Multigenerational Households and the School Readiness of Children Born to Unmarried Mothers

摘要

Following the ongoing increase in nonmarital fertility, policy makers havelooked for ways to limit the disadvantages faced by children of unmarriedmothers. Recent initiatives included marriage promotion and welfare-to-workprograms. Yet policy might also consider the promotion of three generationalhouseholds. We know little about whether multigenerational householdsbenefit children of unwed mothers, although they are mandated forunmarried teen mothers applying for welfare benefits. Multigenerationalhouseholds are also becoming increasingly common. Thus, using data fromthe Panel Study of Income Dynamics (N = 217), this study examines whethergrandparent-headed coresidential households benefit preschool-aged childrenﾒsschool readiness, employing propensity score techniques to accountfor selection into these households. Findings reveal living with a grandparentis not associated with child outcomes for families that select into sucharrangements but is positively associated with reading scores and behaviorproblems for families with a low propensity to coreside. The implications ofthese findings for policy are discussed.