Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Survey (N = 3,567), we analyze the importance of relationship status, relationship quality, and race and ethnicity in determining breastfeeding initiation. We consider four relationship types at birth: married, cohabiting, romantically...

Nearly a third of all births in the United States today occur to parents who are not legally married. The proportions are even higher among poor and minority populations, 40% among Hispanics, and 70% among blacks (Ventura et al. 1995). Out-of-wedlock childbearing is occurring with increasing...

In this paper, we consider the potential impact of moving off of welfare and of entering the work force (both separately and together) upon the wellbeing of parents and children. Our premise is that the new welfare policies limiting the availability of public assistance and mandating increased...

We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine couple how couple relationship quality and parental engagement are linked over children’s early years. Our sample includes 1,630 couples that are co-resident over years 1 to 3 and 1,376 over years 3 to 5 (1,196 over...

We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine associations between first-year maternal employment and child outcomes for 3-year-old White, Black, and Hispanic children (N = 1483). Results from OLS regressions and propensity score matching models indicate that...