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Open Access Thesis

Keywords

Academic achievement -- Economic aspects, Academic achievement -- Social aspects, Parent and child

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative study is to examine the relationship between family structure and children's academic achievement, and to assess the roles of income and parental control in this relationship. The present study involves secondary analysis of data from the National Survey of Families and Households (Sweet & Bumpass, 1996) The National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) is a national random sample survey conducted in two waves that covers a wide variety of issues on American family life. This study examines data gathered from the second wave of this data set. The total sample for the present research is 1056. The hypotheses guiding this study are derived from two theoretical perspectives which Bre based on the belief that children in intact, two-parent families exhibit higher levels of well-being than do children in single-parent families.

First, economic-deprivation theory states that it is not family structure, per se, that has an effect on a child's well-being; rather, it is the lack of resources, that often accompanies single-parent status (McLanahan, 1985). Second, father-absence theory suggests that income is not the key factor, but that the lack of motivation, supervision, attention, and role modeling that often occur in one-parent families are to blame for the lower wellbeing of children in single-parent families compared to those in intact, two-parent families (Amato & Keith, 1991).

The objective of the present study was to compare these theories using a group which has been left out of prior analyses-the father-only family. The anticipated relationships between family structure and income were not found. However, results did indicate that parental control had significant effects on children's academic achievement, regardless of family type. These findings have implications both for future research and for child custody arrangements.

Year of Submission

2000

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology

First Advisor

Kristin Y. Mack, Chair

Comments

If you are the rightful copyright holder of this thesis and wish to have it removed from the Open Access Collection, please submit an email request to scholarworks@uni.edu. Include your name and clearly identify the thesis by full title and author as shown on the work.

Date Original

5-2000

Object Description

1 PDF file (vii, 98 leaves ; 28 cm)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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