Does Children’s Academic Achievement Improve when Single Mothers Marry?

Abstract

Promoting marriage, especially among low-income single mothers with children, is increasingly viewed as a promising public policy strategy for improving developmental outcomes for disadvantaged children. Previous research suggests, however, that children’s academic achievement either does not improve or declines when single mothers marry. In this paper, we argue that previous research may understate the benefits of mothers’ marriages to children from single-parent families because (1) the short-term and long-term developmental consequences of marriage are not adequately distinguished and (2) child and family contexts in which marriage is likely to confer developmental advantages are not differentiated from those that do not. Using multiple waves of data from the ECLS-K, we find that single mothers’ marriages are associated with modest but statistically significant improvements in their children’s academic achievement trajectories. However, only children from more advantaged single-parent families benefit from their mothers’ marriage.

Lone Motherhood and its Educational Outcomes for Children in Vietnam

“…In contrast, the situation of children living with a currently married lone mother is not significantly different from children who coreside with two parents. The vulnerability of children of never married, divorced, separated, and widowed lone mothers compared with children living with two parents confirms the hypothesis drawn from other countries' experience (Bernardi & Radl, 2014;Fitzgerald Krein & Beller, 1988;Gertler et al, 2004;Milne et al, 1986;Mulkey et al, 1992;Usakli, 2013;Wagmiller et al, 2010;Zhao et al, 2014). It is also consistent with results from a study on female head of households in Thailand and Vietnam (Klasen et al, 2011).…”

“…The interest in lone motherhood issues lies not only it its increasing prevalence rate but also in its potential consequences. Among them, detrimental effects on children's education is one of the more significant, as shown by the experience drawn from Western countries (Bernardi & Radl, 2014;Fitzgerald Krein & Beller, 1988;Milne, Myers, Rosenthal, & Ginsburg, 1986;Mulkey, Crain, & Harrington, 1992;Wagmiller, Gershoff, Veliz, & Clements, 2010) as well as from America (Child Trends, 2013;Creighton, Park, Teruel, & Teachman, 2009), Africa (Case & Ardington, 2006;Child Trends, 2013), and Asia (Child Trends, 2013;Gertler, Levine, & Ames, 2004;Tao & Xin, 2010;Usakli, 2013;Zhao et al, 2014). In a context where education has been a long-lasting focus of public policy and where children's education is highly valued by parents, to what extent does this apply to Vietnam?…”

Better for Baby? The Retreat From Mid-Pregnancy Marriage and Implications for Parenting and Child Well-being

“…For example, children born to unmarried parents experience significantly more family structure changes compared with other children (Osborne and McLanahan 2007). Single mothers who marry have a higher risk of union dissolution than childless women who marry (Graefe and Lichter 2002;Williams et al 2008), creating greater family instability for children, which in turn is linked to poorer outcomes for children (Brown 2006;Cavanagh and Huston 2006;Fomby and Cherlin 2007), especially among those from less-advantaged single-parent families (Wagmiller et al 2010). Further, women with a premarital birth are more likely to report marital conflict than women who marry without a premarital birth (Timmer and Orbuch 2001), and parental conflict is linked to poorer child psychological well-being (Amato and Sobolewski 2001;Musick and Bumpass 1999;Musick and Meier 2010).…”

Mothers’ Union Histories and the Mental and Physical Health of Adolescents Born to Unmarried Mothers

“…Prior research has focused on short-term processes, examining child well-being as a function of mother’s current union status or recent union transitions (Acs 2007; Heard 2007). As Wagmiller and colleagues (2010: 202) note, “Failure to consider how the effects of parental marriage change over time is likely to understate the long-term benefits of marriage, especially if the effects of marriage on children are examined…immediately after a parent’s transition to marriage.” We address this issue and further consider how union type, marital stability and the paternity status of the mother’s partner shape the health of adolescents born to unmarried women.…”