m.

aw v,“ ‘ H. _
., “MW. Xx.
. . ﬁyﬁwﬁ.
, , . , WHY ﬁlm ?
x...‘,u....,up ‘ ,

a», .,

a. .. .9

. 1|. ii.

L9 1. Li i . x
l. .f!

I...) \. ,
f3. :2?
. . v:

‘ e...‘ n3 3.
.x...‘ . ‘ .3.
l.

:0
toirktbzva
3.: .5341 A...
2..., :9 Caz)...
. inn.
3....iﬁﬁ3fm
:3 tr}!
. . 7:3“. .
4. 1.5.551
l!) $ .63.: ‘
.

x

1.3....
$1 . $74
1‘ 1 4

:1! “a...
. e1: . x a
..
1:31.. 3
i wzﬁvﬂwwr
.. a... :ﬁ.
#1.. .. . ‘ ;
.. ,...... .29....4bs.
i...‘~ 1r, . V

L9 an
4.1!. .t‘.
.- .73}

..
.waité.‘
313': .
5.3.93.3..."
).¥.

13.2 n 3:,

f .2.

z . es... -8. 1.?

, .3; 92.2.7 ..
.. .1! 9.52

 

.7. ..v 37....
.\.)..1v_.a..v.._e,:na_w: u... ‘0.- . if».
. I. «L. k a . V in. , u
l brw‘r 34F!” .8 “a?" v. , .3 .3“?
.. in? x: 2;... . . L. .. .

¢ n . .. . .

I I

x: :7, .l. Isl... 1. .1.

 

 

1,638

LIBRARY
Michigan State
University

This is to certify that the
dissertation entitled

THE EFFECTS OF CHILD CARE EXPENSES AND
FINANCIAL AND SOCIAL SUPPORT ON THE ECONOMIC
WELL-BEING OF SINGLE MOTHER FAMILIES

presented by

SUNWOOK PARK

has been accepted towards fulﬁllment
of the requirements for the

Ph. D. degree in Family and Child Ecology

 

 

Maj 7 Professor’s Signature

IA.
A150. 152) 2005

Date

MSU is an Afﬁrmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution

 

_.-.-.-t-.- -

PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record.
To AVOID FINES return on or before date due.
MAY BE RECALLED with earlier due date if requested.

 

DATE DUE

DATE DUE

DATE DUE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2/05 p:/ClRC/DateDue.indd-p.1

 

THE EFFECTS OF CHILD CARE EXPENSES AND
FINANCIAL AND SOCIAL SUPPORT ON
THE ECONOMIC WELL-BEING OF SINGLE MOTHER FAMILIES

By

SUNWOOK PARK

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulﬁllment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department of Family and Child Ecology

2005

ABSTRACT

THE EFFECTS OF CHILD CARE EXPENSES AND
FINANCIAL AND SOCIAL SUPPORT ON
THE ECONOMIC WELL-BEING OF SINGLE MOTHER FAMILIES

By

Sunwook Park

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of child care expenses and
ﬁnancial and social supports on the economic well-being of single mother families.
Economic well-being is measured by three indicators: family income, per capita
income, and the amount of public assistance received. This study also examines child
care expense and ﬁnancial and social support variables by family contextual factors
(i.e., mother’s age, marital status, educational level, employment status, and the
presence of children aged 0-5) for single mother families.

The 1999 National Survey of America’s Families (N SAF ) is used to analyze
the economic well-being of single mother families. In this study, 4,676 single mother
families with children aged twelve and under are included for the analytical sample.

About half of all single mother families with children under age 12 had some
amount of child care expenses in 1999. Monthly child care expenses for those who
had child care expenses was an average of $ 255 and it accounted for about 15 percent
of their family earnings. Multiple regression analyses show that child care expenses

are signiﬁcantly related to economic well-being after controlling for family contextual

factors. Higher child care expenses and a lower percentage of earnings spent on child
care are related to better economic well-being.

The analyses also show that ﬁnancial and social supports (i.e., general
ﬁnancial support from kin or friends, ﬁnancial support for child care expenses, free
child care by relatives, and child support payments from non-custodial fathers) have a
positive effect on the economic well-being of single mother families. This study
contributes to the literature related to family economic issues by emphasizing the role
of child care expenses as well as ﬁnancial and social supports in the lives of single

mothers and their children.

Copyright by
SUNWOOK PARK
2005

To my parents, Sungdal Park and Jungsoon Cho

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank several individuals who supported me to accomplish
this dissertation. This study could not have been completed without the help of Dr.
Rosemary Walker, who was an academic program advisor, dissertation director as
well as invaluable mentor. From the beginning of my doctoral program to the
completion of this dissertation her continuous commitment, warm encouragement,
and excellence in research served as a vital support for my study at Michigan State
University.

I want to thank the other members of my committee, Dr. Robert Griffore, Dr.
Lillian Phenice, and Dr. Allan Schmid, for both their support in my graduate study
and insightful suggestions and helpful feedbacks for this dissertation.

I would like to express special appreciation and love to my family and
friends. My parents, Sungdal Park and J ungsoon Cho, offered me constant
encouragement, immeasurable support, and endless love. My husband, Peter Kim,
was always supportive and gave me fresh inspiration during the process. My one-
year old son, Joshua Kim, loved me so much and grew up well. My friends were
always helpful and prayed for me throughout my studies in the United States.

Finally, I would like to thank God for his grace and guidance for making all

of this possible.

vi

TABLE OF CONTENT

LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................... ix

LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................... x
CHAPTER

I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................. 1

Purpose of the Study ........................................................... 5

Signiﬁcance of the Study ...................................................... 5

Research Objectives ............................................................ 7

Theoretical Framework ........................................................ 8

Conceptual Map ................................................................ 13

Assumptions ..................................................................... 14

II. LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................... 16

Economic Well-being of Single Mother Families ......................... 16

Child Care Expenses of Single Mother Families ........................... 20

Financial and Social Supports of Single Mother Families ................ 26

III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................ 34

Research Questions ............................................................ 34

Conceptual and Operational Deﬁnitions .................................... 35

Research Hypotheses .......................................................... 43

Data Source ..................................................................... 51

Data Analysis ................................................................... 54

IV. RESULTS ........................................................................... 58

Descriptive Analyses .......................................................... 58

Correlations ..................................................................... 70

Multiple Regression Analyses ................................................ 74

Economic Well-being with Family Contextual Factors ............... 74

Child Care Expenses with Family Contextual Factors ............... 76

Financial and Social Supports with Family Contextual Factors. . 78

Economic Well-being with Child Care Expenses ..................... 80

Economic Well-being with Financial and Social Supports ........... 83

Economic Well-being with All Independent Variables ............... 85

V. DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY ............................................... 88

Economic Well-being with Family Contextual Factors ................... 88

Child Care Expenses with Family Contextual Factors .................... 89

Financial and Social Supports with Family Contextual Factors ......... 92

Economic Well-being with Child Care Expenses ......................... 96

Economic Well-being with Financial and Social Supports ............... 98

Summary of the ﬁndings ...................................................... 100

vii

VI. CONCLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS .................. 109

Conclusions ..................................................................... 109
Limitations ...................................................................... 1 13
Implications for Policy ......................................................... 1 l6
Implications for Future Study ................................................ 119
APPENDIX A — Variables in the Study ................................................. 123
APPENDIX B — NSAF Variables and Descriptions .................................... 125
APPENDIX C — Descriptive Statistics ................................................... 133
APPENDIX D — Multiple Regression Tables ........................................... 136
APPENDIX E — UCRIHS Approval Letter ............................................. 143
REFERENCES .............................................................................. 146

viii

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE Page

Table 1 Sample Description .................................................................. 60

Table 2 Percentage and Mean of Variables by the Presence of Child Care
Expenses .............................................................................. 63

Table 3 Child Care Expenses by Family Contextual Factors for Single Mother
Families that have Expenses for Child Care .................................... 65

Table 4 Financial and Social Support by Family Contextual Factors for Single
Mother Families ...................................................................... 69

Table 5 Correlations among Family Contextual Factors, Child Care Expenses,
and Financial and Social Supports ................................................ 71

Table 6 Correlations between the Predictor Variables and Economic Well-being. . .. 73

Table 7 Multiple Regression Results of Economic Well-being with Family
Contextual Factors .................................................................. 75

Table 8 Multiple Regression Results of Child Care Expenses with Family
Contextual Factors .................................................................. 77

Table 9 Multiple Regression Results of Financial and Social Supports with
Family Contextual Factors ......................................................... 79

Table 10 Multiple Regression Results of Economic Well-being with Child Care
Expenses ............................................................................. 81

Table 11 Multiple Regression Results of Economic Well being with Financial
and Social Supports ............................................................... 84

Table 12 Multiple Regression Results of Economic Well being with All
Independent Variables ............................................................ 86

ix

LIST OF FIGURES

TABLE Page
Figure 1 Model of Determinants of Economic Well-being in Single Mother

Families ............................................................................ 14
Figure 2 Child Care Expenses by Single Mother’s Marital Status ..................... 66
Figure 3 Child Care Expenses by Single Mother’s Educational Level ................. 66
Figure 4 Child Care Expenses by Single Mother’s Employment Status ............... 67
Figure 5 Child Care Expenses by the Presence of Children Aged 0-5 ................. 67

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

One of the most critical changes in American families is the tremendous
increase in the number of single mother families. According to a US. Census
Bureau, the number of single mother families has increased dramatically over the last
generation. In 1970, 10 percent of families with children under age 18 were headed
by single mothers (US. Bureau of the Census, 1971). In 2003, 23 percent of families
with children under age 18 were headed by single mothers (US. Bureau of the
Census, 2005a). The number of single mother families increased 68 percent during
the 19703. The growth rate slowed to 19 percent in the 19805, although the number of
single mother families continued to increase (Bianchi, 1995).

The climbing divorce rate and high rates of never married women with
children resulted in considerable numbers of children living with only one parent
(Hanson, Heims, Julian, & Sussman, 1995). In addition, single mother families with
children are more likely to be poor than are two parent families with children. In
2004, 28% of single mother families were in poverty, compared with 5% of married
couple families (DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, & Lee, 2005). Because so many children

fall into the single mother family situation for a period of time, and their status is

often economically deprived, both child care issues and the economic well-being of
single mother families are of primary concern.

For all mothers of young children, labor force participation is strongly related
to available and affordable child care (Marshall & Marx, 1991). For single mothers,
unavailability of child care and high child care expense may be the most important
reasons why single mothers cannot obtain and maintain a job (Hao & Brinton, 1997).
Therefore, the lack of adequate child care intensiﬁes their economic disadvantages.

Child care expenses are a particularly high burden in single mother families.
They have fewer earners and on average their family income is lower than two parent
families. Many single mothers try to reduce child care expenses by using informal
care (i.e. relative care), since the cost of formal child care (i.e. center care) is too high
in proportion to their earnings (Han and Waldfogel, 2001). In 1997, single parent
families paid an average of $258 per month for child care nationally (Giannarelli and
Barsimantov, 2000). When child care expenses are considered as a percentage of
earnings, they represent 16 percent of earnings among single parent families
compared with 7 percent among two parent families. Child care expenses,
particularly for low income single mother families, may affect the decision of a
mother’s employment (i.e. not working, working part-time or working in
nontraditional hours) (Connelly and Kimmel, 2003a & b). Furthermore, high
expenses for child care may lead single mothers to choose a poor quality of care

arrangement (Meyers, Han, Waldfogel, and Garﬁnkel, 2001).

Single mothers must play the dual role of provider and nurturer due to the
absence of a husband (Hao & Brinton, 1997). To balance their commitments to work
and family, single mothers may need some type of external support from various
sources such as extended family members, friends, government, or various
organizations. Support networks of single mother families play an important role in
family economic well-being. Some supports may help improve the economic position
of single mother families not only by providing monetary assistance but also by
reducing child care expenses through providing free child care services.

Recent empirical research has explored the contribution of external supports to
maintaining the economic well-being of single mother families. Research using the
1999 National Survey of America’s Families (N SAF ) data indicated that low income
single parent families with young children were most likely to receive ﬁnancial and
child care help (Giannarelli, Adelman, & Schmidt, 2003). At least 58 percent of low
income single parent families with children under age 5 received some type of child
care help from relatives, government, other organization, nonresident fathers, or
employers. Among low income single parent families with children under 13, at least
18 percent received free child care from a relative. The contribution of ﬁnancial and
social support by kin and ﬁiends can have a signiﬁcant effect in alleviating some of
the harsh aspects of poor households (Hunts & Avery, 1998).

