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Examining the Effects of Parental Absence on the Academic Achievement of Adolescents: The Challenge of Controlling for Family Income

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Abstract

Increasingly, researchers are concerned about how to best control for family income when examining the effects of parental divorce and the death of a parent on the children's academic achievement. Some researchers have argued that a predissolution control is preferable over a postdissolution control for family income, because parental divorce or the death of a parent nearly always causes family income reduction. Using the National Educational Longitudinal Study 1988–92 data set, this study has examined whether using a predissolution control for family income yields a different pattern of effects from when a postdissolution control is used. The results indicate that using a predissolution control rather than a postdissolution control for family income does yield a different pattern of effects.

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Jeynes, W.H. Examining the Effects of Parental Absence on the Academic Achievement of Adolescents: The Challenge of Controlling for Family Income. Journal of Family and Economic Issues 23, 189–210 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015790701554

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