Search Results

Author: Houle, Jason N.
Resulting in 27 citations.
1. Addo, Fenaba
Houle, Jason N.
Cross-Cohort Changes in Entry into First Marriage: Does Debt Matter, and Has This Association Changed over Time
Presented: Miami FL, Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) Annual Fall Research Conference, November 12-14, 2015
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY97
Publisher: Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM)
Keyword(s): Cohabitation; Debt/Borrowing; Family Formation; Marital Status; Marriage; Net Worth

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

For this study we use data from two cohorts, the Baby Boomer generation of the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY) 1979 Cohort, and the "Millennials" represented by the NLSY 1997 cohort to explore cohort changes in economic attributes predicting early union formation. We are particularly interested in examining how much more difficult debt and the increasing significance of net worth makes it to enter into a marriage directly relative to cohabiting first. We use event history methods, comparing men and women, to predict transitions into first union, cohabitation versus marriage. Our analysis highlights the growing influence of negative financial assets on family formation decisions in early and young adulthood.
Bibliography Citation
Addo, Fenaba and Jason N. Houle. "Cross-Cohort Changes in Entry into First Marriage: Does Debt Matter, and Has This Association Changed over Time." Presented: Miami FL, Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) Annual Fall Research Conference, November 12-14, 2015.
2. Addo, Fenaba
Houle, Jason N.
Sassler, Sharon
The Changing Nature of the Association Between Student Loan Debt and Marital Behavior in Young Adulthood
Journal of Family and Economic Issues 40,1 (March 2019): 86-101.
Also: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10834-018-9591-6
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY97
Publisher: Springer
Keyword(s): Cohabitation; Debt/Borrowing; Marriage; Student Loans / Student Aid

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

In this study, we compared young adults from the NLSY 1979 and the NLSY 1997 to examine how the relationship between student debt and the likelihood of marrying changed across cohorts, in light of the growing acceptance of non-marital cohabitation. In the 1997 cohort, student loan debt among college-attending young adults was associated with delays in marriage, but not in the 1979 cohort. Among men, the positive association between education debt and marriage in the 1979 cohort was no longer evident for the 1997 cohort of young men. Our findings provide further evidence that rising student debt is reshaping relationship formation among college-going youth, and that as cohabitation has become more widespread, social and economic disparities in who marries without cohabiting first have increased.
Bibliography Citation
Addo, Fenaba, Jason N. Houle and Sharon Sassler. "The Changing Nature of the Association Between Student Loan Debt and Marital Behavior in Young Adulthood." Journal of Family and Economic Issues 40,1 (March 2019): 86-101.
3. Addo, Fenaba
Houle, Jason N.
Simon, Daniel
Young, Black, and (Still) in the Red: Parental Wealth, Race, and Student Loan Debt
Race and Social Problems 8,1 (March 2016): 64-76.
Also: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12552-016-9162-0
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Springer
Keyword(s): College Cost; Debt/Borrowing; Family Resources; Financial Assistance; Net Worth; Parental Investments; Racial Differences; Student Loans / Student Aid

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Taking out student loans to assist with the costs of postsecondary schooling in the US has become the norm in recent decades. The debt burden young adults acquire during the higher education process, however, is increasingly stratified with black young adults holding greater debt burden than whites. Using data from the NLSY 1997 cohort, we examine racial differences in student loan debt acquisition and parental net wealth as a predictor contributing to this growing divide. We have four main results. First, confirming prior research, black young adults have substantially more debt than their white counterparts. Second, we find that this difference is partially explained by differences in wealth, family background, postsecondary educational differences, and family contributions to college. Third, young adults' net worth explain a portion of the black-white disparity in debt, suggesting that both differences in accumulation of debt and ability to repay debt in young adulthood explain racial disparities in debt. Fourth, the black-white disparity in debt is greatest at the highest levels of parents' net worth. Our findings show that while social and economic experiences can help explain racial disparities in debt, the situation is more precarious for black youth, who are not protected by their parents' wealth. This suggests that the increasing costs of higher education and corresponding rise in student loan debt are creating a new form of stratification for recent cohorts of young adults, and that student loan debt may be a new mechanism by which racial economic disparities are inherited across generations.
Bibliography Citation
Addo, Fenaba, Jason N. Houle and Daniel Simon. "Young, Black, and (Still) in the Red: Parental Wealth, Race, and Student Loan Debt." Race and Social Problems 8,1 (March 2016): 64-76.
4. Berger, Lawrence Marc
Houle, Jason N.
Parental Debt and Children's Socioemotional Well-being
Pediatrics 137,2 (February 2016): DOI: 10.1542/peds.2015-3059.
Also: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2016/01/20/peds.2015-3059
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: American Academy of Pediatrics
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Children, Well-Being; Debt/Borrowing; Financial Investments; Home Ownership; Modeling, Fixed Effects; Mothers, Education; Parental Investments; Student Loans / Student Aid

OBJECTIVES: We estimated associations between total amount of parental debt and of home mortgage, student loan, automobile, and unsecured debt with children's socioemotional well-being.

