Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Background: Nearly half of all births in the U.S. are to unmarried mothers. As a result of this demographic pattern, establishment and enforcement of child support agreements are frequently involved as new families are formed. Research has shown that father’s economic involvement through contributing cash and/or in-kind support is associated with improved child cognitive and behavioral outcomes. However, the underlying mechanisms driving this observed association are still not well understood. This study aims to test whether the Family Stress Model (FSM) can explain the effects of paternal economic support on positive child well-being.

Design: Existing data from the 3Y and 5Y waves of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) were examined. Structural equation modeling and factor analysis techniques were applied to develop latent factor measurement models and operationalize FSM constructs: “Conflict” included items from the Multi-Dimensional Support Scale; “Parenting” included items from the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale; and “Child well-being” included the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Child Behavior Checklist, and Adaptive Social Behavior Inventory. The complete structural model consisted of cash, in-kind support, economic pressure, maternal depression, inter-parental coercion and withdrawal, maternal engagement and use of harsh discipline, and child well-being. Maximum likelihood with Satorra-Bentler adjustment was used to estimate each model, and path coefficients were individually tested using one-sided hypothesis tests at 0.05 significance level.

Data: FFCWS is a longitudinal birth cohort study that is nationally representative of all “large” U.S. cities with at least 200,000 people. Parents who were married, cohabiting, incarcerated, or deceased at the time of interview were excluded from analyses. The final analytic samples included 1256 and 517 unmarried mother-child dyads in the 3Y and 5Y waves, respectively.

Results: Both structural equation models appeared to fit the data reasonably well (3Y: chi2=964.56, p<0.001, RMSEA=0.046, CFI=0.86, TLI=0.84, SRMR=0.057; 5Y: chi2=656.36, p<0.001, RMSEA=0.045, CFI=0.96, TLI=0.83, SRMR=0.061). The significant chi2 statistics were most likely influenced by the large sample size rather than being indicators of poor model fit. Testing standardized path coefficients revealed that cash and in-kind support were both negatively associated with economic pressure (p<0.01), which was in turn positively linked to maternal depression (p<0.001). Depression was directly associated with inter-parental coercion (p<0.001), withdrawal (p<0.001), and maternal use of harsh discipline (p<0.001). Harsh discipline was in turn negatively linked to child well-being (p<0.001).

Conclusions: Both the 3Y and 5Y waves provided empirical evidence supporting the FSM as a plausible explanation for the association between paternal economic support and positive child well-being. Specifically, this target association appeared to be mediated by a mechanism consisting of economic pressure, maternal depression, inter-parental conflict, and harsh discipline (parenting behavior).

Policy implications: While some success has been shown in policies that tighten child support enforcement or improve father’s human capital (e.g., more education, higher wages), these efforts can be costly and protracted. Future interventions and policies could also target FSM constructs in order to attenuate the damaging effects of economic stress on child well-being. More research is needed to investigate whether the FSM is explanatory among other developmental stages.