Partnership Instability, School Readiness, and Gender Disparities
Carey E Cooper1, Cynthia A Osborne, Audrey N Beck
1Arizona State University, Tempe, USA.
Sociology of Education
|September 28, 2011
Summary
Mothers
Area of Science:
- Child Development
- Sociology
- Family Studies
Background:
- Recent decades show increased children's exposure to maternal partnership instability.
- Partnership instability is linked to adverse child and adolescent outcomes.
- Understanding these effects is crucial for child wellbeing.
Purpose of the Study:
- Examine associations between maternal partnership instability and child school readiness.
- Differentiate effects of coresidential versus dating partnership transitions.
- Investigate the moderating role of child gender on these associations.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study.
- Analyzed associations between partnership transitions and school readiness indicators.
- Assessed gender differences in the impact of partnership instability.
Main Results:
- Maternal partnership transitions negatively impacted children's verbal ability.
- Partnership instability was positively associated with behavioral problems in boys at age five.
- Coresidential and dating transitions exhibited similar effects on school readiness.
Conclusions:
- Maternal partnership instability affects children's school readiness and behavior.
- Findings highlight potential impacts on the educational attainment gender gap.
- Interventions may need to consider family structure dynamics and child gender.
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