RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Parental Debt and Child Well-Being: What Type of Debt Matters for Child Outcomes?
JF RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
FD Russell Sage Foundation
SP 122
OP 151
DO 10.7758/RSF.2021.7.3.06
VO 7
IS 3
A1 Lenna Nepomnyaschy
A1 Allison Dwyer Emory
A1 Kasey J. Eickmeyer
A1 Maureen R. Waller
A1 Daniel P. Miller
YR 2021
UL http://www.rsfjournal.org/content/7/3/122.abstract
AB Wealth inequality in the United States has increased tremendously over the last several decades and has potentially serious repercussions for disparities in child well-being. Household debt, a key component of wealth, may also play a role in such disparities. In this study, we explore the associations of parents’ unsecured debt with children’s socioemotional well-being. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we compare the associations of mothers’ unsecured household debt, fathers’ unsecured household debt, and fathers’ child support arrears with socioemotional outcomes among nine- and fifteen-yearold children who have a nonresident father. We find robust evidence that nonresident fathers’ child support arrears, but not other types of parental household debt, are associated with worse outcomes and that these associations become stronger as children age.