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Title: Contributions of Absent Fathers to Child Well-being: The Impact of Child Support Dollars and Father-Child Contact
Resulting in 1 citation.
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Argys, Laura M. Peters, H. Elizabeth Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne Smith, Judith R. |
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Contributions of Absent Fathers to Child Well-being: The Impact of Child Support Dollars and Father-Child Contact Presented: Bethesda, MD, Conference on Father Involvement, October 1996 Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79 Publisher: Author Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Child Support; Children, Behavioral Development; Cognitive Development; Family Background and Culture; Family Income; Fathers, Absence; Fathers, Involvement; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT); Racial Differences; Welfare Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. In this paper we address three questions. First, other than its role in increasing income, does the receipt of child support have additional beneficial effects for children with absent fathers? Second, do the effects of child support differ when child support awards and payments are made cooperatively as opposed to non-cooperatively (eg., court ordered). Third, how do family policies affect the probability of child support awards and payments, and, in particular, the probability of cooperative awards and payments? In regressions that control for family income and other socio-economic family background characteristics, we find that child support receipt has additional positive effects on some measures of children's cognitive and behavioral outcomes. The effect varies by the type of outcome, race, and reason for father's absence. Cooperative child support awards and payments appear to be more beneficial than child support that is court ordered. Turning to our policy variables, we see that child support guidelines promote awards that are cooperative, while increases in the paternity establishment rate increases court ordered (i.e. non-cooperative) awards. More generous state welfare benefits reduce court ordered awards, but do not reduce cooperative awards. |
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Bibliography Citation
Argys, Laura M., H. Elizabeth Peters, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and Judith R. Smith. "Contributions of Absent Fathers to Child Well-being: The Impact of Child Support Dollars and Father-Child Contact." Presented: Bethesda, MD, Conference on Father Involvement, October 1996. |