Table 5.
Summary of HLM Models Predicting Children’s Behavior and Academic Trajectories with Family Structure States and Number and Types of Transitions
| BPI | Reading | Math | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model 3 | Model 4 | Model 3 | Model 4 | Model 3 | Model 4 | |||||||
| Variable | β | SE β | β | SE β | β | SE β | β | SE β | β | SE β | β | SE β |
| Intercept at age 6: | ||||||||||||
| % time in single-mother family by age 6 | 0.42 | 0.32 | 0.41 | 0.32 | 0.27 | 0.36 | 0.28 | 0.36 | 0.25 | 0.39 | 0.27 | 0.39 |
| Single-mother family at age 6 | 0.23 | 0.36 | 0.03 | 0.40 | −0.155 | 0.40 | −0.13 | 0.46 | 0.05 | 0.43 | 0.12 | 0.49 |
| Social-father family at age 6 | −0.23 | 0.47 | −0.29 | 0.47 | −0.14 | 0.52 | −0.08 | 0.53 | −0.09 | 0.56 | −0.10 | 0.56 |
| Always single-mother family age 6–12 | 0.20 | 0.42 | 0.41 | 0.46 | −0.41 | 0.46 | −0.47 | 0.50 | −0.12 | 0.54 | −0.21 | 0.58 |
| Always social-father family 6–12 | −0.06 | 0.65 | 0.03 | 0.65 | −0.27 | 0.70 | −0.36 | 0.71 | −0.17 | 0.82 | −0.20 | 0.83 |
| Number of family structure transitions age 6–12 | 0.18 | 0.18 | −0.08 | 0.19 | 0.23 | 0.23 | ||||||
| Transition to single-mother family age 6–12 | 0.06 | 0.28 | −0.16 | 0.28 | 0.20 | 0.36 | ||||||
| Transition to social-father family age 6–12 | 0.50 | 0.34 | −0.09 | 0.37 | −0.02 | 0.44 | ||||||
| Slope age 6–12: | ||||||||||||
| Always single-mother family age 6–12 | 0.16** | 0.05 | 0.16** | 0.05 | −0.24* | 0.10 | −0.24* | 0.10 | −0.18* | 0.07 | −0.18* | 0.07 |
| Always social-father family age 6–12 | 0.19* | 0.08 | 0.19* | 0.08 | 0.09 | 0.16 | 0.09 | 0.16 | 0.21+ | 0.11 | 0.22+ | 0.11 |
| Number of family structure transitions age 6–12 | 0.08** | 0.03 | −0.09+ | 0.05 | −0.06+ | 0.03 | ||||||
| Transition to single-mother family age 6–12 | 0.10* | 0.05 | −0. 10 | 0.09 | −0.04 | 0.06 | ||||||
| Transition to social-father family 6–12 | 0.06 | 0.05 | −0.20* | 0.09 | −0.02 | 0.06 | ||||||
| Observations | 3,270 | 3,270 | 3,293 | 3,293 | 3,383 | 3,383 | ||||||
Note: Coefficients and standard errors from HLM models are presented. All of the control variables listed in Table 2 are used to predict children’s initial levels of achievement and behavior. The reference group for the estimates predicting achievement and behavior slopes is “Always two-biological-parent family age 6–12.”Although results are not reported on the table, model 4 includes an indicator for transition to two-biological-parent family predicting the age 6–12 slope. Controls for child age, race/ethnicity, gender, and mother’s academic aptitude (AFQT score) are used to predict children’s achievement and behavior slopes.
p<0.10;
p<0.05;
p<0.01;
p<0.001.