METHODS: We used population-based longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979 Cohort and Children of the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979 Cohort. Our analytic sample consisted of 29,318 child-year observations of 9011 children and their mothers observed annually or biennially from 1986 to 2008. We used the Behavioral Problems Index to measure socioemotional well-being. We used ordinary least squares regressions to estimate between-child associations of amounts and types of parental debt with socioemotional well-being, net of a host of control variables, and regressions with child-specific fixed effects to estimate within-child associations of changes in parental debt with changes in socioemotional well-being, net of all time-constant observed and unobserved confounders.

RESULTS: Greater total debt was associated with poorer child socioemotional well-being. However, this association varied by type of debt. Specifically, higher levels of home mortgage and education debt were associated with greater socioemotional well-being for children, whereas higher levels of and increases in unsecured debt were associated with lower levels of and declines in child socioemotional well-being.

CONCLUSIONS: Debt that allows for investment in homes (and perhaps access to better neighborhoods and schools) and parental education is associated with greater socioemotional well-being for children, whereas unsecured debt is negatively associated with socioemotional development, which may reflect limited financial resources to invest in children and/or parental financial stress. This suggests that debt is not universally harmful for children's well-being, particularly if used to invest in a home or education.

Bibliography Citation
Berger, Lawrence Marc and Jason N. Houle. "Parental Debt and Children's Socioemotional Well-being." Pediatrics 137,2 (February 2016): DOI: 10.1542/peds.2015-3059.
5. Berger, Lawrence Marc
Houle, Jason N.
Rising Household Debt and Children's Socioemotional Well-being Trajectories
Presented: Denver CO, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 2018
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Children, Well-Being; Debt/Borrowing; Social Emotional Development

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Household debt increased dramatically over time, becoming a substantial aspect of family finances. Yet, there has been limited rigorous research on whether particular types and amounts of household debt are associated with child well-being. We use data from NLSY79 and Children of the NLSY79 and Hierarchical Linear Models, which take advantage of both between- and within-individual variation, to estimate associations of amounts and types (home, education, auto, unsecured) of parental debt with child socioemotional well-being, net of a host of selection factors. Results suggest that unsecured debt is associated with growth in child behavior problems over time, whereas this is not the case for other types of debt. We also find some evidence that increased education debt is associated with decreases over time in child behavior problems. Moreover, these associations vary by socioeconomic status with less advantaged groups experiencing larger negative influences of unsecured debt.
Bibliography Citation
Berger, Lawrence Marc and Jason N. Houle. "Rising Household Debt and Children's Socioemotional Well-being Trajectories." Presented: Denver CO, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 2018.
6. Berger, Lawrence Marc
Houle, Jason N.
Rising Household Debt and Children's Socioemotional Well-being Trajectories
Demography 56,4 (August 2019): 1273-1301.
Also: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13524-019-00800-7
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Child Development; Children, Well-Being; Debt/Borrowing; Parental Influences; Socioeconomic Status (SES)

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Debt is now a substantial aspect of family finances. Yet, research on how household debt is linked with child development has been limited. We use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 cohort and hierarchical linear models to estimate associations of amounts and types of parental debt (home, education, auto, unsecured/uncollateralized) with child socioemotional well-being. We find that unsecured debt is associated with growth in child behavior problems, whereas this is not the case for other forms of debt. Moreover, the association of unsecured debt with child behavior problems varies by child age and socioeconomic status, with younger children and children from less-advantaged families experiencing larger associations of unsecured debt with greater behavior problems.
Bibliography Citation
Berger, Lawrence Marc and Jason N. Houle. "Rising Household Debt and Children's Socioemotional Well-being Trajectories." Demography 56,4 (August 2019): 1273-1301.
7. Curtis, Marah A.
Berger, Lawrence Marc
Houle, Jason N.
Housing Tenure, Stability and Children's Outcomes
Presented: Washington, DC, Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) Annual Fall Research Conference, November 7-9, 2013
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM)
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Behavioral Problems; Children; Children, Well-Being; Home Ownership; Mobility, Residential; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading)

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

A small body of research finds that the children of owners, compared to renters, are less likely to experience negative outcomes such as school dropout or teen parenthood. This line of research, however, has not yet identified what it is about homeownership that seems to be good for children. Since the costs of moving are much lower for renters than owners, renters move more frequently. Stability, then, is likely particularly important for child outcomes regardless of tenure, but may also account for differences in child well-being between owners and renters. Using longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) and Hierarchical Linear Models (HLM), we estimate the effects of stable housing tenure (owning or renting) and exits from either arrangement on changes in children’s achievement (math and reading tests) and problem behavior (internalizing and externalizing behavior problems). We consider whether the effects of stable tenure and exits vary by children’s ages and assess whether these effects are transitory or persist over time. We expect that the age of the child is particularly consequential given the marked changes occurring in child development and parental oversight between the ages of 5 and 17. Younger children spend more supervised time in the home, suggesting that the stability of that arrangement rather than the tenure status might be most important, however, older children with more extensive peer networks and active use of public goods may be impacted by tenure if that status is associated with higher quality schools and other public goods.
Bibliography Citation
Curtis, Marah A., Lawrence Marc Berger and Jason N. Houle. "Housing Tenure, Stability and Children's Outcomes." Presented: Washington, DC, Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) Annual Fall Research Conference, November 7-9, 2013.
8. Houle, Jason N.
A Generation Indebted: Young Adult Debt across Three Cohorts
Social Problems 61,3 (August 2014): 448-465.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/sp.2014.12110
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY97, Young Men, Young Women
Publisher: University of California Press
Keyword(s): Assets; College Cost; College Education; Debt/Borrowing; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Socioeconomic Status (SES); Student Loans / Student Aid

