Research Notes
Recent results from the ground-breaking "Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing" study shatter myths about unmarried parents. Princeton researchers conclude that one common perception -- that births to unwed parents occur to couples who engage in casual sex and care little about each other -- is false.
Instead, the study suggests that 82 percent of unmarried parents are romantically involved when their children are born, and 70 percent of the mothers believe they stand a good chance of marrying the fathers. Moreover, 81 percent of the mothers surveyed said the father provided financial help during pregnancy, and virtually all the fathers said they wanted to be involved in raising their children.
Researchers in the "Fragile Families" project are led by Sara McLanahan, Princeton professor of sociology and public affairs. They are following about 4,700 babies and their parents over four years. The results will assist policymakers concerned about family issues, including education, welfare, healthcare and child support. Funding for the study comes from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and from a consortium of foundations.
In a book scheduled to be published this fall, Professor of Sociology Michele Lamont explores the worldview of working-class men and finds it to be rich, coherent and replete with lessons for those who inhabit the upper tiers of society.
For her study, "The Dignity of Working Men: Morality and the Boundaries of Race, Class and Immigration," Lamont interviewed 150 men in the United States and France. The American men included plumbers, electricians, truck drivers and painters -- members of the large and growing working class that lacks the college education needed for upward mobility.
With Lamont, these workers discussed their values, their heroes and their attitudes toward race, immigrants and those who hold the power and wealth. She finds that the workers have a distinct moral code focusing on personal integrity and relationships, where how a man supports his family and treats his friends is the crucial measure of self-worth.
"The blue-collar view of the upper class is that it's often shallow," says Lamont. "We're told that American workers are losers. In fact, many don't think of themselves that way. They have alternative interpretations, where self-actualization and performance are not the center of everything."
A team of Princeton researchers is studying spending on children in stepfamilies--and finding that children raised by stepmothers lose out when it comes spending on their basic needs.
In one paper, "Mothers and Others: Who Invests in Children's Health?" economists Anne Case and Christina Paxson found that children living with stepmoms are less likely than other kids to have routine healthcare or a regular pediatrician.
Living with a stepmother also affects health in other ways, the researchers found, as these children are less likely to wear seatbelts and more likely to live with a cigarette smoker. "Who invests in children's health? It appears these investments are made, largely, by a child's mother, and that stepmothers are not substitutes for birth mothers in this domain," the paper concludes.
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September 10, 2000 Contents • They've
arrived! • New
look debuts for Bulletin • Many
work 'with one accord' to raise funds for
Princeton • Briefs • Rowers
go for the orange in Sydney • Berry
keynotes two-day event
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