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Using a longitudinal sample of eighth graders who lived with both biological parents in 1988, we estimate the increased risk of dropping out among students whose two-parent families experienced disruption over the subsequent 4 years. We differentiate the impact on school dropout of initial family income before family disruption from income change after the marriage ends. This approach helps to disentangle two interpretations of the relation between income and family structure. Our results suggest that both measures of income are significant contributors of the risk of dropping out for children whose families became mother only families. When income loss is taken into account, along with initial income and other family, demographic, and prior school achievement factors, there is no evidence of increased risk of dropout among children who began to live with a single mother during the 1988-1992 period.

Research from 1969 to 1989 shows female heads of families have gradually increased income, largely due to greater work effort. Pre- and post-transfer income point comparison and further comparison with married-couple and male-headed families are discussed.

Children in the United States are more likely than ever before to spend part of their lives in single-mother families. However, researchers usually ignore the complexity of household living arrangements, [...]

The objective of this research was to examine the relationships between the dependent variable of work-family conflict (operationalized as overload, work to family interference, family to work interference) and the independent variables of gender, family type, and perceived control. The sample consisted of 1,989 single-parent and dual-income employees with children ages 6 through 12. The findings indicated that individuals with higher perceived control have lower levels of overload and interference. Women had higher levels of overload and interference than did men. Single parents had similar levels of overload and interference from family to work as married individuals.

This paper examines the economic fortunes of lone-mother families using the public use microfiles of the 1971 and 1986 Canadian censuses. The analysis shows that despite a 16 per cent increase in the real income of lone-mother families, the income gap between lone-mother and two-parent families widened appreciably over the 15-year period. Although real wages for both husbands and lone mothers rose slowly, a sharp increase in the labour force participation rate of married women allowed two-parent families to increase their total family income significantly. By contrast, demographic changes among lone-mother families served to limit the increase in total family earnings and slowed the rise of family income.