The economic hardship of single mother families often increases the likelihood
of receiving public assistance. About 15 percent of children living with mothers only

received public assistance (i.e., Aid to Families with Dependent Children [AFDC],

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families [TANF], general assistance [GA], and
emergency assistance [EA] ), compared to only 1 percent of children living with both
parents (US. Bureau of the Census, 2005b).

Although there is a relatively large amount of literature dealing with the
negative effects of child care expenses on mothers’ employment, few studies have
focused on single mothers with children, and almost none of these studies have
examined the effects of child care expenses after controlling for personal or familial
characteristics (Han and Waldfogel, 2001). In contrast, this study examines the effect
of child care expenses as well as ﬁnancial and social supports on economic well-
being after controlling for family contextual factors.

In previous stLidies, the evidence of the sources of supports, social support
networks and ﬁnancial supports from kin or extended family in both single and
married mother family contexts, have been well documented. It has been posited that
kin support increases the well-being of families by providing monetary and child care
assistance. However, the results of the effectiveness and the functioning of ﬁnancial
or social supports on family well-being are not consistent. Receiving monetary
support or in-kind support from kin may indicate poor economic conditions of the
family (Parish, Hao, & Hogan, 1991).

Previous research oﬁen lacks a theoretical approach that addresses multi-level
factors and social support factors that affect the economic well-being of single mother

families. The limitations of previous studies are critical due to a growing awareness

among researchers, educators and policy makers that the economic deﬁcit of single

mother families inﬂuences children’s development and their future well-being.

Purpose of the study

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of child care expenses and
ﬁnancial and social supports on the economic well-being of single mother families.
Using a nationally representative data set, the 1999 National Survey of America’s
Families, this study examines child care expenses of single mother families and the
effect of these expenses on their economic well-being. Economic well-being is
measured by family income, per capita income, and the amount of public assistance.
Child care expenses impact considerably on family economic well-being because of
the high percentage of family income that must be devoted to purchase reliable
quality child care. This study also examines existing types of ﬁnancial and social

supports and their inﬂuence on the economic well-being of single mother families.

Signiﬁcance of the Study

In recent years, the notable increase in the single mother family population has
brought substantial public attention to their poor economic status with regard to the

lack of ﬁnancial and social resources and the lack of educational and work

opportunities, all related to the single mothers’ double responsibilities as an earner
and child care provider. Therefore, the question of the impact of child care expenses
on single mother families is crucial to the improvement of single mother families’
economic well-being.

The signiﬁcance of this study also arises from the fact that there has been little
research performed on the effect of ﬁnancial support for child care expenses and child
care support (i.e., free child care by relatives) on economic well-being, especially
with regards to single mother families. Empirically, the ﬁndings produced by this
study will enlarge the knowledge concerning economic and child care issues of single
mothers families.

One of the contributions of this study comes from the use of recently available
and nationally representative data from the National Survey of America’s Families
(Converse, Saﬁr, Scheuren, Steinbach, & Wang, 2001). The NSAF data allow this
study to include two important factors, child care expenses and support factors, in the
analysis of the economic well-being in single mother family context. Previously
available national data sets did not contain information on both family expenditures
and social support receipt.

Results of this study will be especially interesting to policy makers at this time
when welfare reform has reduced cash beneﬁts and has required single mothers to
work. The ﬁndings from this study may provide useful information on the connection
among child care expenses, mother’s working and economic stability in single mother

families.

The results of this study can be also used by family researchers and ﬁnancial
educators to increase their understanding of the differences among single mother
families in terms of child care expenses and various sources of support. With more
understanding, researchers and practitioners will be able to develop more effective
programs for single mother families. Ultimately, reducing the burden of child care
expenses and increasing appropriate supports would buffer the negative impacts of
poor economic conditions and provide a better developmental environment for children

in single mother families.

Research Objectives

This study intends to accomplish three research objectives:

1. To determine if child care expense variables are related to the economic well-
being of single mother families.

2. To determine if ﬁnancial and social support variables are related to the economic
well-being of single mother families.

3. To identify what family contextual factors are associated with child care expenses,
ﬁnancial and social supports as well as the economic well-being of single mother

families.

Theoretical Framework

Human ecological perspective and social capital theory provide a theoretical
basis for studying single mother families’ economic well-being related to child care

expenses and their support systems.

Human Ecological Perspective

A human ecological perspective offers a holistic approach to examine the
fundamental interdependence between human beings and the total environment
(Bubolz, Eicher, & Sontag, 1979). In the holistic ecological perspective, all events
are related in circular and reciprocal ways. Any change in one aspect of the
environment results in changes in all other systems.

In the human ecological perspective, the environment is deﬁned as three
interacting environments: the natural physical-biological environment, which includes
physical and biological components (e. g., atmosphere, water and animals), the human
built environment which includes alterations and transformations made by humans to
the natural environment (e. g., roads and polluted air), and the social-cultural
environment. The social-cultural environment includes the presence of other human
beings, abstract cultural constructions (e. g., language, laws and cultural values) and

social and economic institutions (e. g., market economy) (Bubolz and Sontag, 1993).

The ecological perspective involves human beings interacting with these three
environments as well as the interactions of the environments with each other. It
assumes that a human being is affected by and affects not only the immediate
situation of which it is a part but all systems that directly or indirectly relate to it
(Kratzer, 1991). Family ecology is the study of the totality of relationships that deﬁne
the family-environment system as an integrated whole (Griffore & Phenice, 2001).
This perspective allows researchers to have a holistic view in studying the family and
thus provides important implications for family policies and programs to improve
family well-being. Bubolz and Sontag (1993) indicate that the human ecological
perspective provides a foundation for explaining various kinds of well-being
indicators. From both objective and subjective standpoints, the degree of ill-being or
well-being of humans can be assessed on individual, family, and societal levels.

The human ecological perspective is important to this study because it
provides the basis for seeing the single mother family as it interacts with its
environment and how these interactions inﬂuence the economic well-being of the
families. Thus, the human ecological perspective is appropriate to study single
mother families that face many economic difﬁculties, lack of resources, and
ineffective social institutions.

In the study of quality of life and well-being of single parent families, Ihinger-
Tallman (1995) indicates that families cannot be examined separately from their
environments when family well-being is taken into account. The researcher identiﬁed

factors that affected overall well-being of single parent families at three levels of

environments — societal, interpersonal, and individual. At the societal level, the social
institutions in which families are embedded with (i.e. legal, economic, and
educational institutions) play an important role in family members’ daily lives. At the
interpersonal level, the signiﬁcance of interpersonal networks such as relationships
with extended kin, friends, and ex-spouse and supports through those networks, is
included. At the individual level, personal characteristics (i.e. single parent’s age,
race or ethnicity, mental, emotional, and physical health) and cultural norms and
values inﬂuence single parents’ family well-being.

Jung (1996), showing the importance of applying an ecological perspective in
studying families, indicates that this perspective that considers families as a system is
useful to identify the needs and resources of single parent families. The researcher
points out that individuals in single parent families, extended family members, and
systems outside the family all play a vital role in resolving the issues single parent
families face, such as lack of ﬁnancial and familial resources, child welfare, and lack
of supports.

Therefore, in the human ecological perspective, family economic well-being
may result from the interaction of families’ particular economic needs and the
resources available in various environments. In this study it is hypothesized that the
economic well-being of single mother families is inﬂuenced by their needs for child

care and support resources.

10

Social Capital Theory

This study is also based on social capital theory. Coleman (1988) deﬁned
Social capital as a resource that exists in the structure of relations between
individuals, which are norms, values, and social networks. Social capital that affects
children and parents in the family reside within the family as well as outside the
family, i.e., in the parent’s relationships with other families and the institutions of the
community. Similarly Bourdieu (1986) deﬁned social capital as a social network and
social relations with signiﬁcant others which could yield positive outcomes. To
establish beneﬁcial social networks, people invest their time and energy. Social
capital is understood to include social relations such as friendship networks and
relationships with relatives that contribute to family well-being.

On the other hand, there are theorists who deﬁne social capital as a motive, not
only the consequence of networks (Putnam, 2000; Folbre, 2001; Schmid, 2002).
Putnam (2000) deﬁnes social capital as the nature and extent of networks that enable
people to obtain resources and to participate in relationships that are the product of
social networks. Putnam also indicates that social capital may produce negative
outcomes as well as positive outcomes. In addition, social capital is deﬁned as
sympathy toward or caring for other people, which offers beneﬁts and advantages
(Schmid, 2002). Sympathy and caring may be stronger among relatives and ﬁ'iends.

The idea of social capital had a considerable inﬂuence on recent social and

economic research. A number of studies have attempted to measure social capital and

11

addressed the effects of social support serving as a buffer against the harmful impacts
imposed by economic hardship. Meszaros (2001) deﬁned social support as
supportive social resources that might facilitate coping with stressful situations.
Anguiano (1999) indicated that social capital included the time and effort of extended
family members contributing to other family members. For example, grandparents
and kin offer ﬁnancial assistance and child care help as a support network. Such
support networks, held together through the exchanges of food, money and child care,
provide the means for nurturance which is necessary for family well-being (Bump,
1996)

Many studies of single parent families have focused on sources and types of
social support and single parents’ social support networks. Nestmann and
Hurrelmann (1994) emphasized the importance of support networks in protecting
single parent families and enhancing their well-being. This research noted that the
support networks, which consisted of relatives and ﬁiends, were small and had few
but intensive contacts. In the study of the social support systems for poor single
mothers, Wijnberg and Weinger (1998) also indicated that a single parent’s support
network offered a signiﬁcant amount of assistance frequently and consistently. It
included child care, transportation, help during a child’s illness, house cleaning and so
forth. Those practical supports were necessary and served as a coping strategy for
single parent families.

This study explores the ﬁnancial and social support in single mother families

that is one type of social capital and is one of the important variables of this study.

12

Certain family contexts of single mother families may play a role in determining the
amount and type of support a family receives. The supportive network with friends
and relatives may have a considerable inﬂuence on the economic well-being of single

mother families.

Conceptual Map

The conceptual model for this study (F igurel) reﬂects how family contextual
factors, child care expenses, and ﬁnancial and social supports inﬂuence the economic
well-being of single mother families. Family contextual factors such as mother’s age,
marital status, educational level, the presence of children aged 0-5, and employment
status have an effect on child care expenses and ﬁnancial and social support factors as
well as economic well-being. Child care expense variables include the presence of
child care expenses, monthly child care expenses, and percentage of earnings for child
care expenses. Financial and social support variables include general ﬁnancial
support from kin or friends, ﬁnancial support for child care expenses, free child care
by relatives, and the amount of child support payment. The indicators of economic
well-being include family income, per capita income, and the amount of public
assistance. The economic well-being of single mother families is also inﬂuenced by

child care expenses and ﬁnancial and social support factors.

13

 

 

 

Family Contextual
Factors

Mother’s Age
Marital Status
Educational Level

The Presence of
Children Aged 0-5
Employment Status

 

 

Child Care Expenses

The Presence of Child Care
Expenses

Monthly Child Care Expenses

Percentage of Earnings for
Child Care Expenses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Financial and Social
Supports

Amount of General Financial
Support from Kin or Friends

Financial Support for Child
Care Expenses

Free Child Care by Relatives

Amount of Child Support
Payment

 

 

Economic Well-being

Family Income

Per Capita Income

Amount of Public
Assistance

 

 

 

 

 

[Figure 1] Model of determinants of economic well-being in single mother families

Assumptions

The underlying assumptions are identiﬁed with regard to this study.

1. Family economic well-being is inﬂuenced by multiple factors from multi-level

environments, which include the individual level, interpersonal level, and

societal level. The economic well-being of the‘family can be affected by

family characteristics, child care expenses, and ﬁnancial and social supports.

14

 

Family income, per capita income, and the amount of public assistance are the
effective indicators of economic well-being of the family.

Free child care by relatives can be a form of social support.

The participants of the National Survey of America’s Families provided all the

information on their economic and social situations as accurately as possible.

15

CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

Related literature is reviewed in this chapter. It consists of three sections.
These sections are economic well-being of single mother families, child care expenses

of single mother families, and ﬁnancial and social support of single mother families.

Economic Well-being of Single Mother Families

Much of the concern about the growth in single mother families stems from
their difﬁcult economic situation. Studies have examined factors affecting the
economic well-being of single mother families. The indicators of economic well-
being were total family income, per capita income, income per adult equivalence,
income to needs ratio, consumption expenditures, ownership of assets and debts, and
receiving public assistance. Single mother families with children have less family
income and fewer assets than two parent families and they are overrepresented among
the poor.

