Researchers have found that strong child support enforcement has mixed outcomes for unmarried parent families.
A study published in the inaugural issue of the Asian Social Work and Policy Review – the official journal of the Korean Academy of Social Welfare and Wiley-Blackwell’s first Korean social sciences and humanities journal – purports that child support enforcement, while increasing nonresident fathers’ involvement in their children’s lives, through more formal support payments and increased visitation, may also reduce the chances that parents form a marital union.
In her paper, “Child Support, Fatherhood, and Marriage: Findings from the First 5 Years of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study,” lead author Dr. Lenna Nepomnyaschy – Associate Research Scientist from the Columbia University School of Social Work – aims to summarize what has been learned about the lives of unmarried parents and their children (or fragile families) from five years of data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study.
Despite the fact that over one third of all births in the United States today are to unmarried parents, little was known about the conditions and capabilities of these families and the effects of social policies on their lives.
Reviewing the research that has come out of the Fragile Families study over the last few years, three important findings stand out:
Contrary to public rhetoric, the majority of unmarried parents are in close, committed relationships at the time of their child’s birth.
Although most of these relationships deteriorate within the first five years of the child’s birth, more than half of the fathers continue to be involved in their children’s lives by paying child support and spending time with them.
The effect of child support enforcement on the lives of fragile families is mixed, with increased child support and father-child contact on the positive side, but also a decreased likelihood that the parents marry each other and some evidence of increased violence between parents on the negative side.
Dr. Nepomnyaschy added, “The Fragile Families study has been and will continue to be an invaluable source of information about the circumstances of unmarried parent families and the impact of social policies on their lives.
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This paper is published in the inaugural issue of the peer-reviewed journal Asian Social Work and Policy Review. This issue includes the following papers:
“Social Welfare Reform Since the 1997 Economic Crisis in Korea: Achievement, Limits, and Future Prospects”, Inhoe Ku
“Learning from Japanese Experience in Aged Care Policy”, Guat Tin Ng
“A Definition of Social Work for Practice”, Natalie Bolzan
“The Development of a Screening Tool for the Adult Children of Alcoholics Traits (STACAT)”, Hyunsun Park
Media wishing to schedule a media interview with the author, or would like to receive a PDF copy of any of the papers published in the journal should contact Alina Boey, PR & Communications Manager Asia at alina.boey@asia.blackwellpublishing.com or phone 613-83591046.
This press release is also posted online at http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/press/pressitem.asp?ref=1429
About Asian Social Work and Policy Review
The Asian Social Work and Policy Review seeks to encourage exchanges of original ideas, rigorous analysis of experiences, innovative practice methods founded on local knowledge and skills of problem solving in the areas of social work and social policy between various countries in Asia. The Journal publishes theoretical and empirical papers, as well as brief communications on social work and policy practice methods by Asian scholars and those interested in Asian social policy and social work issues. The Journal encourages interdisciplinary studies from the various fields of the applied social sciences.
About Wiley-Blackwell
Wiley-Blackwell was formed in February 2007 as a result of the merger between Blackwell Publishing Ltd. and Wiley’s Scientific, Technical, and Medical business. Together, the companies have created a global publishing business with deep strength in every major academic and professional field. Wiley-Blackwell publishes approximately 1,250 scholarly peer-reviewed journals and an extensive collection of books with global appeal.
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