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Family Instability and College Enrollment and Completion

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  • Paula Fomby

Abstract

This research uses data from waves I and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health, N = 9,631) to consider whether and how family instability in early or later childhood affects college enrollment and completion of a Bachelor’s degree by age 24. Explanatory factors include maternal selection into unstable unions, household resources available in adolescence, and adolescents’ academic achievement, behavior, and attitudes in high school. The association of later family instability with college enrollment and completion is largely explained by household resources in adolescence. The association of early family instability with college enrollment is partially explained by each set of factors, and its association with college completion, given enrollment, is explained by pre-existing maternal characteristics. The results demonstrate that early family instability has enduring consequences for eventual status attainment and that the mechanisms that connect family instability to educational outcomes vary by the timing of family structure change. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Paula Fomby, 2013. "Family Instability and College Enrollment and Completion," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 32(4), pages 469-494, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:poprpr:v:32:y:2013:i:4:p:469-494
    DOI: 10.1007/s11113-013-9284-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Cynthia Osborne & Lawrence Berger & Katherine Magnuson, 2012. "Family Structure Transitions and Changes in Maternal Resources and Well-being," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 49(1), pages 23-47, February.
    2. James J. Heckman, 2008. "Schools, Skills, And Synapses," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 46(3), pages 289-324, July.
    3. Cynthia Osborne & Sara McLanahan, 2007. "Partnership Instability and Child Well-being," Working Papers 946, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    4. repec:pri:crcwel:wp04-16-ff-osborne is not listed on IDEAS
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    Cited by:

    1. Laurie F. DeRose & Andrés Salazar-Arango & Paúl Corcuera García & Montserrat Gas-Aixendri & Reynaldo Rivera, 2017. "Maternal union instability and childhood mortality risk in the Global South, 2010–14," Population Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 71(2), pages 211-228, May.
    2. Carolina Otero, 2021. "Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Timely Bachelor’s Degree Attainment," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-21, January.
    3. Paula Fomby & Stefanie Mollborn, 2017. "Ecological Instability and Children’s Classroom Behavior in Kindergarten," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(5), pages 1627-1651, October.
    4. Jarvis, Jonathan A. & Read, Amy R. & Dufur, Mikaela J. & Pribesh, Shana, 2022. "Impacts of family structure on shadow education and educational achievement among South Korean youth," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    5. Brian P. An & Kia N. Sorensen, 2017. "Family Structure Changes During High School and College Selectivity," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 58(7), pages 695-722, November.
    6. Marcantonio Caltabiano & Silvia Meggiolaro & Valentina Tocchioni, 2023. "The impact of parental separation on the pattern of transition to adulthood in Italy," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2023_07, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".
    7. Clifford Odimegwu & Oluwaseyi Dolapo Somefun & Joshua Akinyemi, 2017. "Gender Differences in the Effect of Family Structure on Educational Outcomes Among Nigerian Youth," SAGE Open, , vol. 7(4), pages 21582440177, November.
    8. Paula Fomby & Nicole Kravitz-Wirtz, 2019. "Family Systems and Parents’ Financial Support for Education in Early Adulthood," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(5), pages 1875-1897, October.

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