In 2004, median money income for single mother families was $29,826
compared with $63,813 for married couple families, according to results from the

August 2005 Current Population Survey (DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, & Lee, 2005). A

16

substantial percentage of single mother families falls below the poverty threshold. In
2004, the poverty rate of single mother families was 28.4 percent compared with 5.5
percent for married couple families. The US. poverty thresholds for their family size
and number of related children under 18 years for 2004 were $13,020 for a two-
person family (one adult and one children), $ 15,219 for a three-person family (one
adult and two children), and $19,223 for a four-person family (one adult and three
children) (US. Bureau of the Census, 2005 c).

Lino (1994) examined the income and income sources of single mother
families using the 1989-91 Consumer Expenditure Survey. Single mother families
maintained by widows had the highest income ($22,790) followed by those
maintained by divorced/separated women ($18,580) and those maintained by never-
married mothers ($9,820). He computed per adult equivalent before-tax income by
dividing average before-tax income by the average number of adult equivalents in the
household. The single parent was given a value of 1.0, the ﬁrst child was given a
value of 0.4 and all other children were given a value of 0.3. Income per adult
equivalent ranged from $5,810 for families maintained by never married mothers to
$12,880 for those maintained by widows.

Lino ( 1994) also reported the employment status of single mother families.
Eighty one percent of divorced/separated mothers were employed full or part time, as
were 69 percent of widows, and only 52 percent of never married mothers. Public

assistance was received by 55 percent of families maintained by never married

17

mothers, 20 percent of families maintained by divorced/separated mothers and only 6
percent of families maintained by widows.

Women are more likely than men to experience large ﬁnancial losses
following marital dissolution and women with children usually experience severe
economic suffering when they lose the spouse’s income. Bradbury and Katz (2002)
examined the income mobility of families that lose a spouse through death, divorce,
or separation, using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) from
1969 to 1998. Families losing a husband showed an average family income drop of
40 percent to 45 percent in real terms over a 10 year observation period. However,
families in which the wife was working fared better when they lost a husband than
families in which the wife was not working. The research also reported that among
families losing a spouse, those with children were more likely to experience an
income drop than families without children. A key factor contributing to the less
favorable outcomes for families with children is the difference in needs. The PSID
measure of income-to-needs ratio is based on an annual food-needs standard and
adjusted for economies of scale (Bradbury and Katz, 2002). The PSID income-to-
needs ratio considers family size, age, and sex of family members. The research
indicates that mothers with children experience a larger decline in their income-to-
needs ratio when the marriage dissolves; that is, they have a signiﬁcant drop in
economic well-being.

Using the data from the national Fragile Families and Child Well-being study

of 1998-2000, Teitler, Reichman, and Neporrmyaschy (2004) examined economic

18

hardship and the reliance on public assistance of unwed mothers. This study revealed
many unwed mothers experienced some form of ﬁnancial difﬁculty. A common
concern was the lack of sufﬁcient income to pay bills, and many mothers reported
more extreme ﬁnancial difﬁculties, such as hunger, eviction, utility shutoffs,
homelessness, or insufﬁcient medical care. A considerable proportion of unwed
mothers relied on public assistance. One third of unwed mothers received Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and one fourth lived in public housing or
received housing subsidies. The most striking ﬁnding of this study is that
employment does not appear to substantially reduce mothers’ dependence on public
assistance. Regardless of their employment status, the vast majority of unwed
mothers relied on some form of public assistance at some time during the year prior to
the follow-up interview. Over 90 percent of mothers who worked and almost all (98
percent) of mothers who did not work, reported reliance on some form of public
assistance.

Hao (1995) also indicated that in 1985, over one third of young single mothers
received Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) payments. Tin and
Castro (2004) examined the participation in public assistance programs, using the
1996—1999 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). The
researchers reported that single mother families had lower income and higher poverty
rates than single father families and married couple families. The average monthly
poverty rate was 30 percent for single mother families in 1999, compared with 12

percent for single father families and 7 percent for married couple families. In 1999,

19

single mothers were about ﬁve times as likely to receive major means-tested public
assistance, i.e., AFDC, TANF, General Assistance (GA), Food Stamps, Supplemental
Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, and Housing Assistance, as people in married

couple families (31 percent vs. 7 percent).

Child Care Expenses of Single Mother Families

For single mothers with limited monetary and time resources, child care
expenses can be considerably burdensome. Using data from the 1997 NSAF,
Giannarelli and Barsimantov (2000) examined child care expenses of America’s
families. Among employed single parents, 52 percent made payments for some type
of child care. For employed single parents with the expense, the average monthly
child care expense was $258, which accounted for 16 percent of the earnings of single
parents. The research also examined child care expenses particularly for low-earning
single parent families. Low-earning families were deﬁned as those with monthly
earnings no more than 200 percent of the federal poverty threshold. In 1997, 200
percent of the poverty threshold was $2,154 per month. For working single parent
families with low-earnings, the average monthly child care expense was $230,
accounting for 19 percent of their earnings.

Smith (2002) also examined child care expenses with data from the 1997 SIPP.
In 1997, thirty three percent of mothers with children under age 15 reported they had

child care expenses for regular child care arrangements. Among mothers who had

20

regular child care expenses, the average weekly child care expense was $71 per child.
The researcher also indicated that child care expenses were different by families’
income level. Poor families with children were less likely to pay for child care and
paid a lower amount for child care than non—poor families with children. However,
poor families spent a much higher percent of income for child care expenses than
non-poor families (21 percent vs. 7 percent).

Using data from the 1999 NSAF, Capizzano, Adelman, & Stagner (2002) also
reported the child care expenses for working families with school-age children during
the summer and the school year. During the summer, 41 percent of working families
paid for child care and these families who had child care expenses, spent on average
$297, which was 8 percent of their earnings on child care. Similarly, during the
school-year, 43 percent of families paid for child care and among these families who
paid, average monthly expenses were $266, which accounted for 8 percent of family
earnings. The researchers also found signiﬁcantly different child care expenditure
patterns between low-income families and higher-income families. Low-income
families paid much less for child care than higher-income families did. The average
child care expense for low-income families was $170 per month or 11 percent of their
earnings, compared to $377, or 7 percent of earnings for higher-income families.

In the study of child care expenses and income in child care choice, Hofferth
& Wissoker (1992) reported that family income other than the mother’s earnings
inﬂuenced the amount they paid for center care. The mother’s hourly wage did not

have a signiﬁcant effect on child care expenditures. However, income from other

21

family members was signiﬁcantly related to child care expenditures. Families with
higher income from other family members were more likely to have higher child care
expenses and use center based child care than families with lower income from other
family members.

Capizzano and Adams (2003), using data from the 2002 NSAF, support the
idea that child care expenses are a signiﬁcant factor in arranging child care for
families, particularly low-income families. The researchers found that low-income
families with children under age 5 were more likely to use relative care than higher
income families, probably because relative care is usually free or inexpensive.

Blank (1988) points out that single mother families have signiﬁcant ﬁxed costs
of employment. Since single mothers are the primary caregivers for their children,
they must arrange for the care of their children in order to participate in the labor
force. There is a large amount of literature examining the effects of child care
expenses on the employment of mothers. However, few researchers have explored
the effects of child care expenses on single mother families with children. Several
researchers estimated the effect of changes in the price of child care on single
mother’s employment and found that hourly child care costs had a negative effect on
mother’s employment for single mother families (Kimmel, 1998; Han & Waldfogel,
2001; Woodhouse, 2001; Baum II, 2002; Connelly & Kimmel, 2003a & b).

Using data from the 1987 SIPP, Kimmel (1998) explored the relationship
between hourly child care cost and employment among single mothers with children

under the age of 13. Single mothers were less likely to participate in the labor force

22

when hourly child care cost was increased. Kimmel also reported that employed
single mothers spent an average $201 per month for child care, and this amount
represented 16 percent of mother’s monthly earnings.

According to Han & Waldfogel (2001), in the study of the inﬂuences of child
care costs on the employment of single and married mothers with preschool-aged
children, hourly child care costs were negatively related to mother’s employment and
single mothers were more negatively affected than married mothers. Researchers also
conﬁrmed that mothers with children aged 0-5 were more likely to pay for child care
and have higher expenses for child care than mothers with children over 5.
Woodhouse (2001) also examined the relationship between child care costs and single
mothers’ employment and found that single mothers reduced the quality of the child
care if they did not reduce their labor supply when hourly child care costs were
increased. In the study of the effect of child care costs on low-income mother’s
employment, Baum II (2002) found that child care costs accounted for a signiﬁcant
portion of low-income mother’s earnings and increase in hourly child care costs had a
negative effect on the mother’s employment.

Using data from the 1992 and 1993 SIPP, Connelly and Kimmel (2003 a)
reported that single mothers employed full-time have higher weekly expenditures for
child care than single mothers employed part-time. The researchers reported that
among full-time employed single mothers who pay for care, weekly expenditures for
center-based care averaged $70 and for relative care was $49; part-time employed

single mothers paid $60 on average for center care, and $43 for relative care. The

23

researchers indicated that part-time single mothers were more likely to use relative
care, which is less expensive than center care. Researchers also found a negative
signiﬁcant effect of hourly child care cost on single mother’s employment. The
probability of being employed, either part-time or full-time, was decreased when the
predicted hourly child care cost was increased.

Smith (2002) conﬁrmed that child care expenses play an important role in
mother’s employment. Non—employed mothers may arrange child care when they go
to school or look for work. The researcher found that non-employed mothers were
less likely to make a cash payment for child care than were employed mothers, 14
percent compared with 43 percent for employed mothers. The average weekly child
care expenses was higher for employed mothers than non-employed mothers ($75 and
$49, respectively). However, the researcher found that the average hourly expenses
for employed mothers with preschoolers was lower than for non-employed mothers
($2.22 and $3.34, respectively) because non-employed mothers needed child care
arrangement for fewer hours than employed mothers.

A variety of family contextual factors affect child care expenses. In the study
on spending patterns of single mother families, Lino (1994) reported that child care
expenses were incurred by a smaller proportion of families maintained by never-
married mothers and widows (16 and 14 percent), compared with families maintained
by divorced/ separated mothers and married couples (23 and 31 percent). For never-
married mothers, this differential may be explained by their low labor force

participation rate; for widows, the differential is likely attributable to their having

24

older children who can take care of themselves. For divorce/separated mothers, 81
percent were employed. Only one quarter of them paid for child care. The researcher
suggested that a large proportion of child care is provided by relatives, who are likely
not paid.

Giannarelli & Barsimantov (2000) reported that there was a difference in child
care expenses between families with children under age 5 and families with school-
age children. Sixty percent of families with children under 5 years old compared to
37 percent of families with only children 5-12 years old had child care expenses in
1997. For school-age children, child care expenses may be reduced because child
care is not needed during school hours and older children sometimes care for
themselves. Additionally, the hourly child care costs for older children may be lower
than for younger children.

According to Smith (2002), families with the youngest child under age 5 were
more likely to have child care expenses than families where the youngest child is
between the ages of 5-14. In addition, families with the youngest child under age 5
had greater weekly expenses and a higher percentage of their income for child care
expenses than families with only school-age children. However, the hourly child care
expenses for families with school-age children were higher than families with
children under 5.

The mother’s education and the number of children in the family are also
related to child care expenses (Hofferth & Wissoker, 1992). Single mothers who

completed some college classes were more likely to pay for child care than mothers

25

who completed high school. Additionally, the researchers reported that families with
higher numbers of children were less likely to use center care and more likely to use
paid sitter or relative care because of economies of scale. The use of center care is
more expensive than the use of a paid sitter or relative care when a mother needs child
care for more than two children.

The literature that focuses on child care expenses and receipt of public
assistance is limited. In the study of the effect of child care costs on welfare
recipiency, Connelly and Kimmel (2003b), using the 1992 and 1993 SIPP data,
reported that single mothers receiving AFDC were less likely to have child care
expenses than single mothers not receiving AFDC (36% vs. 56%); however, the
AFDC recipient group paid a higher hourly price for child care. This may be because
of the higher hourly cost of part-time child care. Researchers also found that single
mothers receiving AFDC were more likely to rely on relative care and less likely to
rely on center-based care. For all single mothers including AFDC recipients and non
AFDC recipients, center-based care was the most expensive per week, followed by

home-based care and relative care, respectively.

Financial and Social Supports in Single Mother Families

Many single mothers receive substantial support, either ﬁnancial or child care
assistance, from their parents, friends, kin, neighbors or associates. These ﬁnancial

and social supports from outside of the nuclear family are important factors that affect

26

family economic well-being. However, there have been few empirical studies of the
relationship between ﬁnancial and social supports and economic well-being. The few
existing studies suggest that ﬁnancial and child care supports for single mother
families vary by the type of supports and families’ characteristics.