In this study, I examine how young adult indebtedness has changed across three cohorts of young adults in the 1970s, 1980s, and 2000s. I pool data from four National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth cohorts--the NLS-M 1966, NLS-W 1968, NLSY 1979, and NLSY 1997. I have three key findings. First, debt burdens (debt relative to economic resources) have increased substantially across the three cohorts of study. Despite the fact that the most recent cohort of young adults are earlier along in their debt accrual career and have yet to hit many of the major adult milestones that often lead to debt, they are burdened with more debt than previous cohorts of young adults who achieved these milestones earlier. Second, young adult debt portfolios have shifted towards noncollateralized (unsecured) and student loan debt over time, the latter replacing home mortgage debt as the primary form of wealth-building debt among young adults. Third, cohort changes in debt have occurred unequally across social class lines. Young adults from lower social class backgrounds have disproportionately taken on more unsecured debt over time, relative to their more advantaged counterparts. The growth in debt burden across cohorts, however, has been most pronounced among college-educated young adults.
Bibliography Citation
Houle, Jason N. "A Generation Indebted: Young Adult Debt across Three Cohorts." Social Problems 61,3 (August 2014): 448-465.
9. Houle, Jason N.
A Generation Indebted? Young Adult Debt across Three Cohorts
Presented: San Francisco CA, Population Association of America Meetings, May 2012
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY97, Young Men, Young Women
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Assets; Debt/Borrowing

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Popular reports—stoked by the Great Recession and rising college costs—contend that young adults today are more indebted than the generations that precede them, but little systematic research exists on patterns of indebtedness in young adulthood. This study examines how young adult indebtedness has changed across three cohorts of young adults in the 1970’s, 1980’s, and 2000’s. To do this, I pool data from four National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth—the NLS-M 1966 cohort, NLS-W 1968 cohort, NLSY 1979 cohort, and NLSY 1997 cohort. Study findings reveal that the proportion of young adults with debt and median indebtedness is relatively stable across the three cohorts of study, in contrast to popular notions of rising young adult debt. Debt burden (e.g. debt-to-asset ratio), however, has increased across cohorts in part because of declines in asset ownership and increases in unsecured debt among young adults. Implications of findings are discussed.
Bibliography Citation
Houle, Jason N. "A Generation Indebted? Young Adult Debt across Three Cohorts." Presented: San Francisco CA, Population Association of America Meetings, May 2012.
10. Houle, Jason N.
Children with Disability and Trajectories of Parents' Consumer Debt Across the Life Course
Presented: Albuquerque NM, Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) Annual Fall Research Conference, November 2014
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM)
Keyword(s): Assets; Child Health, Limiting Condition(s); Debt/Borrowing; Disability; Family Resources; Modeling, Growth Curve/Latent Trajectory Analysis

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

I use nationally representative, longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979-cohort (NLSY-79) and the Children of the NLSY-79 (CNLSY-79) and hierarchical growth curve models to examine the effects of having a child with a disability on trajectories of consumer debt across the adult life course. I hypothesize that having a child with disability increases risk for accumulating consumer debt, and that parents with a child with a disability will have a greater risk for being chronically overindebted across the life course.
Bibliography Citation
Houle, Jason N. "Children with Disability and Trajectories of Parents' Consumer Debt Across the Life Course." Presented: Albuquerque NM, Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) Annual Fall Research Conference, November 2014.
11. Houle, Jason N.
Disparities in Debt: Parents' Socioeconomic Resources and Young Adult Student Loan Debt
Presented: Denver CO, American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, August 2012
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: American Sociological Association
Keyword(s): College Education; Debt/Borrowing; Income Level; Parental Influences; Socioeconomic Status (SES); Student Loans / Student Aid

