New Estimates on the Effect of Parental Separation on Child Health

Shirley Liu and Frank Heiland ()

No 719, Working Papers from University of Miami, Department of Economics

Abstract: This study examines the causal link between parental non-marital relationship dissolution and the health status of young children. Using a representative sample of children all born out of wedlock drawn from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we investigate whether separation between unmarried biological parents has a causal effect on a child’s likelihood of developing asthma. Adopting a potential outcome framework to account for selection of relationship dissolution, we find that children whose parents separate within three years after childbirth are seven percent more likely to develop asthma by age three, compared to if their parents had remained romantically involved. We provide evidence that socioeconomically disadvantaged fathers are more likely to see the relationship with their child’s mother end, and selection into relationship dissolution along these dimensions helps explain the poorer health outcomes found among out-of-wedlock children whose parents separate.

Keywords: Child Asthma; Fragile Families; Relationship Dissolution; Propensity Score Matching (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C14 I12 J12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 40 pages
Date: 2007-10-22
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Forthcoming in "Casual Analysis in Population Studies: Concepts, Methods, Applications", European Studies of Population

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mia:wpaper:0719

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