The Effects of Parental Marital Status during Adolescence on High School Graduation

Abstract

This article uses data from the 1979-85 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to examine the effects offamily type on high school graduation. The results show that (1) not living with both parents at age 14 has negative consequences for children's high school graduation regardless of whether the child lives with a single parent, a parent and stepparent, or neither parent; (2) disruptions (changes in family structure) between ages 14 and 17 also have negative consequences; and, (3) the effects offamily structure and changes in family structure on high school graduation persist after controlling for income and some social psychological attributes of the adolescent individuals in these families. Income accounts for approximately 15% of the singleparent effect. Considerable research during the past few years has shown that family structure during childhood and adolescence affects the subsequent life chances of adults. Individuals who live apart from one or both parents when they are growing up are less likely to graduate from high school, more likely to work at low-wage jobs, and more likely to form unstable families themselves than