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

In an era of rising college costs and declining grant-based student aid, many young adults rely on their parents’ resources and student loans to pay for their postsecondary education. This study asks how parents’ socioeconomic status (parents’ income and parents’ education) is linked to student loan debt. This study develops and tests three hypotheses about the link between two key elements of parents’ socioeconomic status—income and education—and young adults’ student loan debt. Study findings reveal that young adults from well-educated or high-income families are relatively protected from debt, in support of the reproduction of advantage hypothesis. Moreover, the relationship between parents’ income and student loan debt is nonlinear, such that young adults from middle-income families have a higher risk of debt than those from lower and higher income families, supporting the middle income squeeze hypothesis. The study findings suggest that student loan debt plays an important role in the early process of status attainment. In an era where debt has become ubiquitous, student loan debt may help reproduce inequalities across generations.
Bibliography Citation
Houle, Jason N. "Disparities in Debt: Parents' Socioeconomic Resources and Young Adult Student Loan Debt." Presented: Denver CO, American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, August 2012.
12. Houle, Jason N.
Disparities in Debt: Parents’ Socioeconomic Resources and Young Adult Student Loan Debt
Sociology of Education 87,1 (January 2014): 53-69.
Also: http://soe.sagepub.com/content/87/1/53
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: American Sociological Association
Keyword(s): College Cost; Debt/Borrowing; Education; Financial Assistance; Income; Parental Influences; Socioeconomic Background; Socioeconomic Status (SES); Student Loans / Student Aid

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

In an era of rising college costs and stagnant grant-based student aid, many young adults rely on their parents’ resources and student loans to pay for their postsecondary education. In this study I ask how parents’ income and education are linked to young adults’ student loan debt. I develop and test two perspectives regarding the functional form of the association between parents’ income, parents’ education, and student loan debt. I have four key findings. First, the relationship between parents’ income and student loan debt is nonlinear, such that young adults from middle-income families have a higher risk for debt than do those from low- and high-income families. Second, young adults from college-educated and high-income families are relatively protected from debt. Third, the association between parents’ socioeconomic status (SES) and debt is modified by postsecondary institutional characteristics and is strongest at private and high-cost institutions. Finally, the effect of parents’ SES on debt varies across the debt distribution. Parents’ SES is strongly predictive of entry into debt, but there are few differences conditional on going into debt. This suggests that socioeconomic disparities in debt are primarily driven by the probability of going into debt rather than differences among debtors. However, compared to their more advantaged counterparts, young adults from low-SES backgrounds have a higher risk of accruing debt burdens that exceed the national average.
Bibliography Citation
Houle, Jason N. "Disparities in Debt: Parents’ Socioeconomic Resources and Young Adult Student Loan Debt." Sociology of Education 87,1 (January 2014): 53-69.
13. Houle, Jason N.
Out of the Nest and into the Red: Three Essays on Debt in Young Adulthood
Ph.D. Dissertation, The Pennsylvania State University, 2011
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY97, Young Men, Young Women
Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT)
Keyword(s): Assets; College Degree; Debt/Borrowing; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Student Loans / Student Aid; Transition, Adulthood

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

The Great Recession of 2008 and rising costs of college have stoked popular and scholarly concern about young adult debt. Debt plays an important role in the lives of young people as they make the transition to adulthood, but little research has been conducted on the topic. This dissertation sheds light on the role of debt in the lives of young adults with three studies. The first study asks how indebtedness has changed across three cohorts of young adults in their twenties. The second and third studies examine how the acquisition of student loan debt is implicated in the early process of status attainment at a time when the cost of a college degree is high. To do this I draw on data from four different nationally representative surveys of young adults: The National Longitudinal Study of Men (1966 cohort), The National Longitudinal Study of Women (1968 cohort), The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1979 Cohort), and the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (1997 cohort). The results show: (1) median debt has remained relatively stable over time, but young adults today have fewer assets than their predecessors and take on more unsecured debt, leading them to have higher debt burdens (e.g. higher debt to asset ratios); (2) Student loan debt acquisition is linked to young adults' social class of origin. Young people from well-educated or high-income families are relatively protected from debt. Moreover, the relationship between parents' income and student loan debt is nonlinear, such that young adults from middle-income families have a higher risk of debt than those from lower and higher income families; (3) Parents' education and young adult's postsecondary education interact to affect student loan debt. Parents' education acts as a safety net that reduces the positive correlation between postsecondary education and debt. Overall, the findings suggest that debt plays an important role in the lives of young adults as they become independent, and has become more bu rdensome for young adults across cohorts. Debt also plays an important role in the early process of status attainment, particularly for young adults who use debt as a way to pay for college.
Bibliography Citation
Houle, Jason N. Out of the Nest and into the Red: Three Essays on Debt in Young Adulthood. Ph.D. Dissertation, The Pennsylvania State University, 2011.
14. Houle, Jason N.
Addo, Fenaba
Racial Disparities in Student Loan Debt and the Reproduction of Inequality
Presented: Washington DC, Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) Annual Fall Research Conference, November 2016
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM)
Keyword(s): College Cost; Debt/Borrowing; Racial Differences; Racial Equality/Inequality; Student Loans / Student Aid; Wealth

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

In this paper we aim to make three contributions to the growing literature on race and student loan debt. First, we ask whether racial disparities in debt change as young adults move through young adulthood. If black young adults are struggling with repayment, and also facing lower wages and higher rates of unemployment, racial disparities in student loan debt may increase as young people age. Second, we ask if parental wealth, postsecondary institutional characteristics, and young adult social and economic characteristics help explain why racial gaps in student loan debt persist, increase, or diminish across young adulthood. As part of this question, we will also ask whether the gap is largest, or increases faster, for students who left college without a degree (versus college graduates), 4 year versus 2 year grads, and for profit versus non-profit attendees. Third, we ask to what extent racial disparities in student loan debt contribute to black-white disparities in wealth among the current generation of young adults. As noted above, scholars have recently posited that student loan debt may be a new mechanism by which racial economic inequalities are perpetuated across generations, but to date there has been no clear test of this hypothesis.

