Family Structure/Stability and Gender Differences in Children's School Suspension

• In Event: 220 - Section on the Sociology of the Family Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 12. Family Structure and Family Instability

Abstract

We use Fragile Families data from child birth to age nine to examine the gender difference in the association between family structure/stability and children's school suspension and expulsion at age nine. School suspension and expulsion are strongly associated with future educational attainment. Whereas past research has examined gender differences in direct child inputs – including exposure and returns to cognitive and emotional support - we examine gender-specific response to: 1) biological parents’ relationship quality – using both mother and father ratings and 2) poor father-child relationships – from child report. Preliminary results indicate that boys experience higher rates of school suspension and expulsion compared to girls and respond more negatively to family instability and single motherhood. Both parents' reports of parental conflict are important predictors of school suspension and expulsion, but boys' more negative response to parental conflict accounts for roughly 50% of the gender-specific effects of family structure/instability.

Authors

• Jayanti Johanna Owens, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Sara S. McLanahan, Princeton University