Nonresident Motherhood in the United States

• In Event: 21014 - Kinship and Family Diversity

Abstract

The experiences of nonresident mothers, i.e., women who live apart from any of their minor biological children, are largely overlooked. Using data from the 1979 to 2022 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79), I examine the prevalence and correlates of nonresident motherhood among women born between 1957 to 1964. I find that nearly one in four mothers in this cohort has ever lived apart from one of their minor children, though there are significant inequalities by sociodemographic group. These nonresidential spells tend to be short-lived, and when apart from their mothers, most children live with either their other parent or another relative. Results from an event history model of the transition to nonresidence suggests that changes in mother’s relationship status and maternal resources predict transitions to nonresidence.

Author

• Brian Xiao, Harvard University