To address these questions, we use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997. We draw additional data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System Delta Cost Project Database, which provides longitudinal information on characteristics of postsecondary institutions attended by NLSY97 respondents. We measure changes in student loan debt and wealth holdings at two points in time, using the age 25 and age 30 debts and assets modules. We will use regression models to examine changes in self-reported debt across these time points by race. We will also use decomposition techniques to quantify the extent to which student loan debt contributes to black-white differences in wealth.

Bibliography Citation
Houle, Jason N. and Fenaba Addo. "Racial Disparities in Student Loan Debt and the Reproduction of Inequality." Presented: Washington DC, Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) Annual Fall Research Conference, November 2016.
15. Houle, Jason N.
Berger, Lawrence Marc
Children with Disabilities and Trajectories of Parents' Unsecured Debt Across the Life Course
Social Science Research 64 (May 2017): 184-196.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0049089X15301964
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Child Health, Limiting Condition(s); Debt/Borrowing; Disability; Life Course; Parenthood

Prior research shows that having a child with a disability is economically burdensome for parents but we know little about whether this burden extends to unsecured debt. In this study, we examine the link between having a child with a disability that manifests between birth and age 4 and subsequent trajectories in unsecured household debt. We have three key findings. First, we find that having a child with an early-life disabling health condition is associated with a substantial increase in indebtedness in the years immediately following the child's birth, and that this association persists net of a range of potential confounders. Second, we find that parents do not quickly repay this debt, such that parents of a child with a disabling health condition have different trajectories of unsecured debt across the life course than do parents of children without a disabling health condition. Third, we find that the association between early-life child disability and debt is stronger for more severe conditions, such as those that require ongoing medical treatment. The results of this study are informative for understanding an important aspect of economic functioning--indebtedness--for parents of children with disabilities, as well as the causes and correlates of rising unsecured debt in the U.S.
Bibliography Citation
Houle, Jason N. and Lawrence Marc Berger. "Children with Disabilities and Trajectories of Parents' Unsecured Debt Across the Life Course." Social Science Research 64 (May 2017): 184-196.
16. Houle, Jason N.
Berger, Lawrence Marc
Is Student Loan Debt Discouraging Home Buying Among Young Adults?
Presented: San Francisco CA, American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, August 2014
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: American Sociological Association
Keyword(s): College Cost; Debt/Borrowing; Home Ownership; Racial Differences; Student Loans / Student Aid

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Scholars, policy makers, and journalists have long speculated that the rise of student loan debt may lead to a range of negative outcomes among the recent generations of young adults. Most recently, many have suggested that student loan debt is holding back the housing market recovery, and that high debt burdens are leading young adults to leave the housing market, en masse. But despite these strong claims, there is very little empirical evidence on this topic. In this study, we use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997 cohort and ask how student loan debt accumulation is associated with home ownership outcomes (1) owning a home; 2) having a mortgage; 3) amount of mortgage debt among homeowners) in the current generation of young adults. In addition, given large racial and socioeconomic disparities in home ownership and student loan debt, we also examine whether the association between student loan debt and homeownership outcomes differs across racial and socioeconomic groups. We use a variety of methodological techniques; including OLS and 2-stage least squares instrumental variables, and find limited evidence that student loan debt is reducing home ownership among young adults. Although we find a significant association between debt and home-ownership, the association is substantively modest in size, suggesting that student loan debt is not a drag on the housing market. However, we find important race differences in the association between debt and homeownership, such that the effect of student loan debt on ownership outcomes is stronger for blacks than whites.
Bibliography Citation
Houle, Jason N. and Lawrence Marc Berger. "Is Student Loan Debt Discouraging Home Buying Among Young Adults?" Presented: San Francisco CA, American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, August 2014.
17. Houle, Jason N.
Berger, Lawrence Marc
Is Student Loan Debt Discouraging Homeownership among Young Adults?
Social Service Review 89,4 (December 2015): DOI: 10.1086/684587.
Also: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/684587
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Keyword(s): Debt/Borrowing; Economic Changes/Recession; Home Ownership; Student Loans / Student Aid

