Table 4.
The Effect of Family Stability on Outcomes of Five-Year-Old Children
| VARIABLES | (1) PPVT-R (Std.) |
(2) WJT (Std.) |
(3) Aggression |
(4) Anx/Dep |
(5) Obesity |
(6) Asthma |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Family Stability (Birth to Year Five) | ||||||
| Cohabitation to Marriage (Stable) | -4.01** (1.52) |
-4.16*** (1.32) |
0.84 (0.51) |
0.44 (0.27) |
0.01 (0.04) |
0.01 (0.02) |
| -0.72* | -0.82** | 0.17 | 0.09 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |
| Stable Cohabitation | -5.18*** (1.43) |
-5.59*** (1.40) |
0.30 (0.58) |
0.70** (0.29) |
-0.00 (0.04) |
-0.01 (0.02) |
| -0.89** | -1.08*** | 0.03 | 0.14** | -0.00 | -0.00 | |
| Stable Single | -3.29** (1.22) |
-4.68*** (1.24) |
1.64*** (0.50) |
0.64** (0.23) |
0.07** (0.04) |
0.01 (0.02) |
| -0.86* | -1.48*** | 0.55*** | 0.21** | 0.03* | 0.00 | |
| Parents Cohabiting at Year Five (Unstable) | -3.26* (1.51) |
-4.11** (1.47) |
1.12* (0.59) |
0.41 (0.27) |
0.06 (0.04) |
0.04 (0.02) |
| -0.53 | -0.83** | 0.24 | 0.08 | 0.02 | 0.01 | |
| Parents Married at Year Five (Unstable) | -1.73 (1.53) |
-5.48*** (1.83) |
0.58 (0.69) |
0.63* (0.34) |
0.13** (0.05) |
0.02 (0.02) |
| -0.22 | -1.14** | 0.11 | 0.13 | 0.03** | 0.00 | |
| Mother is Single at Year Five (Unstable) | -3.95*** (1.11) |
-5.71*** (1.15) |
1.49*** (0.42) |
0.45** (0.20) |
0.06* (0.03) |
0.02 (0.02) |
| -1.36** | -2.33*** | 0.63*** | 0.18* | 0.03* | 0.01 | |
| Mother married to New Partner at Year Five (Unstable) | -4.48** (1.86) |
-4.65** (1.78) |
0.75 (0.68) |
0.51 (0.35) |
0.06 (0.05) |
0.05* (0.03) |
| -0.71* | -0.79** | 0.12 | 0.08 | 0.01 | 0.01* | |
| Mother cohabiting with New Partner at Year Five (Unstable) | -5.41*** (1.31) |
-5.40*** (1.27) |
1.06** (0.51) |
0.70** (0.24) |
0.02 (0.03) |
0.06*** (0.02) |
| -1.26*** | -1.37*** | 0.27* | 0.19** | 0.01 | 0.02*** | |
| R2 | 0.26 | 0.18 | 0.10 | 0.08 | 0.05 | 0.03 |
| Observations | 2180 | 2192 | 2492 | 2527 | 2030 | 3605 |
Heteroskedasticity-robust standard errors in parentheses
***
p<0.01,
**
p<0.05,
*
p<0.1
Notes: Standardized Betas are italicized
Reference Category: Stable Marriage
Estimates are from unweighted regressions that control for child gender, parental age, race and education; family background characteristics and city fixed effects.
Abbreviations:
PPVT-R (Std.) – Standardized Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised
WJC (Std.) – Standardized Woodcock-Johnson Letter-Word Identification Test
Aggression – Aggressive Behaviour
Anx/Dep –Anxiety/Depression Symptoms