Giannarelli, Adelman, & Schmidt (2003) indicated various sources of support
for child care, using data from the 1999 NSAF. Many families receive supports
through government or agency programs, such as Child Care and Development Fund
(CCDF), the TANF, Head Start, before- and after school programs or other state and
local programs. Some families pay for child care on a sliding fee scale. Many
families get support from relatives either ﬁnancially or by way of free child care
services. Other sources of support come from employers or nonresident parents. The
researchers also found that a higher proportion of single parent families reported
receiving ﬁnancial or social support than did two parent families. Likewise, a higher
proportion of low-income families (i.e., families with income below 200 percent of
the federal poverty level) received ﬁnancial or social support than did hi gher-income
families. Families that have received public assistance (AFDC or TANF) are more
likely to get some support for child care expenses than families that never receive
public assistance, 56 percent compared with 44 percent.

The empirical research of Hogan, Hao, & Parish (1990) examined kin
networks and assistance to mother-headed families, using the 1984 National
Longitudinal Survey of Labor Force Behavior, Youth Survey (N LSY). The

researchers found over one-half of single mothers participated in a support network,

27

by means of coresidence with extended family members, income support, or unpaid
child care, although at least one-third of single mothers did not receive any of these
support. The researchers also reported that in 1984, over one quarter of single
mothers received income supports from kin that accounted for at least one half of
their income, and about one half of single mothers received unpaid child care, one
aspect of social support, from grandparents, other kin or non-kin.

Other research by Parish, Hao, & Hogan (1991) focused on the family support
networks of young mothers aged 14-21 years old. Family support networks varied by
the mother’s marital status. The researchers found that the young mothers got help
with child care from the grandmother of their child (the respondent’s mother) (24%)
and other extranuclear kin (12%). Mothers who had never married were much more
likely to rely on the child’s grandmother and other kin. Kin usually offered child care
support without payment. One half of all kin care was free and another tenth involved
only compensation (e. g., gifts, meals, etc.) other than cash. For ﬁnancial support,
10% of young mothers had half or more of their living expenses paid by kin. Four-
ﬁfths of ﬁnancial support came mostly from parents who coreside with mothers.
Unmarried mothers were most likely to receive both child care and ﬁnancial support.

In the study of the kin networks as sources of support to married and single
Aﬁican American mothers, Jayakody, Chatters, and Taylor (1993) explored different
forms of assistance (i.e., ﬁnancial, child care, and emotional) and noted that sizeable
variability exists with respect to the marital status and familial assistance. For

ﬁnancial supports, 16% of married, 19% of divorced and separated, 21% of widowed,

28

and 24% of never married mothers reported receiving monetary assistance from
family. Never married mothers at higher levels of the poverty ratio were signiﬁcantly
more likely to receive ﬁnancial assistance than are other mothers. The researchers
concluded that the economic position of the mother and the potential size of the kin
networks were important determinants of the likelihood of receiving ﬁnancial
assistance. In terms of child care assistance, divorced mothers were the least likely
(9%) to receive assistance, whereas about 18% of widowed, 19% of never married
and married mothers received help with children.

Hao and Brinton’s study (1997), using data from the NLSY, found a strong
relationship between marital status and kin support. Never married mothers have
fewer economic resources than other single mothers and so they are more likely to
rely on their family members and relatives. This research also noted that child
support payment is a source of unearned income for single mothers and might enable
them to purchase suitable child care.

Using the 1990 National Child Care Survey (NCCS), Hunts and Avery (1998)
indicated that child care by relatives provides an important support to single parents
facing stringent time constraints. The researchers reported that children from single
parent families spend signiﬁcantly more time in the care of relatives than other
children, especially at nontraditional times of the day. Nontraditional hours refer to
work that begins before 6:00am or aﬁer 7:00pm. Single parents without spouses do
not have many options for child care. Informal support networks providing child care

help could be especially important to single mothers who work both full time and part

29

time. The researchers also found that the child care by relatives varied by the parent’s
employment, child’s age and the income level of family. They indicated that working
parents, families with young children, and low-income families were more likely to
receive child care from relatives for longer hours than non-working parents, families
with older children, and high-income families. The researchers also indicated that
most child care by relatives is provided without cash payment, although there are
likely nonmonetary transfers between these parents and their relatives.

Snyder & Adelman (2004) examined the use of relative care for working
parents with children under 12 years old, using data from the 1999 NSAF. Single
parents working part-time or nontraditional hours (e. g., evening or weekend hours)
use more relative care than parents working full-time or traditional hours since center
care usually is not available during nontraditional hours. However, relatives usually
offer parents ﬂexible care options. The researchers also indicated that relatives are
important child care providers to non-employed parents, particularly parents with
lower-incomes and with children under 5. Non-employed parents need child care
when they are looking for work or studying in school. Those parents use relative care
because relative care may be inexpensive and reliable for parents and also offers
ﬂexible schedules. Smith (2002) also indicated that grandparents were less likely to
be paid for child care of their grandchildren than were non-relatives. Only about 15
percent of grandparents were paid for child care. Even when they were paid,
grandparents received much less money (per week and per hour) than other child care

providers.

30

In the study of child care assistance for single mother families, Meyers, Han,
Waldfogel, & Garﬁnkel (2001) found that child care expenses for low-income single
mothers increased when mothers entered the labor force and when informal child care
(e. g., child care by relatives) was not available. This is because usually this care was
provided free of charge.

The literature related to child care support by relatives indicates that free child
care is one of the most helpful types of support for single mother families, particularly
for low-income and employed single mothers. Free child care support from relatives
provides single mothers economic help as well as trustworthy child care.

Financial support from the government for child care such as child care
subsidies represents one important source of support that inﬂuences the economic
well-being of single mother families. Among low-income single parent families,
families with children under age 5 were more likely to receive this government
support but less likely to receive support from relatives than families with only
school-age children (Giannarelli, et al., 2003). There are reasons for these differences,
the researchers indicate. Families with children under age 5 need more hours of child
care, and usually child care fees per hour for younger children are higher than for
older children. Therefore families with younger children seek more govemment/
organization assistance. Likewise, there may be more child care assistance programs
for younger children than for older children. In contrast, relatives provide more free

child care for older children than for younger children because child care for older

31

children is less labor-intensive and may not require full-day care since older children
are in school part of the day.

According to Smith (2002), the receipt of ﬁnancial support for child care was
related to families’ income level and the receipt of public assistance. Low-income
families with children under age 15 were more likely to receive ﬁnancial support for
child care from the government than were higher-income families. In 1997, nine
percent of families with income below the poverty line received ﬁnancial support
from the government, compared with only 1 percent of families with income above
the poverty line. Families receiving public assistance (i.e. TANF) were more likely to
receive ﬁnancial support for child care from government than families not receiving
public assistance (15 percent vs. 3 percent). The researcher also reported that families
with preschoolers received more ﬁnancial support paying for child care than families
with school-age children.

Child support payments from nonresident fathers can have a considerable
effect on the economic well—being of single mother families. Using the 1997 NSAF
data, Sorensen and Zibman (2000) examined the effect of child support payment on
poverty. The researchers reported that only half of all children had received any
ﬁnancial support from their nonresident fathers in the past 12 months. The
researchers also pointed out that child support payments were an important source of
income for families with children that receive it. In 1996, among families receiving
child support payments from nonresident parents, the average amount of child support

was $3,795, which accounted for 16 percent of their family income.

32

With the data from the 1986-1992 NLSY, Argys, Peters, Brooks-Gunn, and
Smith (1998) also examined child support payments among children age 5-8 whose
fathers were absent. They reported that the average annual amount of child support
received by children with divorced or separated mothers was $1,680, compared with
$360 by children with never married mothers (the amount is measured in constant
1990 dollars). About 68 percent of divorced or separated mother families received
child support awards while about 44 percent of never married mother families
received child support awards.

In the study of the types of economic support for unmarried mothers, Sanfort
and Hill (1996), using data of the 1968-1990 PSID, reported that young unmarried
mothers received annually an average of $293 in child support payments and $131 in
ﬁnancial support from relatives (the amount are expressed in 1990 dollars). The
researchers also found that the receipt of child support payment had a strong. positive
effect on mother’s later self-sufﬁcient income; however, ﬁnancial support received
from relatives did not have a statistically signiﬁcant effect on mother’s self-sufﬁcient
income.

In general, these previous studies support the notion that family, kin, and
ﬁ'iends provide a vital backup for children of single mothers who must balance the
demands of both the market economy and family responsibilities. Such supportive
relationships with extended family members and ﬁiends serve as signiﬁcant

resources, mitigating the economic hardship of single mother families.

33

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

With the data from the 1999 National Survey of America’s Families, this study
explores the relationship of economic well-being to child care expenses and ﬁnancial
and social supports for single mother families with children. This chapter includes
research questions, conceptual and operational deﬁnitions, research hypotheses, and

an explanation of data source and data analysis.

Research Questions

This study asks the following research questions.

1. What are the factors that predict the economic well-being of single mother
families?

2. What are the factors that inﬂuence child care expenses in single mother families?

3. What are the factors that inﬂuence ﬁnancial and social supports in single mother
families?

4. Is there a relationship between child care expenses and economic well-being in

single mother families?

34

5. Is there a relationship between ﬁnancial and social supports and economic well-

being in single mother families?

Conceptual and Operational Definitions

The dependent variable examined in this study is economic well-being, which
is measured by family income, per capita income, and the amount of public
assistance. The independent variables include child care expenses, ﬁnancial and
social support and family contextual factors. Child care expenses are measured by the
presence of child care expenses, monthly child care expenses, and the percentage of
earnings for child care expenses. Financial and social supports are measured by the
amount of general ﬁnancial support from kin or friends, ﬁnancial support for child
care expenses, free child care by relatives, and the amount of child support payments
received. Family contextual factors include mother’s age, marital status, educational

level, the presence of children aged 0-5, and mother’s employment status.

Dependent Variable

Economic Well-being

Conceptual Deﬁnition: The over all degree of family’s economic situation.

35

Operational Deﬁnition: In this research, economic well-being of the family is
measured by three indicators: family income, per capita income, and the amount

of public assistance.

Family Income

Conceptual Deﬁnition: This refers to the total income before taxes earned by
family members.

Operational Deﬁnition: The respondent was asked about the amount of monetary
income before taxes in the last 12 months received by each person in the sampled
family, 15 years old and over. Total family income is the algebraic sum of
amounts reported separately for money wage or salary; net income from self-
employment; Social Security; Supplemental Security Income; Public assistance or
welfare payments; Interest (on savings or bonds); Dividends, income from estates
or trusts, or net rental income; Veterans' payment or unemployment and
workmen's compensation; Private pensions or government employee pensions;
and Alimony or child support, regular contributions from persons not living in the
household, and other periodic income. Amounts that are reported from the receipt
of vouchers or coupons from the welfare ofﬁce to pay for special expenses and
food stamps are not included in the calculation of family income. Family income

variable is a continuous variable.

36

Per Capita Income

Conceptual Deﬁnition: This refers to the amount of the family income available
per person.

Operational Deﬁnition: The total amount of family income the respondent

indicated is divided by the number of persons reported to be in the family.

Amount of Public Assistance

Conceptual Deﬁnition: This refers to the dollar amount of public assistance
received.

Operational Deﬁnition: In the survey, the respondent was asked the annual dollar
amount of public assistance, welfare payments, vouchers, or emergency help
received from the welfare ofﬁce in 1998. Assistance included money received
from the state or local welfare ofﬁce under the Temporary Aid to Needy Families
program (TANF) (which replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children or
AFDC), General Assistance (GA) or General Relief (cash assistance from state
and local programs for people who are not eligible for or who are waiting to enroll
in other programs), Emergency Assistance or other forms of one-time cash
payments, and vouchers or coupons received from welfare ofﬁces. This does not
include regular payments from welfare ofﬁces for elderly, blind, or disabled
persons, nor food, food stamps, clothing, or scholarships. The amount of public

assistance is deﬁned as a continuous variable.

37

Independent Variables

Child Care Expenses Variables

The Presence of Child Care Expenses

Conceptual Deﬁnition: This refers to the presence of expenditures for child care
arrangements.

Operational Deﬁnition: The respondent was asked whether an amount was paid
for child care. The amount includes child care expenses for all the child care
arrangements and programs the respondent uses regularly for all children under
age 13 while she worked, was in school or looked for work. This is a binary
variable equal to one if the mother reported any expenses for child care, and zero

otherwise.