Amid concern that rising student loan debt has social and economic consequences for young adults, many suggest that student loan debt is leading young adults to forgo home buying. However, there is little empirical evidence on this topic. In this study, we use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 to estimate associations of student loan debt with homeownership, mortgage amount, and home equity. We use a variety of methodological techniques and test several model specifications. While we find a negative association between debt and homeownership in some models, the association is substantively modest in size and is entirely driven by the debtor-nondebtor comparison; we find no association between debt amount and homeownership among debtors. Overall, we find limited evidence that student loan debt is responsible for declining young adult homeownership. Instead, indicators for the recession and transition to adulthood markers have a stronger association with homeownership.
Bibliography Citation
Houle, Jason N. and Lawrence Marc Berger. "Is Student Loan Debt Discouraging Homeownership among Young Adults?" Social Service Review 89,4 (December 2015): DOI: 10.1086/684587.
18. Houle, Jason N.
Berger, Lawrence Marc
Student Loan Debt and Home Buying: Are Student Loans Replacing Home Mortgages Among Young Adults?
Presented: Washington, DC, Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) Annual Fall Research Conference, November 7-9, 2013
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM)
Keyword(s): College Cost; College Education; Debt/Borrowing; Financial Assistance; Home Ownership; Propensity Scores; Student Loans / Student Aid

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

The rise in student loan debt over the past decade has raised questions about its potential impact on the economic well-being of young adults. Educational loans are a unique resource for those pursuing postsecondary education. On the one hand, debt is a borrowed resource that young adults can use to bridge the gap between their own and their family’s resources and the rising costs of college. On the other hand, debt comes with inherent risks, and some scholars have argued that high payment burdens may limit students’ opportunities and choices after college. Moreover, unlike other types of debt, student loan debt cannot be erased by filing bankruptcy, and there are often heavy financial penalties for missing loan payments. But despite rising concern about debt, little is known about the impact of student loan debt on longer term wealth acquisition and inequalities therein. We begin to address this question by examining the association of student loan debt burden and first time home buying. We also ask whether racial and socioeconomic disparities in student loan debt may be associated with inequality in home ownership among young adults.

To address these questions we use data from 4800 young adults who engaged in any postsecondary education in the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997 cohort (NLSY-97). Student loan debt is observed in the age 25 debts and assets module, and home ownership is observed at each survey wave. We first describe differences in student loan debt burden (e.g. student loan debt to income ratio; expected student loan payment to income ratios) and the probability of home ownership at age 25. We then examine the association of student loan debt at age 25 with the probability of home ownership over the next ten years, adjusting for a wide range of sociodemographic characteristics, and other forms of debt (e.g. credit card debt, other consumer debt). We use propensity score weighting to further adjust for selection into debt. We also take advantage of exogenous variation in institutional and state higher education costs (e.g. sticker price; net price) and financial aid generosity to instrument the effect of student loan debt on home ownership. Finally, among those who own homes at baseline when student loan debt is measured, we examine whether student loan debt is associated with the probability of home ownership exit in the next ten years. In all of these analyses we examine heterogeneity in the association of student loan debt and home ownership by race, socioeconomic status, and degree attainment (e.g. 2 year degree, 4 year degree, no degree).

Bibliography Citation
Houle, Jason N. and Lawrence Marc Berger. "Student Loan Debt and Home Buying: Are Student Loans Replacing Home Mortgages Among Young Adults?." Presented: Washington, DC, Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) Annual Fall Research Conference, November 7-9, 2013.
19. Houle, Jason N.
Keene, Danya
Getting Sick and Falling Behind: Health and the Risk of Mortgage Default and Home Foreclosure
Presented: New Orleans LA, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 2013
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Debt/Borrowing; Foreclosure; Health, Chronic Conditions; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Recent studies suggest that poor health and inadequate health care may be important predictors of mortgage default and home foreclosure. However, to date no longitudinal, national research has examined these relationships. We expand on existing work by using nationally representative longitudinal data from the NLSY-79 to examine the relationship between poor health, becoming ill and the risk of mortgage default and foreclosure among middle-aged adults. We find that the onset of chronic conditions and health limitations are significant predictors of later mortgage default, expectation of mortgage default, and home foreclosure between 2007 and 2010. We find that these associations are partially mediated by changes in family income, savings, health insurance status and employment status. From a policy perspective, the strong link between poor health and foreclosure suggests a need to reexamine the safety-nets that are available to individuals who become ill or disabled.
Bibliography Citation
Houle, Jason N. and Danya Keene. "Getting Sick and Falling Behind: Health and the Risk of Mortgage Default and Home Foreclosure." Presented: New Orleans LA, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 2013.
20. Houle, Jason N.
Keene, Danya
Getting Sick and Falling Behind: Health and the Risk of Mortgage Default and Home Foreclosure
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 69,4 (2015): 382-387.
Also: http://jech.bmj.com/content/69/4/382.abstract?sid=8b9ec29c-7287-4dc1-ada8-779df5a2ae06
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group, Ltd. - British Medical Journal Publishing Group
Keyword(s): Foreclosure; Health, Chronic Conditions; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Background: An emerging literature shows that mortgage strain can lead to poor health outcomes, but less work has focused on whether and how health shocks influence mortgage distress. We examine the link between changes in health status and default/foreclosure risk among older middle-aged adults.

Method: We used National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979 data and multivariate logistic regression models to examine the relationship between changes in health limitations and chronic conditions across survey waves and risk of mortgage default and foreclosure.

