The Measurement and Conceptualization of Family Trajectories

Ronald E. Bulanda, Miami University

This project will assess the influence of various family trajectories on important child outcomes, including high school graduation and teen pregnancy. This study will make comparisons in the odds of high school graduation and teen pregnancy among those respondents who follow distinct family trajectories from the time of their birth. This study will compare the influence of cohabiting parent unions that dissolve (separate) with married parent families that dissolve (separate or divorce) to identify potential differences in the nature of the instability. Furthermore, this study will compare outcomes of respondents with single mothers who marry with outcomes of respondents with single mothers who cohabit (but do not marry). Results will indicate whether these specific types of changes experienced in family structure yield different outcomes among the children within the households.