Monthly Child Care Expenses

Conceptual Deﬁnition: This refers to the total amount paid for child care per
month.

Operational Deﬁnition: In the survey, the respondent was asked about the total
amount of money she paid for all child care arrangements used regularly during
the last month. The respondent was asked to include child care expenses for all of
her children under age 13 while she worked, was in school, or looked for work.

This variable is a continuous variable.

38

Percentage of Earnings for Child Care Expenses

Conceptual Deﬁnition: This refers to the percentage of family earnings spent on
child care.

Operational Deﬁnition: The amount of monthly child care expenses the
respondent indicated was divided by the monthly earnings of the family. The
monthly earnings of the family were computed by dividing annual family earnings
by 12. Family earnings were calculated by summing the total earnings from all

jobs for each family member.

Financial and Social support variables

Amount of General Financial Support from Kin or Friends

Conceptual Deﬁnition: This refers to the amount of ﬁnancial assistance received
from kin or friends.

Operational Deﬁnition: In the survey, the respondent was asked the annual dollar
amount of ﬁnancial assistance received from friends or relatives not living in the
household. Financial assistance was deﬁned as including regular assistance as
well as assistance received on an irregular basis, but not occasional gifts or

contributions. This variable is a continuous variable.

39

Financial Support for Child Care Expenses

Conceptual Deﬁnition: This refers to ﬁnancial assistance in paying for child care.
Operational Deﬁnition: Two questions from the NSAF are used to measure
ﬁnancial support for child care expenses. In the ﬁrst question, the respondent is
asked if anyone else pays for all or part of the expense for the care of any of her
children under age 13. Financial support includes ﬁnancial assistance from a
government agency or program, child care agency or program, other organization,
child(ren)’s parent, respondent’s employer, or a relative or friend. The
respondents answered yes if they received child care from centers or other
programs that are free of charge or of minimal cost to the parent indicating that
some other agency is covering the rest of the child care expenses. In the second
question, the respondent is asked if they pay for child care on a sliding fee scale.
The respondents who answer ‘yes’ on either the ﬁrst or second question are
considered to be receiving ﬁnancial support for child care. This variable is
constructed as a binary variable equal to one if the respondent reported any

ﬁnancial support for child care expenses, and zero otherwise.

Free Child Care by Relatives

Conceptual Deﬁnition: This refers to help provided by relatives in caring for
children.

Operational Deﬁnition: In this study, the respondents were considered to be

getting free child care by relatives if they used relatives as child care providers

40

and paid nothing for child care. Free child care by relatives was coded as one if
the respondent answered ‘yes’ on the question of whether they received child care
from relatives at least once a week and if the respondent also answered ‘no’ on the
question of whether they have child care expenses. Otherwise, it was zero.
However, this variable is underestimated because the 1999 NSAF cannot identify
the respondent as receiving free child care by relatives if the respondent does pay
some expenses. For example, if the respondent uses multiple arrangements, i.e.,
uses free child care by relatives as one arrangement and pay for another
arrangement, this respondent is not identiﬁed as receiving free child care by

relatives.

Amount of Child Support Payment

Conceptual Deﬁnition: This refers to the amount of child support payment
received from the non-custodial parents of children.

Operational Deﬁnition: In the survey, the respondents were asked the annual
dollar amount of child support payment received in last year (1998). Child
support was deﬁned as dollars received from non-custodial fathers for the support
of their children. Sometimes child support payments were paid through a welfare

agency or a court. This is a continuous variable.

41

Family Contextual Variables

Age

Conceptual Deﬁnition: This refers to the respondent’s age.
Operational Deﬁnition: The respondent’s age was obtained through completion of

the roster section of the questionnaire.

Maritzd Status

Conceptual Deﬁnition: This refers to the respondent’s current marital situation.
Operational Deﬁnition: The respondent was asked about her marital status at the
time of the interview. The respondent’s marital status was coded as divorced,

separated, widowed, or never married.

Educational Level

Conceptual Deﬁnition: This refers to the level of education achieved by
individuals.

Operational Deﬁnition: The respondent was asked to indicate the highest grade or
level of schooling completed. Allowable values include (1) no high school
diploma or General Educational Development (GED), (2) high school diploma or
GED, no college, (3) completed some college classes, (4) at least a bachelor’s

degree.

42

The Presence of Children aged 0-5

Conceptual Deﬁnition: This refers to the presence of at least one child aged 0-5 in
the family.

Operational Deﬁnition: The respondent was asked to list the age of each person in
the household. This is a binary variable equal to one if the respondent reported

having at least one child aged 0-5, and zero otherwise.

Employment Status

Conceptual Deﬁnition: This refers to the level of participation in paid work.
Operational Deﬁnition: Employment is speciﬁed as a trichotomous variable
deﬁned at zero hours of work, part-time work, and full-time work. Respondents
with weekly work hours from 1 to 34 were deﬁned as working part-time, and

those with 35 hours and over are deﬁned as working full-time.

Research Hypotheses

Based on the human ecological perspective and social capital theory, research

hypotheses are presented for this study. In the human ecological perspective, family

well-being is inﬂuenced by factors at three levels of environments —individual,

interpersonal, and societal environments (Ihinger-Tallman, 1995). In this study, it is

hypothesized that the economic well-being of single mother families is inﬂuenced by

family contextual factor variables (i.e., mothers’ educational level) that are related to

43

the individual level of environments, child care expense variables that are related to
societal environments including the economic system, and ﬁnancial and social
support variables that are related to the interpersonal level of environments (e. g.,
ﬁnancial support from kin is affected by the relationship with kin). Theoretically,
social capital is understood to include supportive social resources that may reduce the
harmful impacts of economic difﬁculties. Given social capital theory, it is
hypothesized that ﬁnancial and social support variables (i.e. free child care by
relatives) inﬂuence the economic well-being of single mother families. In this study,

ﬁve sets of hypotheses are developed and tested.

Hypothesis 1

Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status, educational level,
employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5 are related to the economic
well-being of single mother families.
Hypothesis 1.1
Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status, educational
level, employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5 are related to
the family income of single mother families.

Hypothesis 1.2

 

Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status, educational
level, employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5 are related to

the per capita income of single mother families.

44

Hypothesis 1.3
Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status, educational
level, employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5 are related to

the amount of public assistance received by single mother families.

Hypothesis 2

Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status, educational level,
employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5 are related to child care

expenses variables in single mother families.

Hypothesis 2.1

Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status, educational
level, employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5 are related to
the presence of child care expenses in single mother families.

Hypothesis 2.2

Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status, educational
level, employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5 are related to
monthly child care expenses in single mother families.

Hypothesis 2.3

Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status, educational

level, employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5 are related to

45

the percentage of earnings paid for child care expenses in single mother

families.

Hypothesis 3

Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status, educational level,
employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5 are related to ﬁnancial and

social supports in single mother families.

Hypothesis 3.1

 

Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status, educational
level, employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5 are related to
the dollar amount of general ﬁnancial support from kin or ﬁiends in single
mother farrrilies.

Hypothesis 3.2

Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status, educational
level, employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5 are related to
ﬁnancial support for child care expenses in single mother families.

Hypothesis 3.3

 

Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status, educational
level, employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5 are related to

the receipt of free child care by relatives in single mother families.

46

Hypothesis 3.4

Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status, educational
level, employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5 are related to
the dollar amount of child support payments from non-custodial fathers in

single mother families.

Hypothesis 4

Child care expenses are related to economic well-being after controlling for family

contextual effects.

Hypothesis 4.1
The presence of child care expenses is related to economic well-being after
controlling for family contextual effects.
1. The presence of child care expenses is positively related to family
income after controlling for farrrily contextual effects.
2. The presence of child care expenses is positively related to per capita
income after controlling for family contextual effects.
3. The presence of child care expenses is negatively related to the amount

of public assistance after controlling for family contextual effects.

47

Hypothesis 4.2

Monthly child care expenses are related to economic well-being after

controlling for family contextual effects.

1.

Monthly child care expenses are positively related to family income
after controlling for family contextual effects.

Monthly child care expenses are positively related to per capita income
after controlling for family contextual effects.

Monthly child care expenses are negatively related to the amount of

public assistance after controlling for family contextual effects.

Hypothesis 4.3

Percentage of earnings for child care expenses is related to economic well-

being after controlling for family contextual effects.

1.

Percentage of earnings for child care expenses is negatively related to
family income after controlling for family contextual effects.
Percentage of earnings for child care expenses is negatively related to

per capita income after controlling for family contextual effects.

. Percentage of earnings for child care expenses is positively related to

the amount of public assistance after controlling for family contextual

effects.

48

Hypothesis 5

Financial and social supports are related to economic well-being after controlling for

family contextual effects.

Hypothesis 5.1
The amount of general ﬁnancial support from kin or friends is related to
economic well-being after controlling for family contextual effects.

1. The amount of general ﬁnancial support from kin or friends is
negatively related to family income after controlling for family
contextual effects.

2. The amount of general ﬁnancial support from kin or friends is
negatively related to per capita income after controlling for family
contextual effects.

3. The amount of general ﬁnancial support from kin or friends is
positively related to the amount of public assistance after controlling

for family contextual effects.

Hypothesis 5.2
Financial support for child care expenses is related to economic well-being
after controlling for family contextual effects.

1. Financial support for child care expenses is negatively related to family

income after controlling for family contextual effects.

49

2. Financial support for child care expenses is negatively related to per
capita income aﬁer controlling for family contextual effects.

3. Financial support for child care expenses is positively related to the
amount of public assistance after controlling for family contextual

effects.

Hyppthesis 5.3

 

Free child care by relatives is related to economic well-being after controlling
for family contextual effects.
1. Free child care by relatives is negatively related to family income after
controlling for family contextual effects.
2. Free child care by relatives is negatively related to per capita income
after controlling for family contextual effects.
3. Free child care by relatives is positively related to the amount of public

assistance after controlling for family contextual effects.

Hypothesis 5.4
The amount of child support payments is related to economic well-being after
controlling for family contextual effects.

1. The amount of child support payments is positively related to family

income after controlling for family contextual effects.

50

2. The amount of child support payments is positively related to per capita
income after controlling for family contextual effects.

3. The amount of child support payments is negatively related to the
amount of public assistance after controlling for family contextual

effects.

Data Source

Data for this study are extracted from the 1999 National Survey of America’s
Families (N SAF) Public Use File, collected by the Urban Institute, a nonproﬁt
nonpartisan policy research and educational organization (Urban Institute, 1999). The
NSAF is designed to produce estimates that are representative of the US. civilian,
non-institutionalized population under age 65 (Abi-Habib, Saﬁr, and Triplett, 2004).
The NSAF was conducted in 13 states in the United States-- Alabama, California,
Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey,
New York, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. These study area were selected to
represent various aspects of the nation in terms of their size, geographic location,
people’s needs, and provision of government services. Collectively these 13 states
account for over half of the US. population and represent a broad range of national
characteristics with regard to family economic well-being, ﬁscal capacity, social
services and government programs. The 1999 NSAF included data focusing

primarily on income security, family structure, health care, child well-being, cash

51

assistance, other public programs, and family related experiences of the subjects
(Converse et al., 2001). Large representative samples of low-income families with
children were included in the NSAF.

A random selection of telephone households was the primary method of
sampling of the NSAF. The sample had two parts: The main sample consisted of a
random-digit dial (RDD) survey of households with telephones. This was
supplemented with a second (area probability) sample of households without
telephones. In both the RDD and area samples, interviewing was conducted in two
stages: ﬁrst, a short, ﬁve-minute screening interview was conducted in order to
determine household eligibility. Following the screener interview, if the household
was eligible and retained as a sample household, a more detailed, 27- to 45-minute
extended interview was conducted to ask about the main survey items of interest.

Most Knowledgeable Adult (MKA) in the household was selected to be the
primary respondent. In choosing the MKA, interviewers asked to speak to the person
who knew the most about the children and the family. Therefore, the NSAF sought to
obtain the most accurate information possible for each family. In this study MKA is
the mother of children. Children were not interviewed directly; instead, children data
were obtained by interviewing the MKA for that child within the household. When
families had multiple children under age 6, the “focal child” for the interview was
randomly selected. The same was done for children ages 6 to 12. No more than two

children were sampled from each household.

52

All interviews were conducted on the telephone by interviewers working in
central interviewing facilities, using computer-assisted telephone interviewing
(CATI) technology. In-person interviewers provided cellular telephones to connect
respondents in non-telephone households to the interviewing centers for the CATI
interview; hence, the interviews were conducted in essentially the same way in both
telephone and non-telephone households. Data collection for the interview started on
February 15, 1999. The survey was completed in early October of 1999.

