Abstracts of recent publications:
Weinraub, Marsha; Horvath, Danielle L.; Gringlas, Marcy B. (2002) Single parenthood. In Bornstein, Marc H. (Ed); Handbook of Parenting: Vol. 3: Being and Becoming a Parent (2nd ed.) Mahwah, NJ, US: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. pp. 109-140.
One of the most important characteristics of single-parent families and their children is their heterogeneity. Although more than half of all children growing up in single-parent families live in poverty, many do not. Similarly, contrary to stereotypical views and journalistic ravings, not all single-mother families are on welfare. Although many single mothers draw funds from public assistance, more than half do not(Kamerman and Kahn, 1988). The phenomenological experience of growing up in a single-parent family varies depending on the nature of the family, the experiences of the parent, and the family context.
Differences in how the parents came to be single-parents affect individuals’ employment, their financial circumstances, their relationships with other adults, their involvement with their child, and their competence as parents. The etiology of the parent's single-parenthood also may have implications for the child's perceptions and experiences growing up.
In this chapter, we describe the changing demographics of single-parent families, the similarities and differences across parenting situations in single-parent families, and we explore some of the parenting factors that might be responsible for the at-risk status of children growing up in single families. We show that not only is the number of single-parent families increasing, but also that the circumstances that are responsible for the formation of single-parent families -- divorce and separation, widowhood, and out-of-marriage births -- are changing too. We summarize the literature on parenting in common types of single-parent families -- divorced parents, adolescent parents, and "not married" mothers -- with the intent of identifying parenting features both unique to these specific single family types and common to single-parents as a group. We suggest that single-parent families that arise from different circumstances differ in a number of important ways, and these differences need to be considered before any understanding of the more general effects of rearing children in a single-parent family are understood. Finally, we consider research directions that appear especially promising.
Weinraub, M., Hill, C. & Hirsh-Pasek. (2001). “Child Care: Options and Outcomes” In Encyclopedia of Women and Gender, Vol. (1) Judith Worell, (Ed.) Academic Press, San Diego, Ca. 233-244.
In this encyclopedia entry, we examine the changing face of child care in the United States today, and we review what is known about the effects of child care on children’s development. We describe some of the changes in maternal employment over the past twenty five years that have changed the face of child care in the United States, and we examine why child care is often perceived as a women’s issue. Next, we briefly review the history of child care, offering a historical perspective on today’s child care concerns. Then, we specifically address three questions. First, what are the current patterns of child care use in the United States? Specifically, what types of child care do American families rely on, what does each type of child care cost, and are there individual differences in the families that use each type of care? Second, what is “quality” child care, and is quality child care equally distributed across American families? Third, what do we know about the effects of child care usage on three particular child developmental outcomes: the child’s attachment to parents, the child’s ability to get along with others, and the child’s cognitive and language development?
Shlay, A.B., Weinraub, M, Harmon, M, and Tran, H. (2003) Barriers to Subsidies:
Why Low-Income Families Do Not Use Child Care Subsidies. Paper under review.
Child care affordability is a problem for low-income families. Child care subsidies are intended to reduce child care expenses and promote parental employment for poor families. Yet many families fail to utilize the child care subsidies for which they are eligible. This research investigates barriers to utilizing child care subsidies. Found barriers include parents’ beliefs that they either did not need or were not eligible for subsidy. Knowingly eligible families avoided applying for subsidies because of hassles and restrictions, real or perceived, associated with accessing the subsidy system. Even families receiving subsidies were confused about subsidy regulations. The major predictors of subsidy use were prior welfare experience, single parenthood, income, hours of employment, use of center care and in-home care, and receipt of court ordered child support. Policy recommendations include developing better methods for disseminating information about subsidy eligibility and reducing barriers associated with specific subsidy regulations.
These next two papers are corporate authored papers from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care. As a principal investigator on that study, I am a member of the corporate authorship. More papers can be viewed at secc.rti.org/publications
NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2002). Early Child Care and Children’s Development Prior to School Entry. American Educational Research Journal 39, 133-164.
Effects of early child care on children’s functioning at 4 ½ years were examined in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care, a prospective longitudinal study of over 1000 children. Even
after controlling for multiple child and family characteristics, children’s development was predicted by early child care experience. Higher quality child care, improvements in the
quality of child care, and experience in center-type arrangements predicted better pre-academic skills and language performance at 4 ½ years. More hours of care predicted higher levels of behavior problems according to caregivers. Effect sizes associated with early child care experiences were evaluated in relation to effect sizes obtained for two other well recognized influences on early development: parenting and poverty. The findings indicated the importance (and relative independence) of quantity, quality, and type of child care for children’s development just prior to the time that children initiate formal schooling.
NICHD Early Child Care Research Network.(2002) The interaction of child care and family risk in relation to child development at 24 and 36 months. Journal of Applied Developmental Science.
Family risk factors (psychosocial, socioeconomic, and sociocultural), child-care characteristics (quality and hours in care), and the interactions of these variables were examined as predictors of behavior problems, prosocial behavior and language skills in a longitudinal sample of 943 children (assessed at 24 and 36 months) enrolled in child care as infants. Family risk variables were the strongest predictors of all outcomes. Child care quality was a significant predictor of
36-month caregiver-reported social skills and 36-month language skills. Contrary to expectations, limited evidence was found to suggest child care experiences moderate the
negative associations between family risk and child outcomes. Family risk interacted with child care quality in only one of the five analyses, and did not interact with child care quantity in
any of the analyses. One interaction between family risk and child care was significant. Children from minority and single-parent families were rated as less prosocial by their mothers when in low-quality child care.