The Presence of Non-Parent Adults and Economic Realities for Children in Low-income Neighborhoods Kate Bachtell, Ph.D. Nola du Toit, Ph.D. Catherine Haggerty .

http://www.norc.org/NewsEventsPublications/Pages/working-paper-series.aspx

Background Twenty-five years of extensive and rigorous research has shown that children raised in stable, secure families have a better chance to flourish. Family structure is an important factor in reducing poverty, too: children raised in single-parent families are nearly five times as likely to be poor as those in married-couple families. In part, this is the result of simple math: two parents, on average, have far greater resources to devote to raising children than does one parent attempting to raise children alone. _______________________________________________________________________ Original citations: 57 See Sara McLanahan, Laura Tach, and Daniel Schneider, “The causal effects of father absence,” Annual Review of Sociology 39 (2013): 399- 427; and Waldfogel, Craigie, and Brooks-Gunn (2010) for a survey of the literature. 58 U.S. Census Bureau, Detailed Poverty Tables, POV03: People in families with related children under 18 by family structure, age, and sex, Iterated by Income-to-Poverty Ratio and Race: 2013, https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/cpstables/032014/pov/pov03_100.htm. Aber, L., Butler, S., Danziger, S., Doar, R., Ellwood, D.T., Gueron, J., Haidt, J., Haskins, R., Hymowitz, R., Mincy, R., Reeves, R., Strain, M.R., & Waldfogel, J. (2015). Opportunity, responsibility, and security: A consensus plan for reducing poverty and restoring the American dream. AEI/Brookings Working Group on Poverty and Opportunity. Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research and the Brookings Institution.

The Problem(s) For many children, especially the most economically vulnerable, their primary social setting—the household—includes adults other than their parents Prevailing framing of family “instability” elicits a fictional dichotomy of secure versus insecure families among the poor Insert Presentation Title and Any Confidentiality Information

Our Contribution Define household structure based on the relationship of each adult to a focal child Include non-parent adults such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, unrelated others, etc. Define instability based on any change in the adult composition of the household

Data Title Making Connections Survey Funding agency Annie E. Casey Foundation Summary Longitudinal study of families in low-income neighborhoods in ten U.S. cities Access Restricted use within NORC's Data Enclave Sample type AP and list of focal children Key advantages Representation of very poor and racial/ethnic minority households Detailed household roster information (relationship of each person to the R and FC) and linked personal identifiers

Current Objectives Quantify the prominence of grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. in low-income households Determine whether the presence of these non- parent adults is associated with any benefit or detriment to economic wellbeing Examine the impact of losing and/or gaining non-parent adults on economic wellbeing

Analytic Sample Panel of 1,619 households with children that participated in waves 2 and 3 of the Making Connections Survey Inclusion criteria: Same focal child selected in both waves Valid relationship codes n = 1,212

Dependent Variables Square root of household income per capita: continuous measure of the household's total income from all sources in the year prior to the wave 3 interview Economic hardship: 6-point continuous measure indicating how many of the following the household experienced in the past year: (1) did not fill or postponed filling a prescription for drugs; were not able to pay the (2) mortgage, (3) phone, or (4) utility bills; or (5) were without enough money to buy food.

Independent Variables Focus variables: Ever had a non-parent present in the household: Dummy variable indicating whether, across two waves, the focal child EVER lived with a non-parent adult (e.g. grandparent, aunt or uncle, other extended relative, unrelated adult, etc.) in the home Ever had a change in non-parent adult in the household: three dummy variables indicating whether the household experienced a numeric change in the number of non-parent adults living in the home between waves (gained, lost, no change)

Independent Variables Family Disruption variables: Ever a change in parents Moved since prior wave Controls: Respondent characteristics: foreign-born, race/ethnicity, sex, age, highest level of education, married, cohabiting Household characteristics: number of people, number of parents, relationships to the focal child, employment status across all adults

Analysis Descriptive statistics OLS regression models Weighted to represent households with children in MC neighborhoods as of wave 2 (2005-2007)

Current Study: RQ1 R1: What are the characteristics of families that include one or more non- parent adults?

