The Longitudinal Associations Between Paternal Incarceration and Family Well-Being: Implications for Ethnic/Racial Disparities in Health.

Objective: Ethnic/racial minority children in the United States are more likely to experience father loss to incarceration than White children, and limited research has examined the health implications of these ethnic/racial disparities. Telomere length is a biomarker of chronic stress that is predictive of adverse health outcomes. This study examined whether paternal incarceration predicted telomere length shortening among offspring from childhood to adolescence, whether maternal depression mediated the link, and whether ethnicity/race moderated results.

Risk and protective family factors during childhood on youth violence among African American males: The role of mothers and nonresident fathers.

African American male youth experience disproportionately higher levels of violence. We examined parental depression among African American mothers and nonresident fathers on parenting stress and school involvement in their adolescent sons' school connectedness and violent behaviors. Using a longitudinal study design, parent factors were assessed when sons were 9 years old on youth outcomes at age 15.

Maternal Educational Attainment at Birth Promotes Future Self-Rated Health of White but Not Black Youth: A 15-Year Cohort of a National Sample.

Background: Socioeconomic status (SES) is essential for maintaining health, and self-rated health (SRH) is not an exception to this rule. This study explored racial differences in the protective effects of maternal educational attainment at birth against poor SRH of the youth 15 years later.

Methods: Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), this 15-year longitudinal study followed 1934 youths from birth to age 15.

Blacks' Diminished Health Return of Family Structure and Socioeconomic Status; 15 Years of Follow-up of a National Urban Sample of Youth.

The protective effect of family structure and socioeconomic status (SES) on physical and mental health is well established. There are reports, however, documenting a smaller return of SES among Blacks compared to Whites, also known as Blacks' diminished return. Using a national sample, this study investigated race by gender differences in the effects of family structure and family SES on subsequent body mass index (BMI) over a 15-year period.

Falling Further Behind? Child Support Arrears and Fathers' Labor Force Participation.

This study examines how child support arrears affect fathers' labor force participation. It relies on longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study. Findings from analyses of these data suggest that child support arrears result in declines in average weeks worked in the formal labor market in subsequent time periods.

Beyond absenteeism: father incarceration and child development.

High rates of incarceration among American men, coupled with high rates of fatherhood among men in prison, have motivated recent research on the effects of parental imprisonment on children's development. We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine the relationship between paternal incarceration and developmental outcomes for approximately 3,000 urban children. We estimate cross-sectional and longitudinal regression models that control not only for fathers' basic demographic characteristics and a rich set of potential confounders, but also for several measures of pre-incarceration child development and family fixed effects.

Racial Disparities in Men's Health and the Transition to Marriage Among Unmarried Fathers.

This article uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Survey to examine the association between transitioning to marriage and general health status or serious health problems among low-income men. Beginning with a sample of 3,631 unmarried fathers, the study observes the relationship between their transitions to marriage within 3 years after the birth of their child and their health status 5 years postbirth. The authors also explore if unmarried fathers benefit from marrying mothers who have health insurance.

Parenting as a "package deal": relationships, fertility, and nonresident father involvement among unmarried parents.

Fatherhood has traditionally been viewed as part of a "package deal" in which a father's relationship with his child is contingent on his relationship with the mother. We evaluate the accuracy of this hypothesis in light of the high rates of multiple-partner fertility among unmarried parents using the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a recent longitudinal survey of nonmarital births in large cities. We examine whether unmarried mothers' and fathers' subsequent relationship and parenting transitions are associated with declines in fathers' contact with their nonresident biological children.

Parental Incarceration and Child Wellbeing: Implications for Urban Families.

OBJECTIVE: Using a population-based, longitudinal family survey (N=4,898), we identify economic, residential, and developmental risks particular to the children of incarcerated parents. METHODS: We use parental reports of incarceration history, demographic background, and a rich set of child and family outcomes, in a series of multivariate regression models. RESULTS: Children of incarcerated parents face more economic and residential instability than their counterparts.

Marriage: Cause or Mere Indicator of Future Earnings Growth?

The hypothesis that marriage increases men's earnings has contributed to legislative support for the Healthy Marriage Initiative (HMI). However, previous studies of this phenomenon have not controlled for many relevant characteristics that select men into marriage, nor have they focused on low-income, unmarried fathers-the population targeted by HMI. We use the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, which measures many previously unobserved confounders, to test for a relationship between marriage and earnings.

Claiming Fatherhood: Race and the Dynamics of Paternal Involvement among Unmarried Men.

In 1965, Daniel Patrick Moynihan argued that the black family was nearing "complete breakdown" due to high rates of out-of-wedlock childbearing. In subsequent decades, nonmarital childbearing rose dramatically for all racial groups and unwed fathers were often portrayed as being absent from their children's lives. The authors examine contemporary nonmarital father involvement using quantitative evidence from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study and qualitative evidence from in-depth interviews with 150 unmarried fathers.