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Title: Adopted Children and Stepchildren in Twentieth Century America: Evidence from Federal Census Microdata, 1880-1930 and 2000
Citation Type: Miscellaneous
Publication Year: 2014
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Abstract: In the U.S., a substantial number of children live with stepparents or adoptive parents. Empirical research has found strong and robust correlations between family structure and child outcomes in modern data, indicating that family structure matters for the welfare of children. Although childrens living arrangements varied widely across households also in historical times, few empirical studies have examined how nonbiological children fared compared to biological children in the past. In this study, I use federal census microdata (IPUMS) in 1880-1930 and 2000 to compare socioeconomic conditions and educational outcomes of adopted, step, and biological children in the U.S. I find that: (1) for both whites and blacks, step households were negatively selected from the population of married two-parent households in 1880-1930; (2) even after controlling for household characteristics, stepchildren had significantly lower educational outcomes than biological children during the same period; (3) although there was little evidence that adoptive households were negatively selected, for both whites and blacks, adopted children were also educationally disadvantaged in the early twentieth century; and (4) the conditions of adoptive and step households relative to biological households have improved substantially by 2000, reducing or reversing the earlier educational disadvantages.
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Authors: Moriguchi, Chiaki
Publisher: Hitotsubashi University
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Family and Marriage
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