The Effects of the 2021 Child Tax Credit on Housing Affordability and the Living Arrangements of Families With Low Incomes.

Access to safe and stable housing is important for child and adult well-being. Yet many low-income households face severe challenges in maintaining stable housing. In this article, we examine the impact of the 2021 temporary expansion to the Child Tax Credit (CTC) on housing affordability and the living arrangements of families with low incomes.

"Excess" Doubling Up During COVID: Changes in Children's Shared Living Arrangements.

The proportion of U.S. children living in doubled-up households, in which a child lives with a parent plus adult kin or nonkin, has increased in the last 40 years.

Unconditional cash transfers and mental health symptoms among parents with low incomes: Evidence from the 2021 child tax credit.

The COVID-19 pandemic increased anxiety and depression in the U.S. population, particularly among low-income households, parents, and Black and Hispanic adults.

Child Poverty and Health: The Role of Income Support Policies.

Policy Points Child poverty is associated with both short- and long-term health and well-being, and income support policies can be used to improve child health. This article reviews the types of income support policies used in the United States and the evidence of the effectiveness of these policies in improving child health, highlighting areas for future research and policy considerations specific to income support policies.

From zero to thrive: A model of cross-system and cross-sector relational health to promote early childhood development across the child-serving ecosystem.

Early relational health between caregivers and children is foundational for child health and well-being. Children and caregivers are also embedded within multiple systems and sectors, or a "child-serving ecosystem", that shapes child development. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has made this embeddedness abundantly clear, systems remain siloed and lack coordination.

Under Whose Roof? Understanding the Living Arrangements of Children in Doubled-Up Households.

A growing literature in family demography examines children's residence in doubled-up (shared) households with extended family members and nonkin. This research has largely overlooked the role of doubling up as a housing strategy, with "hosts" (householders) providing housing support for "guests" living in their home. Yet, understanding children's experiences in doubled-up households requires attention to host/guest status.

Age at Immigration and Depression: The Mediating Role of Contemporary Relationships With Adult Children Among Older Immigrants.

Objectives: For the growing population of older immigrants in the United States, both age at immigration and familial relationships are important factors affecting psychological well-being. This study explores how age at immigration and contemporary relationships with adult children combine to explain older immigrants' depressive symptoms.

Method: This study uses 2014 Health and Retirement Study data from a sample of 759 immigrants aged 65 and older who have at least one adult child aged 21 or older.

Historical Trends in Children Living in Multigenerational Households in the United States: 1870-2018.

Over the last two decades, the share of U.S. children under age 18 who live in a multigenerational household (with a grandparent and parent) has increased dramatically.

The Effect of the Earned Income Tax Credit on Housing and Living Arrangements.

As rents have risen and wages have not kept pace, housing affordability in the United States has declined over the last 15 years, impacting the housing and living arrangements of low-income families. Housing subsidies improve the housing situations of low-income families, but less than one in four eligible families receive a voucher. In this article, we analyze whether one of the largest anti-poverty programs in the United States-the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)-affects the housing (eviction, homelessness, and affordability) and living arrangements (doubling up, number of people in the household, and crowding) of low-income families.

Multiple Job Holding and Mental Health among Low-Income Mothers.

Purpose: Studies have found considerable heterogeneity in the links between employment and mental health, finding that certain work conditions, such as nonstandard schedules and low job quality, are linked with poorer mental health. One largely overlooked facet of work is multiple job holding. In this article, we examine the link between multiple job holding and mental health among low-income mothers.

Beyond the Nuclear Family: Trends in Children Living in Shared Households.

Using data from the 1996-2008 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation and the 2009-2016 American Community Survey, we examine trends in U.S. children living in shared households (living with adults beyond their nuclear (parent/parent's partner/sibling) family).

Assets among low-income families in the Great Recession.

This paper examines the association between the Great Recession and real assets among families with young children. Real assets such as homes and cars are key indicators of economic well-being that may be especially valuable to low-income families. Using longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 4,898), we investigate the association between the city unemployment rate and home and car ownership and how the relationship varies by family structure (married, cohabiting, and single parents) and by race/ethnicity (White, Black, and Hispanic mothers).

Maternal employment stability in early childhood: Links with child behavior and cognitive skills.

Although many studies have investigated links between maternal employment and children's wellbeing, less research has considered whether the stability of maternal employment is linked with child outcomes. Using unique employment calendar data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 2,011), an urban birth cohort study of largely low-income families, this paper investigates whether the stability of maternal employment in early childhood (birth to age 5) is linked with child behavior and cognitive skills at ages 5 and 9. Employment stability (continuous employment over all 5 years, low levels of job churning, longer job tenure) was linked with less child externalizing behavior, but there was little evidence to suggest stability was particularly important for PPVT and Woodcock-Johnson scores.

Giving Unto Others: Private Financial Transfers and Hardship Among Families with Children.

