Family Stability and Instability among Low-Income Hispanic Mothers with Young Children

Author: 
Elizabeth Karberg, Natasha Cabrera, Jay Fagan, Mindy E. Scott, and Lina Guzman
Date of Publication: 
February, 2017
Source Organization: 
Other

Early experiences of young children in Latino families vary greatly from the experiences of children in white and black families. Family Stability and Instability Among Low-Income Hispanic Mothers with Young Children compares the experiences of low-income Latina mothers, both US and foreign-born, to their white and black counterparts using four rounds of quantitative data from the national "Fragile Families and Child Well-Being" survey. Key findings include evidence that low-income, foreign-born Hispanic mothers report more stable family life and lower levels of depression in the first five years after their child's birth than black, white or U.S.-born Latina mothers. However, levels of economic stress remain the same for all groups. Both foreign- and U.S.-born Latina mothers are also less likely to move in with a new romantic partner in the first five years of their child's life than white or black women. The authors conclude that, because foreign-born Latina mothers are more likely to be in a stable relationship at the time of their child's birth, efforts made on their behalf to increase family stability should account for those long-term relationships and focus on strategies to improve economic mobility. (The ILC Public Education Institute)

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Citation: 

Karberg, E., Natasha Cabrera, Jay Fagan, Mindy E. Scott, and Lina Guzman (2017). Family Stability and Instability among Low-Income Hispanic Mothers with Young Children. Bethesda: the National Research Center on Hispanic Children & Families. Available at: http://www.hispanicresearchcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Family-Stability-and-Instability.pdf 

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