The Role of Neighborhood Disadvantage and Family Structure in Child and Youth Educational Outcomes

Background/Purpose: The impacts of neighborhoods and community context on child and youth outcomes have been well-documented. Neighborhoods with greater disadvantage and poverty are often negatively associated with labor market outcomes, income, and education (Chetty & Hendren, 2015; Harding et al., 2010). Now that we know fairly clearly that neighborhoods do matter for the outcomes of the individuals within the neighborhood, it is necessary to examine the nuances within neighborhood effects: for whom, how, and when do neighborhoods matter? (Sharkey & Faber, 2014). With this question in mind, it is important to consider the implications of family structure within neighborhoods, and the impact it may have on child and youth outcomes. Families are becoming increasingly complex in in the U.S., and family complexity tends to be most common among low-income families. Thus, examining how the relationship between neighborhoods and child/youth outcomes may differ by family structure is needed to begin understanding the mechanisms through which neighborhoods are impacting children and youth. This study will add to the literature by using two, multi-level datasets to study the relationships between neighborhood disadvantage, family structure, and educational outcomes in order to inform policies serving families in high-poverty neighborhoods.

Methods: We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. We use both data sets to compare distributions and findings between samples as well as investigate the effects of neighborhoods and family structure on child and adolescent outcomes. These data are uniquely suited for our question because they provide detailed family structure information as well as census data on community poverty. Descriptive statistics, ordinary least squares regressions, fixed effect models, and random slope models are used to examine the associations between neighborhood disadvantage, family structure, and educational outcomes.

Results: Consistent with past literature, results suggest that neighborhoods with high proportions of families below the poverty line also have a greater proportion of single mother households and households with a biological mother in a cohabiting relationship. Disadvantaged neighborhoods also have a larger proportion of non-custodial father relationships than more advantaged neighborhoods. A fixed effect model suggests 40% of variance in youth education outcomes is due to differences across neighborhoods, and a random effects model shows about 10% of variance is due to differences across neighborhoods. Both models also show significant, negative associations of single mother and mother/cohabiting partner structures with child and youth education outcomes. This negative association persists even after accounting for concentrated neighborhood poverty. 

Implications: This article adds to the growing literature describing the association between children's educational outcomes and family structure by looking at the relationships between family structure, neighborhood disadvantage, and education. Our results demonstrate the importance of both neighborhood characteristics and family structure for children’s educational outcomes. Findings will inform multilevel policies and interventions that promote positive neighborhood development and provide additional supports to complex family structures.