In all, 147,623 telephone households were screened for the 1999 survey. After
screening, detailed extended interviews were conducted in 40,874 households. The
overall response rate was approximately 70% for the 1999 survey.

For the purpose of this study, I drew all of the single mother families with
children aged twelve and under. The analytical sample used for this research includes
4,676 single mother families with children.

Unlike other national data sets, the 1999 NSAF contains a sufﬁcient number of
single mother families with children under 13 to allow the researcher to examine
these families’ economic well-being. In addition, this data contains detailed
information on the variables that the researcher intended to examine, e. g., child care
expenses, child support payment, ﬁnancial and social supports, family income, public
assistance, and detailed information of family characteristics. The NSAF provides
better data than are available in most other national surveys on theses issues. Thus,
the NSAF is well—suited for this study of child care expenses and the economic well-

being of single mother families.

53

Data Analyses

The aim of this study is to determine if there is a relationship between separate
and combined independent variables and the economic well-being of single mother
families. The data is analyzed using the Statistical Package of the Social Science
(SPSS). Descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, and means) are used to
contribute to the understanding of the basic characteristics of each of the variables for
the sample. Correlations are calculated to determine the extent of associations among
the variables. Pearson product-moment correlation coefﬁcients among independent
variables and between independent variables and economic well-being outcome
variables were examined to measure the contribution of each independent variable to
the economic well-being outcome variables. The independent variables, marital
status (never married) and employment status (employed), were recoded to
dichotomous variables for the correlation and regression analysis.

Multiple regression analysis is used to test the proposed hypotheses and is the
primary statistical method in this study. Multiple regression allows the researcher to
estimate possible inﬂuences from all variables, while controlling the simultaneous
effects of other relevant variables. According to Lewis-Beck (1980), multiple
regression is useful in two ways. First, it offers a more adequate explanation of the

dependent variable, which is useful because few phenomena are products of a single

54

cause. Second, the effect of a particular independent variable is made more certain,
because the distorting effects of other independent variables are removed.

In this study, multiple regressions are used to determine the amount of
variation in several dependent variables. How much variation in economic well-being
explained by child care expenses, ﬁnancial and social support variables, and family
contextual factors is examined. The multiple regressions are run for each of the
dependent variables.

Multiple regression analyses also are performed to examine the combined
effects of several predictors on economic well-being. Determining which
independent variables are the best predictors of the economic well-being of single
mother families were tested. All the variables were entered into an equation
simultaneously to assess their total effect and to identify which of the variables were
related to economic well-being while controlling for other effects. In multiple
regression, the value of the dependent variable (y) is estimated from those
independent variables (x1, x2,. . .. xp). This is achieved by the construction of a linear
equation of the general form y = b0+ b1 (x1)+ b2 (x2)+. . ...+ bp (xp)+ e,. In the
equation, the parameters b1, b2,. . ..., bp are the partial regression coefﬁcients, the

intercept bo is the regression constant, and e,- is the residual error.

The economic well-being function in this study is:

EWB = f {CCE, FSS, FCF }

55

where EWB (economic well-being) includes family income, per capita income, and

the amount of public assistance. CCE (child care expenses) includes the presence of

child care expenses, monthly child care expenses, and percentage of earnings paid for

child care. F SS (ﬁnancial and social supports) includes the amount of general

ﬁnancial support from kin or friends, ﬁnancial support for child care expenses, free

child care by relatives, and the amount of child support payment received. Finally,

F CF (farrrily contextual factors) includes mother’s age, marital status, educational

level, the presence of children aged 0-5, and employment status.

The regression equation used for this study is as follows:

Y = bo+ b1 (X1)+ b2 (X2)+. . ...+ bp (Xp)+ Ci

Y:

X1:

X2:

X4:

X5:

Economic well-being of single mother families with children under 13

(family income, per capita income, and the amount of public assistance)

mother’s age

marital status (never married)

: educational level

the presence of children aged 0-5

employment status (employed)

56

x(,: the presence of child care expenses

x7: monthly child care expenses

x8: percentage of earnings for child care

x9: amount of general ﬁnancial support received from kin or friends
x10: ﬁnancial support for child care expenses

x1 11 free child care by relatives

x12: amount of child support payment

The F test associated with the analysis of variance of the regression equation is
used to accept or reject the null hypothesis. If a chance probability level is less than
.05, the null hypothesis is rejected. The standardized coefﬁcients (betas) that indicate
the relative importance of the independent variables are used to examine which of the
variables most contributed to the dependent variables. The R Square indicates how

much of the variance in the dependent variable is explained by the model.

57

CHAPTER IV

RESULTS

This chapter addresses the results of descriptive analyses for the sample, the
relation among the variables, and the multiple regression analyses. First, the sample
description is presented. Second, the correlations among the independent variables
and between the independent variables and the economic well-being variables are
brieﬂy discussed. Third, research hypotheses are tested using multiple regression to
determine the amount of variation in the dependent variable, economic well-being,
explained by family contextual factors, child care expenses and ﬁnancial and social

support.

Descriptive Analyses

Table 1 presents descriptive statistics for the full sample of 4,676 cases in this
study. The average age of the mothers was over 32 years old. Among all single
mothers, about 34 percent are divorced, 16 percent were separated, 47 percent were
never married, and 4 percent were widowed. The mean of educational level of the
sample was 2.39, which means that on average single mothers in the sample

completed more than high school. About 17 percent of single mothers did not

58

complete their high school or GED, 41 percent completed their high school or GED,
28 percent completed some college classes, and 13 percent achieved at least a
bachelor’s degree. About 27 percent of the sample were not employed in 1999, 17
percent were employed part-time, and 56 percent were employed full-time. The
average number of family members in the sample was 3.62, and the average number
of children in the family was about 2. The mean age of children in the sample was
over 6 years. About 57 percent of single mother families had at least one child aged
0-5 and about 43 percent of single mother families had the youngest child aged 6-12.

About 47 percent of the sample had child care expenses. Among the families
that had child care expenses, the average monthly child care expense was $255
(S.D.=$227) and the mean percentage of family earnings spent on child care expenses
was 15.4 (S.D.=14.6).

About ten percent of single mother families received general ﬁnancial

support from kin or friends and the average amount received was $161 (S.D.=$l,3 14).
About twenty four percent of single mother families received ﬁnancial support for
child care expenses from a government agency, child care agency, other organization,
respondent’s employer, a relative or friend. About sixteen percent of single mother
families received free child care by relatives. Over forty percent of single mothers
received child support payments from non-custodial fathers. The average amount of

child support payment was $1,528 (S.D.=$2,954).

59

The mean family income of the sample was $26,935 (S.D.=$24,822) in 1998.
The mean per capita income was $8,040 (S.D.=$7,390). About eighteen percent of
the sample received public assistance and the average annual amount of public

assistance was $601 (S.D.=$l ,697).

Table 1
Sample Description a

 

 

Variables Percentage Mean (SD)

Age of the mother 32.24 (8.10)
Marital Status of the mother

Divorced 33.8

Separated 15.9

Never married 46.6

Widowed 3.7
Education of the mother 2.39 ( .92)

No high school diploma or GED 16.5

High school diploma or GED, no college 40.8

Completed some college classes 28.4

At least a bachelor’s degree 13.2
Employment Status of the mother

Not employed 27.2

Part-time work 16.6

Full-time work 56.2
Number of family members 3.62 (1.45)
Number of Children 1.99 (1.10)
Age of child 6.55 (3.57)
Families with children aged 0-5 57.5
Families with children aged 6-12 42.5

60

Table 1 (continued)

Child Care Expenses
The presence of child care payment

Monthly child care expenses
Percentage of earnings for child care expenses

Financial and Social Supports

Receipt of general ﬁnancial support from kin
or ﬁiends

Amount of general ﬁnancial support from kin
or friends

Financial support for child care expenses

Free child care by relatives

Receipt of child support payment

Amount of child support payment

Economic Well-being
Family income
Per capita income
Receipt of public assistance
Amount of public assistance

Number of observations

47.3

10.0

23.8
16.3
41.2

17.8

4,676

$255.00 (226.56) b
15.44( 14.56)b

$161 (1,314)

$1,528 (2,954)

$26,935 (24,822)
$8,040( 7,390)

$601 ( 1,697)

 

a. Standard deviations (SD) are shown in parentheses.

b. n=l,900. The cases that had child care expenses were included in this analysis. Outliers
were removed. The variable Monthly Child Care Expenses had many outliers (extreme
scores). These outliers have an undue inﬂuence on the Mean, Standard Deviation and
Regression analysis. According to Pallant (2005), the outliers can be deleted from the data
set. Therefore, the researcher deleted the top and bottom 5 percent of the cases for Monthly

Child Care Expense variable.

61

Table 2 presents the percentage and mean of variables by the presence of child
care expenses. The average age of the mothers was slightly higher for single mothers
with no child care expenses compared to those who had child care expenses. About ten
percent of single mothers who had child care expenses did not achieve high school
degree or GED, compared with twenty two percent of single mothers who did not have
expenses. The majority of single mothers who had child care expenses were employed,
while about forty two percent of single mothers with no expenses were not employed.
About sixty three percent of single mothers who had child care expenses reported
having at least on children aged 0-5, compared to about ﬁfty two percent for single
mothers who did not have expenses.

The average amount of general ﬁnancial support from kin or ﬁiends was $188
for single mothers who had expenses, compared to $137 for single mothers who did not
have expenses. About forty percent of single mothers who had child care expenses
received ﬁnancial support for child care, compared to only ten percent of single
mothers who did not have child care expenses. Thirty one percent of single mothers
who did not have child care expenses received free child care by relatives. The average
was $1,702 child support payments received by single mothers who had child care
expenses, compared to $1,373 received by single mothers who did not have expenses.

On average, single mothers who had child care expenses had higher family
income than single mothers who did not have expenses, $30,591 vs. $23,652. The
amount of public assistance received by single mothers who had expenses was $384,

compared to $795 received by single mothers who did not have expenses.

62

Table 2
Percentage and Mean of Variables by the Presence of Child Care Expenses a

 

 

. Have child care Don’t have child
Variables
expenses care expenses
Age of the mother 31.55 (7.42) 32.86 (8.62)
Marital status of the mother
Divorced 35.4% 32.3%
Separated 15.1% 16.6%
Never married 47.2% 46.1%
Widowed 2.3% 5.0%
Education of the mother
No high school diploma or GED 9.9% 22.3%
High school diploma or GED 40.1% 41.5%
Completed some college classes 32.7% 24.6%
At least a bachelor’s degree 16.4% 10.3%
Employment status of the mother
Not employed 10.6% 42.1%
Part-time work 16.3% 16.9%
Full-time work 73.2% 41.0%
Families with children aged 0-5 63.4% 52.1%
Families with children aged 6-12 36.6% 47.9%
Financial and Social Supports
Receipt of general ﬁnancial support 10.0% 10.0%
from kin or friends
Amount of general ﬁnancial support $188 (1,580) $137 (1,019)
from kin or friends
Financial support for child care 39.2% 10.0%
expenses
Free child care by relatives b 31.0%
Receipt of child support payment 44.8% 38.0%
Amount of chrld support payment $1,702 (3,099) $1,373 (2,811)

Economic Well-being
Family income
Per capita income

$30,591 (25,701) $23,652 (23,531)
$9,605( 7,814) $6,635( 6,684)

Receipt of public assistance 12.7% 22.3%
Amount of public assistance $384 (1,357) $795 (1,933)
Number of observations 2213 2463

 

a. Standard deviations are shown in parentheses.
b. In the NSAF, only single mothers who have no child care expenses can be identiﬁed as
receiving free child care by relatives.

63

Table 3 and Figures 2-5 below present child care expenses by family contextual
factors for single mother families. Only single mothers who had child care expenses
were included in the analyses. About forty one percent of all never married single
mothers in the sample had child care expenses (Figure 2). Likewise, about forty one
percent of divorced, separated, or widowed mothers in the sample had child care
expenses. The average monthly child care expense was lower among families with
never married mothers than families with divorced, separated, or widowed mothers,
$234 compared with $274. On the contrary, the percentage of earnings for expenses
was higher among families with never married mothers than families with divorced,
separated, or widowed, 16 percent compared with 15 percent.

About twenty one percent of single mothers without a high school diploma or
GED reported having child care expenses (Figure 3). Otherwise, about ﬁfty percent
of single mothers who completed at least a bachelor’s degree reported having child
care expenses. The average monthly child care expenses for single mothers without
high school diploma or GED was $200, which accounted for 19 percent of the
earnings, compared to $348, which accounted for 14 percent of the earnings for single
mothers who completed at least a bachelor’s degree.

