THE EFFECTS OF PARENTAL MARITAL-STATUS DURING ADOLESCENCE ON HIGH-SCHOOL GRADUATION

This article uses data from the 1979-85 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to examine the effects of family type on high school graduation. The results show that (1) wt living with both parents at age 14 has negative consequences for children's high school graduation regardless of whether the child lives with a single parent, a parent and stepparent, or neither parent; (2) disruptions (changes in family structure) between ages 14 and 17 also have negative consequences, and, (3) the effects of family structure and changes in family structure on high school graduation persist after controlling for income and some social psychological attributes of the adolescent individuals in these families. Income accounts for approximately 15% of the single-parent effect.