Never included non-parent adult Ever included non-parent adult Table 1. Household and Respondent Characteristics: Select Controls (unweighted) Never included non-parent adult Ever included non-parent adult (NNP) (ENP) Figure SD Household Characteristics Number of people in the HH (mean) 3.87 1.32 4.17 1.47 Number of parents (%) None 0.00 16.09 One 49.60 51.50 Two 50.40 32.40 Relationships to focal child (adults, %) Aunt/uncle 18.03 Grandparent 39.70 Other relative 5.36 Boarder/roommate/unrelated 12.66 Employment status (adults, mean) Employed 1.11 0.82 1.20 0.96 Disabled 0.08 0.29 0.23 0.49 Retired 0.01 0.17 0.45 Unemployed 0.20 0.44 0.25 0.53 Family Disruption Moved since prior wave (%) 48.53 55.58 Ever a change in parents (%) 15.15 31.76

Current Study: RQ2 R2: What impact, if any, does the presence of one or more non-parent adult have on household economic wellbeing?

Household income per capita (sq root) Table 2. Regression Models Predicting Economic Outcomes, Isolating Presence of Non-Parent Adult Household income per capita (sq root) Economic hardship Estimate   Std Error Intercept 64.02 *** 6.92 2.12 0.31 Focus Variables Ever with non-parent adult in the home -3.49 2.08 -0.08 0.09 Household Characteristics Number of parents in household 3.15 1.81 -0.12 0.08 Number of employed adults 5.80 1.28 -0.10 0.06 Number of disabled adults -7.82 ** 2.60 0.25 * 0.11 Number of retired adults -4.89 3.60 -0.25 0.16 Number of unemployed adults -8.83 0.20 -4.39 0.65 Square root of income per capita -0.01 0.00 Family Disruption Moved since prior wave -6.14 1.88 0.03 N 1,212 R-Squared 0.34 0.10 F 41.55 9.24 Degrees of Freedom 15 *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001

Current Study: RQ3 R3: What impact, if any, does change in the presence of one or more non-parent adult have on household economic wellbeing?

Household income per capita (sq root) Table 3. Regression Models Predicting Economic Outcomes, Isolating Change in Presence of Non-Parent Adult Household income per capita (sq root) Economic hardship Estimate   Std Error Intercept 67.55 *** 11.05 1.84 0.45 Focus Variables Added a non-parent adult 6.76 4.20 0.33 0.17 Lost a non-parent adult 9.25 * 3.94 0.21 0.16 Household Characteristics Number of parents in household -0.26 2.81 -0.02 0.11 Number of employed adults 5.28 2.07 -0.10 0.08 Number of disabled adults -6.90 3.51 0.42 ** 0.14 Number of retired adults -6.16 4.32 -0.22 Number of unemployed adults -9.29 3.30 -0.09 0.13 -4.95 1.15 Square root of income per capita -0.01 0.00 Family Disruption Change in number of parents 0.63 3.23 -0.42 Moved since prior wave -8.02 3.55 -0.07 N 466 R-Squared F 12.69 4.27 Degrees of Freedom 17 *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001

Recap of Objectives Economic hardship: results are less conclusive Quantify the prominence of grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. in low-income households  38% at one or both waves Determine whether the presence of these non-parent adults is associated with any benefit or detriment to economic wellbeing  No significant impact for income nor hardship Examine the impact of losing and/or gaining non-parent adults on economic wellbeing Adding a non-parent=no impact Losing a non-parent=more HH income per capita No impact on economic hardship Economic hardship: results are less conclusive

Next Steps Quantitative: Use personal identifiers to capture substitutions of adults Try fixed effects regression? Qualitative: Gather additional data? Insert Presentation Title and Any Confidentiality Information

Contact me: bachtell-kate@norc.org Download the Working Paper: http://www.norc.org/NewsEventsPublications/Pages /working-paper-series.aspx