Daddies, Devotion, & Dollars: How Do They Matter for Youth?

Growing up in a family that lacks a biological father is correlated with a number of poor outcomes for youths. This study uses the National Educational Longitudinal Survey of 1988 to examine the extent to which differences in income or in parental involvement can explain the effects of family structure on youth outcomes. We find that measurement error in income from single-parent homes affects the results in a large way because of the variability in income earned over a youth’s teen years. Overall, we find that both lower income and lower parental involvement explain most of the disadvantages of youth in single-parent homes, but neither explains the disadvantages of families with stepfathers. 1 We appreciate useful comments from Timothy Biblarz and Dan Covitz. All programs used in this project are available from the first author. Data are available from the National Center for Education Statistics. This draft represents a substantial revision of a paper entitled “Family Structure and the Achievement of Youths: The Importance of Parental Involvement in Education” by the first author.