Examination of academic achievement trajectories in relation to maternal marriage status.
Main Results:
- Maternal marriage is linked to modest, significant improvements in children's academic achievement.
- Benefits are primarily observed in children from more advantaged single-parent families.
Conclusions:
- Maternal marriage can positively influence children's academic development.
- The benefits of marriage for children are context-dependent, favoring more advantaged families.
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