There’s Something About Marry: Marriage, the Middle Class, and Children’s Early Academic Skills

• In Event: 381 - Section on the Sociology of the Family Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 07. Marriage

Abstract

When examining the association between family structure and children’s academic achievement, children in married, two-biological parent households typically outperform their peers from other types of family structures. Researchers have repeatedly drawn attention to the role of family stability and resources in explaining the benefit children derive in married, two-biological parent families. Yet, some research continues to promote marriage as the ideal mechanism for improving children's outcomes. To examine more closely the contributions of parents' marriage to children's early academic skills, this study focuses on children who have always lived with both biological parents, and identifies families in which the parents are married and families in which the parents are cohabiting. Results suggest that marriage continues to benefit children even when stability is held constant; however, the benefit is not uniform for all children. Only children living in more advantaged families appear to receive any advantage from their parents being married.

Author

• Daniel J. Potter, American Institutes for Research