Results: We found that changes in health limitations and chronic conditions increased the risk of default and foreclosure between 2007 and 2010. These associations were partially mediated by changes in family income and loss of health insurance.

Conclusions: From a policy perspective, the strong link between the onset of illness and foreclosure suggests a need to re-examine the safety-nets that are available to individuals who become ill or disabled.

Bibliography Citation
Houle, Jason N. and Danya Keene. "Getting Sick and Falling Behind: Health and the Risk of Mortgage Default and Home Foreclosure." Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 69,4 (2015): 382-387.
21. Houle, Jason N.
Warner, Cody
Into the Red and Back to the Nest? Debt and Returning to the Parental Home
Presented: Chicago IL, American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, August 2015
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: American Sociological Association
Keyword(s): Credit/Credit Constraint; Debt/Borrowing; Modeling, Hazard/Event History/Survival/Duration; Residence, Return to Parental Home/Delayed Homeleaving

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

In this paper we make two primary contributions to the literature on “boomeranging”, or returning to the parental home. First, we provide one of the first examinations of the prevalence and correlates of boomeranging among a recent cohort of young adults. Second, we test the hypothesis that student loan and credit card debt increase the risk of boomeranging. To do this, we use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 Cohort (NLSY-97) and discrete time event history models to examine the link between debt and risk of returning to the parental home. We find that approximately 40% of young adults who become independent in our sample return home between 1997-2011 (7.6% annually). We also find key sociodemographic correlates of returning home. However, we find no support for the popular hypothesis that debt in young adulthood is associated with the risk of returning home, or boomeranging.
Bibliography Citation
Houle, Jason N. and Cody Warner. "Into the Red and Back to the Nest? Debt and Returning to the Parental Home." Presented: Chicago IL, American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, August 2015.
22. Houle, Jason N.
Warner, Cody
Into the Red and Back to the Nest? Debt and Returning to the Parental Home among Young Adults
Presented: San Diego CA, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April-May 2015
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): College Cost; Credit/Credit Constraint; Debt/Borrowing; Event History; Residence, Return to Parental Home/Delayed Homeleaving; Socioeconomic Background

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

In this paper we make two primary contributions to the literature on "boomeranging," or returning to the parental home. First, we provide one of the first examinations of the prevalence and correlates of boomeranging among a recent cohort of young adults. Second, we test the hypothesis that student loan and credit card debt increase the risk of boomeranging. To do this, we use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 Cohort (NLSY-97) and discrete time event history models to examine the link between debt and risk of returning to the parental home. We find that approximately 40% of young adults who become independent in our sample return home between 1997-2011 (7.6% annually). We also find key sociodemographic correlates of returning home. However, we find no support for the popular hypothesis that debt in young adulthood is associated with the risk of returning home, or boomeranging.
Bibliography Citation
Houle, Jason N. and Cody Warner. "Into the Red and Back to the Nest? Debt and Returning to the Parental Home among Young Adults." Presented: San Diego CA, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April-May 2015.
23. Houle, Jason N.
Warner, Cody
Into the Red and Back to the Nest? Student Debt, College Completion, and Returning to the Parental Home among Young Adults
Sociology of Education 90,1 (January 2017): 89-108.
Also: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0038040716685873
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: American Sociological Association
Keyword(s): College Cost; College Degree; Debt/Borrowing; Racial Differences; Residence, Return to Parental Home/Delayed Homeleaving; Student Loans / Student Aid; Transition, Adulthood

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Rising student debt has sparked concerns about its impact on the transition to adulthood. In this paper, we examine the claim that student debt is leading to a rise in ‘"boomeranging," or returning home, using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 Cohort and discrete time-event history models. We have four findings. First, student loan debt is not associated with boomeranging in the complete sample. However, we find that the association differs by race, such that the link between student debt and returning home is stronger for black than for white youth. Third, degree completion is a strong predictor of returning home, whereby those who fail to attain a degree have an increased risk of boomeranging. Fourth, young adult role transitions and socioeconomic well-being are associated with boomeranging. Findings suggest that rising debt has created new risks and may reproduce social inequalities in the transition to adulthood.
Bibliography Citation
Houle, Jason N. and Cody Warner. "Into the Red and Back to the Nest? Student Debt, College Completion, and Returning to the Parental Home among Young Adults." Sociology of Education 90,1 (January 2017): 89-108.
24. Sun, Amy Ruining
Houle, Jason N.
Trajectories of Unsecured Debt across the Life Course and Mental Health at Midlife
Society and Mental Health 10,1 (March 2020): 61-79.
Also: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2156869318816742
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: American Sociological Association
Keyword(s): Debt/Borrowing; Health, Mental/Psychological; Life Course

