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Estimating Children’s Household Instability Between Birth and Age 18 Using Longitudinal Household Roster Data

Author

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  • R. Kelly Raley

    (University of Texas–Austin)

  • Inbar Weiss

    (University of Texas–Austin)

  • Robert Reynolds

    (University of Texas–Austin)

  • Shannon E. Cavanagh

    (University of Texas–Austin)

Abstract

Previous descriptions of the composition and stability of children’s households have focused on the presence of parents and the stability of mothers’ marital and cohabiting relationships. We use data available in the 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation to expand the description of children’s household composition and stability. We find that one in five children lives with nonnuclear household members. These other household members are a source of substantial household instability. In addition, during the period of observation (2008–2013), children experienced considerable residential instability. Thus, children’s experience of household instability is much more common and frequent than previously documented. Moreover, levels of both residential and compositional instability are higher for children with less-educated mothers and for racial/ethnic minorities.

Suggested Citation

  • R. Kelly Raley & Inbar Weiss & Robert Reynolds & Shannon E. Cavanagh, 2019. "Estimating Children’s Household Instability Between Birth and Age 18 Using Longitudinal Household Roster Data," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(5), pages 1957-1973, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:56:y:2019:i:5:d:10.1007_s13524-019-00806-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-019-00806-1
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    Cited by:

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    2. Juan Manuel Pedroza, 2022. "Housing Instability in an Era of Mass Deportations," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(6), pages 2645-2681, December.
    3. Rodríguez Sánchez, Alejandra, 2019. "Family structure effects on U.S. children’s well-being? Re-examining the family instability hypothesis," OSF Preprints 84q56, Center for Open Science.
    4. Sarah Gold & Brandon Wagner & Sara McLanahan & Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, 2020. "Family instability from Birth to Adolescence: Evidence from a Birth Cohort Study," Working Papers wp20-03-ff, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    5. Guarin, Angela, 2021. "Three-generation households in the U.S.: The first exit after a child’s birth," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    6. Lawrence Berger & Maria Cancian & Marcia J. Carlson & Daniel R. Meyer & Quentin Riser & Nora Cate Schaeffer, 2024. "Defining the ‘Resource Unit’ for Poverty Measurement in Complex Contemporary Households: It’s Complicated," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 43(2), pages 1-30, April.

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    Keywords

    Children; Households; Race; Education; Kin;
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