Effects of Child Health on Parents' Relationship Status

38 Pages Posted: 5 Apr 2003 Last revised: 6 Oct 2022

See all articles by Nancy E. Reichman

Nancy E. Reichman

Rutgers University, New Brunswick - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Hope Corman

Rider University; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Kelly Noonan

Rider University; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: April 2003

Abstract

We use data from the national longitudinal Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to estimate the effect of poor child health on father presence. We look at whether parents live in the same household 12-18 months after the child's birth and also at how their relationships changed along a continuum (married, cohabiting, romantically involved, friends, or not involved) during the same period. We find that having an infant in poor health reduces the likelihood that parents will live together and increases the likelihood that they will become less committed to their relationship, particularly among parents with low socioeconomic status.

Suggested Citation

Reichman, Nancy E. and Corman, Hope and Noonan, Kelly, Effects of Child Health on Parents' Relationship Status (April 2003). NBER Working Paper No. w9610, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=392997

Nancy E. Reichman

Rutgers University, New Brunswick - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School ( email )

97 Paterson Street
Room 435
New Brunswick, NJ 08903
United States

Hope Corman (Contact Author)

Rider University ( email )

2083 Lawrenceville Road
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
United States
609-895-5559 (Phone)
609-896-5304 (Fax)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Cambridge, MA 02138
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Kelly Noonan

Rider University ( email )

2083 Lawrenceville Road
Lawrenceville Township, NJ 08648
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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