Family Structure & Outcomes in Emerging Adulthood: How Children Born to Unwed Mothers Fare

Kristi Williams, Ohio State University
Fenaba Addo, Cornell University
Adrianne Frech, Rice University

Research indicates that being raised in a family that does not include both biological parents is associated with a range of poor outcomes in childhood. This literature has focused primarily on children in divorced families. Less is known about the well-being of children born to single mothers, especially when they reach young adulthood. This paper explores how young adults born to single mothers fare in young adulthood, focusing on high school graduating and teen parenthood. Data are from the linked Children and Young Adult sample of the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79). We find significant differences in the likelihood of graduating from high school and experiencing a teen birth for those born to a never-married versus a married mother. Among those born to single mothers, there are few differences between those who remain in stable, single mother families and those whose mothers marry or cohabit.