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

In this paper, we contribute to a growing literature on debt and mental health and ask whether patterns of unsecured debt accumulation and repayment over two decades are associated with depressive symptoms at age 50. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979 Cohort and group trajectory models, we have three key findings. First, we find substantial heterogeneity in debt trajectories across the life course. Second, respondents who report consistently high debt levels across the life course or who cycle in and out of high debt report significantly more depressive symptoms than respondents who hold consistently low levels of debt. These findings hold for both absolute and relative (debt-to-income) debt. Third, we find that the association between debt and depressive symptoms is strongest among respondents with less than a college degree, but we find less evidence for heterogeneity by race in this cohort.
Bibliography Citation
Sun, Amy Ruining and Jason N. Houle. "Trajectories of Unsecured Debt across the Life Course and Mental Health at Midlife ." Society and Mental Health 10,1 (March 2020): 61-79.
25. Warner, Cody
Houle, Jason N.
A Prison of Debt? Incarceration and Consumer Debt in Young Adulthood
Presented: Atlanta GA, American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, November 2018
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: American Society of Criminology
Keyword(s): Credit/Credit Constraint; Criminal Justice System; Debt/Borrowing; Incarceration/Jail

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

The American criminal justice system has expanded considerably since the 1970s, and research finds that formerly incarcerated individuals are disadvantaged in the labor market, experiencing unemployment and reduced wages. Recent research further demonstrates that incarceration is damaging to wealth accumulation, including homeownership. We extend this research to consider if incarceration is associated with unsecured debt owed to credit card companies or other business. While some research examines the growth and proliferation of legal debt associated with a criminal conviction, no studies have explicitly examined if or how incarceration impacts access to credit or overall debt burdens. Drawing on data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 Cohort (NLYS97), we have two key findings. First, young adults with a history of incarceration are nearly 40% less likely to report unsecured debt than their never-incarcerated counterparts. That said, and second, among those with debt, formerly incarcerated young adults report over $11,000 more unsecured debt, or average, than their peers. Thus, incarceration appears to limit access to credit, but increases debt burdens among those who borrow. Our findings provide further evidence on the diverse and deleterious economic outcomes associated with incarceration, and contribute to growing knowledge of the indebtedness of American families.
Bibliography Citation
Warner, Cody and Jason N. Houle. "A Prison of Debt? Incarceration and Consumer Debt in Young Adulthood." Presented: Atlanta GA, American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting, November 2018.
26. Warner, Cody
Houle, Jason N.
Precocious Life Course Transitions, Exits From, and Returns to the Parental Home
Advances in Life Course Research 35 (March 2018): 1-10.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S104026081730062X
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Age at First Birth; Age at First Marriage; Cohabitation; High School Dropouts; High School Employment; Life Course; Mothers, Adolescent; Residence, Return to Parental Home/Delayed Homeleaving; Transition, Adulthood

Residential independence has long been considered a core feature of the transition to adulthood in contemporary American society. But in recent years a growing share of young adults are living in their parents' household, and many of these have returned home after a spell of residential independence. Recent research on exits and returns to the parental home has focused on the role of concurrent life-course transitions, young adult social and economic status, family background, and family connectivity. We know little, however, about how precocious, or early, life course transitions during adolescence affect leaving or returning home. We use longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1997 Cohort) to examine the association between precocious transitions to adult roles during adolescence and home-leaving (n = 8,865) and home-returning (n = 7,704) in the United States. Some, but not all, precocious transitions are tied to residential transitions, and often in competing ways. Our findings contribute to growing research on young adults living in the parental home, and shows how adolescent experiences can contribute to inequality in the transition to adulthood.
Bibliography Citation
Warner, Cody and Jason N. Houle. "Precocious Life Course Transitions, Exits From, and Returns to the Parental Home." Advances in Life Course Research 35 (March 2018): 1-10.
27. Warner, Cody
Houle, Jason N.
Kaiser, Joshua
Criminal Justice Contact and Indebtedness in Young Adulthood: Investigating the Potential Role of State-level Hidden Sentences
Social Currents published online (3 December 2020): DOI: 10.1177/2329496520974018.
Also: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2329496520974018
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Sage Publications
Keyword(s): Criminal Justice System; Debt/Borrowing; Geocoded Data; Incarceration/Jail; State-Level Data/Policy

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Contact with the American criminal justice system is associated with socioeconomic disadvantage and financial insecurity, but little research has explored the link between criminal justice contact and indebtedness. In this study, we ask whether contact in young adulthood is associated with access to credit and unsecured debt burdens. We also focus on state-level policies that operate alongside official punishments and restrict citizenship and societal participation among the justice-involved (termed hidden sentences), and ask whether such policies moderate the association between criminal justice contact and indebtedness. We find that criminal justice contact, especially incarceration, is associated with reduced access to unsecured credit and greater absolute and relative debt burdens. These associations are strongest for individuals residing in states with more onerous hidden sentence regimes. We argue that indebtedness is a key socioeconomic consequence of criminal justice contact and that hidden sentences may exacerbate these consequences.
Bibliography Citation
Warner, Cody, Jason N. Houle and Joshua Kaiser. "Criminal Justice Contact and Indebtedness in Young Adulthood: Investigating the Potential Role of State-level Hidden Sentences." Social Currents published online (3 December 2020): DOI: 10.1177/2329496520974018.