Prior research shows that financial assistance from family and friends is an important source of support for families with children. However, research on financial transfers has largely focused on the recipients of transfers. In this study, using longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n~16,000 person-waves), we examine the association between the provision of financial assistance to family and friends and material hardship.

Understanding Grandfamilies: Characteristics of Grandparents, Nonresident Parents, and Children.

Using data from the Year 9 Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N~3,182), we investigated the characteristics grandfamilies (grandparents raising their grandchildren with no parent present, = 84) and compared them to other key groups, including children's nonresident parents and other economically disadvantaged families with children. Results show that grandparents raising their grandchildren were generally better off in terms of educational attainment, marital status, and economic well-being than the child's parents. Grandparents raising their grandchildren also had very similar characteristics to other disadvantaged mothers.

Maternal labor force participation and differences by education in an urban birth cohort study - 1998-2010.

Background: Maternal labor force participation has increased dramatically over the last 40 years, yet surprisingly little is known about longitudinal patterns of maternal labor force participation in the years after a birth, or how these patterns vary by education.

Objective: We document variation by maternal education in mothers' labor force participation (timing, intensity, non-standard work, multiple job-holding) over the first nine years after the birth of a child.

Methods: We use the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N~3000) to predict longitudinal labor force participation in a recent longitudinal sample of mothers who gave birth in large US cities between 1998 and 2000.

Private Financial Transfers, Family Income, and the Great Recession.

Using longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study ( = 4,701; 1998-2010), the authors studied whether the unemployment rate was associated with private financial transfers (PFTs) among urban families with young children and whether family income moderated these associations. They found that an increase in the unemployment rate was associated with greater PFT receipt and that family income moderated the association. Poor and near-poor mothers experienced increases in PFT receipt when unemployment rates were high, whereas mothers with incomes between 2 and 3 times the poverty threshold experienced decreases.

Three-Generation Family Households in Early Childhood: Comparisons between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

Background: Shifting demographic trends in the United States (US) have resulted in increasing numbers of three-generation family households, where a child lives with a parent(s) and grandparent(s). Although similar demographic trends have been occurring in the United Kingdom (UK) and Australia, very little research has studied three-generation coresidence in these countries and no research has documented trends cross-nationally.

Objective: We investigate differences in the rates of three-generation coresidence in early childhood cross-nationally.

Living with a grandparent and parent in early childhood: associations with school readiness and differences by demographic characteristics.

Despite the increasing prevalence of 3-generation family households (grandparent, parent, child), relatively little research has studied these households during early childhood. Using nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (N = ∼6,550), this study investigated the associations between 3-generation coresidence in early childhood and school readiness, and how the associations differed by maternal age, race/ethnicity, nativity, relationship status, and poverty. For the full sample of children, no associations between 3-generation coresidence and school readiness were found.

The prevalence and economic value of doubling up.

"Doubling up" (living with relatives or nonkin) is a common source of support for low-income families, yet no study to date has estimated its economic value relative to other types of public and private support. Using longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we examine the prevalence and economic value of doubling up among families with young children living in large American cities. We find that doubling up is a very important part of the private safety net in the first few years of a child's life, with nearly 50 % of mothers reporting at least one instance of doubling up by the time their child is 9 years old.

Breastfeeding initiation and duration in coresident grandparent, mother and infant households.

In the US, the prevalence of three-generation households, where a grandparent, parent and child coreside, has increased in the last decade. Three-generation coresidence during infancy is particularly common and as many as 15 % of infants live in a three-generation household shortly after birth. Although prior research has linked family structure with breastfeeding behavior, no research has studied whether breastfeeding behavior varies by grandparent coresidence.

Three Generation Family Households: Differences by Family Structure at Birth.

Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study (N=4,898), this study investigates how the share, correlates, transition patterns, and duration of three generation households vary by mother's relationship status at birth. Nine percent of married mothers, 17 % of cohabiting, and 45% of single mothers live in a three generation family household at the birth of the child. Incidence over time is much higher and most common among single mother households, 60% live in a three generation family household in at least one wave.

Examining the antecedents of U.S. nonmarital fatherhood.

Despite the dramatic rise in U.S. nonmarital childbearing in recent decades, limited attention has been paid to factors affecting nonmarital fatherhood (beyond studies of young fathers).

The Great Recession, Public Transfers, and Material Hardship.

Economic downturns lead to lost income and increased poverty. Although high unemployment almost certainly also increases material hardship, and government transfers likely decrease hardship, the first relationship has not yet been documented and the second is poorly understood. We use data from five waves of the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study to study the relationships between unemployment, government transfers, and material hardship.

Maternal religious involvement and breastfeeding initiation and duration.

Although religious involvement is associated with a number of beneficial health outcomes, few studies have investigated whether religious involvement is associated with breastfeeding behaviors. Our analyses of 2 waves of data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 4,166) indicate that mothers who frequently attend religious services are more likely to initiate breastfeeding than are mothers who never attend services. Understanding religious variations in breastfeeding may allow public health officials to more effectively target vulnerable populations.