Children in Fragile Families

Families formed by unmarried parents increased dramatically in the United States during the latter half of the twentieth century. To learn more about these families, a team of researchers at Princeton and Columbia Universities designed and implemented a large, birth cohort study –The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. This chapter highlights several findings from the study. First, most unmarried parents have "high hopes" for a future together at the time of their child’s birth; but their resources are low and most relationships do not last. Second, unmarried mothers experience high levels of partnership instability and family complexity, both of which are associated with lower quality parenting and poorer child well being. Finally, welfare state, child support and criminal justice policies play a large role in the lives of fragile families.