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Title: The Complex and Varied Households of Low-Income Hispanic Children

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2015

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Abstract: Roughly one in four children in the United States today is Hispanic. As such, Hispanics represent the largest and fastest-growing racial/ethnic minority group among the nations children. It is also a group that is disproportionately poor:Approximately one-third of Hispanic children live in poverty and two-thirds live in low-income households. Given the size and growth of the Hispanic child population, as well as Hispanic childrens high poverty rates, many policies and programs are attempting to better reach Hispanic children in need. A key to realizing these efforts is understanding the nature of the households in which low-income Hispanic children live. A large body of research finds that children who grow up in stable, low-conflict, two-parent households generally fare better than children in other types of households. Low-income children are less likely than are other children to live in stable households or with their biological father. However, focusing on the immediate family structure of children (i.e., the relationship status of the parents) often overlooks the presence of other adults in householdsboth related and unrelatedwho may also support the healthy development of children. For example, employment, child care, and housework by other household members can help provide needed resources to children and parents. At the same time, adult employment in the households of low-income children is more precarious than it is in other households, and the presence of additional household members can strain limited resources or become a source of stress and conflict. This research brief examines the household composition of low-income Hispanic children, based on our analyses of recent nationally-representative data. We report on the size and structure of low-income childrens households and the employment status of adult household members. We also explore variation in these patterns by whether the parents were born in the United States or outside it, in light of the unique challenges that immigrant households may face.15, Roughly two-thirds of low-income Hispanic children live in households with at least one foreign-born parent; one in three low-income Hispanic children lives in a household with only U.S-born parents.ii In addition, we compare the households of low-income Hispanic children with the households of low-income non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black children (hereafter referred to as white and black).

Url: http://www.childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2015-04ComplexHouseholdsLowIncomeHispanic.pdf

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Authors: Turner, Kimberly; Guzman, Lina; Wildsmith, Elizabeth; Scott, Mindy

Publisher: National Research Center on Hispanic Children and Families

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Family and Marriage, Other, Poverty and Welfare, Race and Ethnicity

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