About ﬁfty two percent of employed single mothers had child care expenses
and about eleven percent of non-employed single mothers had child care expenses
(Figure 4). Among employed single mothers, the average monthly child care expense
was $260, which accounted for 15 percent of the earnings, compared to $190, which
accounted for 17 percent of the earnings for non-employed single mothers.

About forty ﬁve percent of single mother families with at least one child aged

64

0-5 had child care expenses, and about thirty ﬁve percent of single mother families
with the youngest children 6—12 had child care expenses (Figure 5). The average
child care expense for single mother families with at least one children aged 0-5 was
$285 per month or 17 percent of their earnings, compared to $202 or 12 percent of

earnings for families with the youngest child aged 6-12.

Table 3
Child Care Expenses by Family Contextual Factors for Single Mother Families that Pay

for Child Care a

 

 

Mothers
. who have Monthly child Pef°emage°i
Varrables . c earnings for chrld
chrld care) care expenses
expenses care expenses
Marital Status of the mother
Never married 890 234 (180) 16.1 (15.0)
Divorced/ Separated/ Widowed 1010 274 (259) 14.9 (14.2)
Education of the mother
No high school diploma or GED 165 200 (169) 19.0 (18.3)
High school diploma or GED 761 225 (174) 15.1 (13.7)
Completed some college classes 640 260 (212) 15.6 (14.3)
At least a bachelor’s degree 316 348 (341) 13.9 (14.2)
Employment Status of the mother
Not employed 143 190 (175) 16.8 (17.7)
Employed 1757 260 (229) 15.3 (14.3)
Families with children aged 0-5 1213 285 (246) 17.3 (15.4)
Families with children aged 6-12 687 202 (176) 12.1 (12.3)
Number of observations 6 1900

 

a. Standard deviations are in shown in parentheses.

b. Numbers

0. Dollars

d. Percentages

e. n=l,900. The samples that have child care expenses are included in this analysis. In
addition, outliers are removed. The variable Monthly child care expenses and Percentage
of earnings for child care expenses have many outliers (extreme scores). The researcher
deleted the top and bottom 5 percent of the cases.

65

Figure 2. Child Care Expenses by Single Mother's Marital Status

I Never Married

   
 

   

I Divorced. Separated,
Widowed

 

 

Having Child Monthly Percentage of
Care Expenses Expenses earnings

Figure 3. Child Care Expenses by Single Mother's Educational Level

 

I No high school
diploma or GED

I High school diploma
or GED

El Completed some
college classes

nAt least a bachelor's
degree

 

 

 

 

 

Having Child Monthly Percentage of
Care Expenses Expenses earnings

66

Figure 4. Child Care Expenses by Single Mother's Employment Status

 

I Not employed
I Employed

 

 

 

 

Having Child Monthly Percentage of
Care Expenses Expenses earnings

Figure 5. Child Care Expenses by the Presence of Children Aged 0-5

 

I Families with
children aged 0—5

I Families with
children aged 6—12

 

 

 

 

Having Child Monthly Percentage of
Care Expenses Expenses earnings

67

Table 4 below presents ﬁnancial and social support by family contextual
factors for single mother families. Never married mothers in the sample (2,179)
received on average $94 of general ﬁnancial support from kin or friends, compared to
$220 for divorced, separated, or widowed mothers. About twenty eight percent of
never married mothers received ﬁnancial support for child care expenses, compared
to 21 percent of their counterpart. The average amount of child support payments
from nonresident fathers was $785 for never married mothers, compared with $2,178
for divorced, separated, or widowed mothers.

Single mothers who completed at least a bachelor’s degree received on
average $470 of general ﬁnancial support, compared to $80 for single mothers
without a high school diploma or GED. The average child support payment was $674
for single mothers without a high school diploma or GED, compared to $2,644 for
single mothers with at least a bachelor’s degree.

About 27 percent of employed mothers received ﬁnancial support for child
care expenses, but only 15 percent of non-employed mothers did. About 18 percent
of employed mothers received free child care by relatives, compared to 12 percent of
non-employed mothers.

About 30 percent of single mother families with at least one child aged 0-5
received ﬁnancial support for child care expenses, compared with 15 percent for
families with no children aged 0-5. The average amount of child support payments
for families with children aged 0-5 was $1,154, compared to $2,034 for families with

no children aged 0-5.

68

Table 4

Financial and Social Support by Family Contextual Factors for Single Mother Families 3

 

 

 

. General ﬁnancial sﬁp‘padlrcflfdr Free child Child support
Varrables support from krn child care care. by a ent
or friends relatrves p ym
expenses
Mothers Mothers who Mothers who Mothers
Number reggae Amount receive receive reg/ppm Amount
Marital Status
Never married 2179 198 $94 599 404 690 $785
(9.1%) (663) (27.5%) (18.5%) (31.7%) (1894)
Divorced/Separated 2497 270 $220 514 360 1237 $2178
/ Widowed (10.8%) (1679) (20.6%) (14.4%) (49.5%) (3510)
Educational Level b
No high school 770 68 $80 146 126 205 $674
diploma or GED (8.8%) (573) (19.0%) (16.4%) (26.6%) (1735)
High school 1908 170 $120 478 349 799 $1424
diploma or GED (8.9%) (976) (25.1%) (18.3%) (41.9%) (2698)
Completed some 1330 155 $121 354 198 601 $1698
college classes (11.7%) (686) (26.6%) (14.9%) (45.2%) (2986)
At least a 616 69 $470 120 79 309 $2644
bachelor’s degree (11.2%) (2935) (19.5%) (12.8) (50.2%) (4280)
Employment Status
Non-employed 1271 145 $98 189 155 393 $1087
(11.4%) (651) (14.9%) (12.2%) (30.9%) (2756)
Employed 3405 323 $185 924 609 1534 $1694
(9.5%) (1488) (27.1%) (17.9%) (45.1%) (3009)
Families with 2687 289 $165 813 424 977 $1154
children aged 0-5 (10.8%) (1353) (30.3%) (15.8%) (36.4%) (2477)
Families with 1989 179 $156 300 340 950 $2034
children aged 6-12 (9.0%) (1262) (15.1%) (17.1%) (47.8%) (3434)
Number of 4676 468 1 1 13 764 1927
observations (10.0%) (23.8%) (16.3%) (41.2%)

 

a. Standard deviations are shown in parentheses.
b. The sum of numbers of mothers who receive ﬁnancial and social support is not the same as
the total number of observations due to missing values in the Educational Level variable.

Fifty-two cases had missing values for Educational Level variable.

69

Correlations

The correlation coefﬁcients between family contextual factors, child care
expenses, and ﬁnancial and social support variables are presented in Table 5.
Pearson’s correlation coefﬁcient (r) presented in the table indicates the strength and
direction of the linear relationship between two variables. Correlation analysis also
provides preliminary evidence of the existence of relationships which were
hypothesized in the previous chapter. several statistically signiﬁcant correlations
were found among the independent variables, and they ranged from r = -.029 (small)
to .604 (moderate).

The presence of child care expenses was signiﬁcantly correlated with mothers’
employment and the presence of children aged 0-5. In addition, the presence of child
care expenses was positively correlated to the receipt of ﬁnancial support for child
care and negatively correlated to the receipt of free child care by relatives. Likewise,
monthly child care expenses were positively correlated to mothers’ employment and
educational level. Employed single mothers and more educated mothers generally
reported higher monthly child care expenses. Monthly child care expenses were
negatively correlated to the receipt of free child care by relatives.

The receipt of ﬁnancial support paid for child care was positively correlated

with the presence of children aged 0-5. The receipt of free child care by relatives was

70

 

 

.ﬁu E! n'l I s
.v o IIJHi
(Illurw ..~

ﬂ _

€2.93 .96. mod 9.. .6 28586 8. 8.6.9.8 ..
32.9-8 .65. Fod 9.. F6 28583 m. 8.6.950 :

 

€0ng

 

F 90.. F8. Same. as; ...,.mmo. ...68. ...,.F8. Arriviwt. remarrewt. 5&3 EEOBEBENF
F :2? Sq. Feet. femur 71.24.- v.58. 20.- .38.- :08. ENE. 82.6.93 98 2.6 66.6.:
. . . . . . . . .- 86896
F 85 ENE ..LSF imam ...sz fat «5 p.38 7.52 98 2.582.683.6685“..oF
.6655 .6 EV. Ea: toaazm
F NFo. ...Lmoo. 8o. ...mmo. 8o. :20. {39.589 .m.ocmc_:e6c633§oe<.m
tonasm _m_oom use .5235“.
. . . . .- . .- 820qu
F ...Ea ...,.me CFmo ..zrmo woo 80 Emma 638.58 .6 89:66.66. .m
F :48. ...ER. ...,..FFF. ENE. Came: {Box 8286 98 2.8 258.):
momcoaxo
F :48. ..LmFF. fat. :9 ....F8.- 28 2.6.6 888... 2.5.
0.3593 Emu EEO
F ...,.mNF.-.....m-. ....FB.-.....80. Fee>o_a56..c6§o_qsm .m
.- . .- 3
F FE: imam in: 88 8.2.5.6 8:68... 65.4
F 5.6.8.- r... Fom. .96. 68:833. .m
F ...,.ove; 62:65 .965 mesa 3.6.). .N
F .6565 6... .o 8< .F
333... 3:68:30 2.55....
NF F F 3 m m N. o n v m N F mo_nm_._m>

 

353. ME wrongsm Eoom can ESSEE use @8595 v.80 EEO .mFoFomm E36800 beam mace—N macaw—2.80

m 2an

71

positively associated with mothers’ employment and negatively associated with the
receipt of ﬁnancial support for child care. The amount of child support payment was
signiﬁcantly correlated to single mothers’ marital status. Never married mothers
generally received a lower amount of child support payment from non-custodial
fathers than divorced, separated, or widowed mothers did.

Table 6 presents the correlation coefﬁcients between the independent variables
and the three economic well-being variables. The correlations provide the
associations between the independent variables and each of the outcome variables.

All independent variables in the study were signiﬁcantly correlated to family
income. Correlation coefﬁcients ranged from r =.039 to .380. More educated and
employed single mothers generally reported higher family income. Family income
was positively correlated to monthly child care expenses (r =.304) and negatively
correlated to the percentage of earnings paid for child care (r =.380). Family income
was also positively correlated to the amount of child support payment received from
non-custodial fathers. In other words, single mother families that spent a higher
percentage of their earnings on child care generally had a lower family income, and
families that received higher child support payments had a higher family income.

Similar to family income, most independent variables were signiﬁcantly
correlated to per capita income. Monthly child care expenses were positively
correlated to per capita income. Otherwise, the percentage of earnings for child care
and the amount of child care payments were negatively correlated to per capita

income.

72

Most independent variables were signiﬁcantly correlated to the amount of
public assistance. Non-employed single mothers generally received a higher amount
of public assistance. Single mothers who received a lower amount of child support

payment received a higher amount of public assistance.

Table 6
Correlations between the Independent Variables and Economic Well-being (N: 4676)

 

 

Family Per Capita Amount Of
Income Income 131}th
Assrstance
Family Contextual Factors
Age ofthe mother .081“ .152** -.117**
Marital status (never married) -.096** -.125** .116**
Educational level .268** .348** -.154**
The presence of children aged 0-5 -.074** -.180** .114**
Employment status (employed) .235** .291 ** -.226**
Child Care Expenses
The presence of child care .l40** .201** -.121**
expenses
Monthly child care expenses a .304" .290** -.O61**
Percentage of earnings for -.380** -.346"‘* .103**
expenses a
Financial and Social Supports
Amount of general ﬁnancial .084** .089" -.027
support from kin or ﬁiends
Financial support for child care -.041* -.041** .071 **
expenses
Free child care by relatives .039" -.015 -.020
Amount of child support payment .240” .223“ -.131**

 

*p< .05, **p<.01
a. n=l900, respondents who have child care expenses are included.

73

Multiple Regression Analyses

Economic Well-beingwith Family Contextual Factors

This section discusses the results of three multiple regression analyses that
were computed to determine the effects of family contextual factors such as mother’s
age, marital status, educational level, the presence of children aged 0-5, and
employment status on the three outcome variables related to the economic well-being
of single mother families. The results of the analyses are presented in Table 7.

In the ﬁrst regression, the family contextual variables explained 11% of the
variance in family income. The F value for this model was found to be signiﬁcant
(p< .000). Four variables, among ﬁve farrrily contextual factors, were signiﬁcant on
family income: marital status, educational level, the presence of children aged 0-5,
and employment status. The result indicated that single mother families in the sample
had higher mean family income when they were divorced, separated, widowed, had
higher educational level, and were employed. The mother’s educational level and
employment status have the strongest relationship with family income for single
mother families in this model.

In the second regression, the family contextual variables explained 19% of the
variance in per capita income, and this model is signiﬁcant (p< .000). The results

indicated that single mothers’ marital status, educational level, the presence of

74

Table 7
Multiple Regression Results of Economic Well-being with Family Contextual Factors

 

 

' - Family Per Capita Amount Of
Famrly Contextual Varrables Income Income APublic
ssrstance
Age of the mother -.002 .022 -.O39*
Marital status (never married) -.049** -.034* .057***
Educational level .219*** .279*** .0904"
The presence of children aged 0-5 -.016 —.103*"‘* .048"
Employment status (employed) .180*** .211*** -.188***
R Square .106 .185 .072
F- statistic 109.905*** 209.358*** 71.676***
11 4624 4624 4624

 

*p< .05, **p<.01, ***p<.001

Note. Standardized regression coefﬁcients (betas) are presented. They allow the estimation
of the relative importance of each independent variable in determining the value of the
dependent variable (Argyrous, 2000). Multicollinearity among independent variables was
checked as part of the multiple regression procedure. The VIF (Variance inﬂation factor)
values for each independent variable were not above 10. Commonly used cut-off point for
determining the presence of multicollinearity is a VIF value of above 10 (Pallant, 2005);
therefore the researcher did not violate the multicollinearity assumption.

children aged 0-5, and employment status were signiﬁcant predictors of per capita
income. The single mother’s higher educational level made the strongest unique
contribution to predicting higher per capita income in single mother families in the
sample.

In the third regression, the family contextual variables explained 7% of the
variance in the amount of public assistance, and this model is signiﬁcant (p< .000).
All family contextual variables were found to be statistically signiﬁcant. The result

indicated that single mother families in the sample received higher amounts of public

75

 

assistance when the mothers were younger, never married, had lower educational
levels, had children aged 0-5, and were not employed. Employment status of the
mother was the strongest predictor of the amount of public assistance received by

single mother families in this model.

Child Care Expenses with Family Contextual Factors

The results of three multiple regression analyses that determine the inﬂuence
of family contextual factors on each of the child care expense variables are presented
in Table 8. In the ﬁrst regression analysis, the family contextual variables explained
17% of the variance in the presence of child care expenses. The F value for this
model was found to be signiﬁcant (p< .000). The results indicated that single
mothers’ age, educational level, the presence of children aged 0-5, and employment
status were signiﬁcant predictors of the presence of child care expenses. Single
mothers’ employment status made the strongest unique contribution to predicting
whether these families paid for child care.

In the second regression analysis, the family contextual variables explained
9% of the variance in monthly child care expenses, and this model is signiﬁcant
(p< .000). Four of the ﬁve family contextual variables were signiﬁcant predictors of
monthly child care expenses: marital status, educational level, the presence of
children aged 0-5, and employment status. The result indicated that single mother

families in the sample reported a higher mean monthly expense for child care when

76

Table 8
Multiple Regression Results of Child Care Expenses with Family Contextual Factors

 

Th . Percentage of
e presence Monthly chrld earnings for

 

Family Contextual Variables of child care care expenses a child care
expense expenses 3

Age of the mother -.071*** .032 -.040
Marital status (never married) -.015 -.098*** -.019
Educational level .129*** .184*** -.038
The presence of children aged 0-5 .l45*** .238*** .157***
Employment status (employed) .347*** .071** .002
R Square .168 .093 .033
F- statistic 186.970*** 38.415*** 12.754***
11 4624 1882 1882

 

Note. Standardized regression coefﬁcients (beta) are presented.
*p< .05, **p<.01, ***p<.001
a. n=1882, only the sample who have child care expenses was included in regression analysis.

single mothers were divorced, separated, widowed, had children aged 0-5, had higher
educational levels, and were employed. In this model, the presence of children aged
0-5 was the strongest predictor of a higher monthly child care expense for single
mother families.

In the third regression analysis, although family contextual variables explained
only 3% of the variance in the percentage of earnings paid for child care. Although
the F value for this model was found to be signiﬁcant (p< .000), the value of R Square
is quite low. The practical implication (use) of this result may be limited. The
presence of children aged 0-5 was the only family contextual variable that was a

signiﬁcant predictor of the percentage of earnings for child care expenses. The result

77

indicated that single mother families with children aged 0-5 paid a higher percentage

of their earnings for child care.

Financial and Social Supports with Family Contextual Factors

Table 9 presents the results of four multiple regression analyses that determine
the inﬂuence of family contextual factors on each of four ﬁnancial and social support
variables in single mother families. In the ﬁrst regression analysis, the family
contextual factors explained only 0.7% of the variance in the amount of general
ﬁnancial support from kin or friends. Although this model was signiﬁcant (p< .000),
the variance was quite small because a small number of families (only 10% among all
families) received general ﬁnancial support from kin or friends (see Table 1). Low R
Square value of this model may limit the practical use of this result. The result
indicated that only two of the family contextual variables were found to be signiﬁcant
in this model. Single mothers’ marital status and educational level were signiﬁcant
predictors of the amount of general ﬁnancial support from kin or ﬁiends.

In the second regression analysis, the family contextual factors explained 6.2%
of the variance in ﬁnancial support for child care expenses, and this model is
signiﬁcant (p< .000). The result suggested that being younger, having children aged
0-5, and being employed increased the receipt of ﬁnancial support for child care.

Single mothers’ employment was the strongest predictor of the receipt of ﬁnancial

support for child care expenses.

78

Table 9
Multiple Regression Results of Financial and Social Supports with Family Contextual

 

 

Factors
Amount of
. general Financial Free child Amount of
Famrly Contextual ﬁnancral support for care by chrld
Varrables support cluld care relatives support
ﬁom km or expenses payment
ﬁiends
Age of the mother .024 -.101*** -.082*** .042*
Marital status (never married) -.036* .013 .033* -.179***
Educational level .061 *** .017 -.O43** .130***
The presence of children aged 0-5 .032 .147 *** -.058*** -.063***
Employment status (employed) .015 .149*** .078** * .038**
R Square .007 .062 .016 .086
F- statistic 6.958*** 61.221*** 14.806*** 86.363***
n 4624 4624 4624 4624

 

Note. Standardized regression coefﬁcients (beta) are presented.
*p< .05, **p<.01, *"‘*p<.001

In the third regression analysis, the family contextual factors explained 1.6%
of the variance in free child care by relatives. Although the F value for this model
was found to be signiﬁcant (p< .000), the value of R Square is relatively low because
only 16% of families received free child care by relatives (see Table 1). The practical

implication of this result may be limited. All family contextual factors were found to
be signiﬁcant. The result indicated that being younger and being employed were the

strongest contributors to the receipt of free child care by relatives.

In the fourth regression analysis, the family contextual factors explained 8.6%

of the variance in the amount of child support payment from non-custodial fathers,

and this model is signiﬁcant (p< .000). All family contextual variables were

79

signiﬁcant predictors of the amount of child support payments received. The result
indicated that families in the sample received a higher amount of child support
payment from non-custodial fathers when single mothers were older, divorced,
separated, or widowed, had a higher educational level, did not have children aged 0-5,
or were employed. The strongest contributor for receiving a higher child support

payment from non-custodial fathers was the marital status (i.e., divorced, separated,

or widowed) of single mothers.

Economic Well-braipg with Child Care Expenses

This section discusses the inﬂuence of child care expense variables on the

economic well-being of single mother families. Multiple regression analyses were
used to examine which of the child care expense variables signiﬁcantly contributed to

economic well-being when the family contextual variables were controlled. Table 10

presents the results of the regression analyses.

In models 1, 3, and 5, six independent variables explained 11% of the variance

in farrrily income, 20% in per capita income, and 8% in the amount of public
assistance. The variance of model 5 was relatively small since the number of families

that received public assistance accounted for just 20% of all sample families. The F

values for these models were found to be signiﬁcant (p< .000).

The presence of child care expenses was found to be positively signiﬁcant on

family income and per capita income and negatively signiﬁcant on the amount of

80

Table 10
Multiple Regression Results of Econonric Well-being with Child Care Expenses

 

Family Income Per Capita Income Amzunt 0f PUbhc
ssrstance

 

Variables
Modell Mode12 Model3 Model4 ModelS Model6
Family Contextual Factors
Age of the mother .001 -.024 .030 .024 -.O43* -.065*
-.048** -.037 -.033* -.023 .056*** .051*

Marital status (never married)
Educational level .213*** .127*** .265*** .215*** -.083*** -.032

Thepresenceofchildren aged0-5 -.022 -.026 -.119*** -.137*** .056” .017
Employment status (employed) .l64*** -.038* .173*** .001 -.168*** -.043

 

Child Care Expenses
The presence of child care expense .047" a. .108*** a. -.058*** 8.
Monthly child care expenses .568*** .51 1*” _.1 1 1*"
Percentage of earnings for child -.624*** _.534**»« .1404"
care expenses
R Square .108 .445 .194 .442 .075 .042
F- statistic 93.304*** 214.472“ 185.791“ 212.426” 62.193*** 11.666***
N b- 4624 1882 4624 1882 4624 1882
Note. Standardized regression coefﬁcients (beta) are presented. Multiple regression results with

unstandardized coefﬁcients are provided in Appendix Table D.3. Multicollinearity among
independent variables was checked. The VIF values for each independent variable were not

above 10.

*p< .05, **p<.01, ***p<.001

a. The predictor variable is constant, thus excluded in regression analysis.

b. n=4624, in model 1, 3, 5, full sample was included in regression analysis. n=l882, in model, 2,

4, 6, only the sample who have child care expenses was included in regression analysis.

public assistance. The result indicated that single mother families with child care
expenses had on average a higher family income and a higher per capita income than
single mother families that did not pay for child care when other variables were

controlled. The result also indicated that single mother families with child care

81

expenses received on average a lower amount of public assistance than single mother

families that did not pay for child care. Probably, poor single mother families cannot

afford to pay for child care.
Models 2, 4, and 6 present the results of regression analyses that determine the

inﬂuence of monthly child care expenses and the percentage of earnings for child care
expenses on outcome variables. In these regressions, only the respondents who
reported child care expenses were examined (n=1882). The seven independent
variables explained 45% of the variance in family income, 44% in per capita income,
and 4% in the amount of public assistance. These models were signiﬁcant (p< .000)
Monthly child care expenses were found to be a positive and signiﬁcant

predictor of family income and per capita income, and a negative predictor of the
amount of public assistance. The results suggested that single mother families with
higher monthly child care expense had on average a higher family income, a higher
per capita income, and received a lower amount of public assistance than single

mother farrrilies with lower monthly child care expense when other variables were

controlled.
In contrast, the percentage of earnings for child care expenses was found to be

a negative predictor of family income and per capita income, and positive predictor of

the amount of public assistance. The results indicated that single mother families

with a higher percentage of earnings spent on child care had on average a lower

family income, a lower per capita income, and received a higher amount of public

assistance.

82

Economic Well-being with Financial and Social Supports

Table 11 represents the effects of the ﬁnancial and social support factors on
the economic well-being of single mother families. Multiple regression analyses
show that ﬁnancial and social supports signiﬁcantly inﬂuenced economic well-being
when family contextual variables were controlled. In these analyses four ﬁnancial

and social support variables and all of the family contextual variables were entered

simultaneously.
In the ﬁrst regression analysis, ﬁnancial and social support variables and

family contextual variables explained 15% of the variance in family income, and this
model was signiﬁcant (p< .000). All of the ﬁnancial and social support variables
were found to be signiﬁcant on family income. Families in the sample had a higher
mean family income when single mothers received a higher amount of child support
from non-custodial fathers and did not receive ﬁnancial support for child care. In this

model, the amount of child support payment was the strongest predictor of family

income when family contextual factors were controlled.

In the second regression analysis, ﬁnancial and social support variables and family
contextual variables explained 21% of the variance in per capita income, and this
model was signiﬁcant (p< .000). Similar to the ﬁrst regression, the amount of child

support payment was the strongest contributor to per capita income when family

contextual factors were controlled.

83

 

 

 

guy-“luau! .‘h m .

F.

Table 11
Multiple Regression Results of Economic Well-being with Financial and Social

 

 

Supports
v ' bl F '1 In Per capita “333112“
aria es amr y come Income A _
ssrstance
Family Contextual Factors
Age of the mother -.016 .007 -.027
Marital status (never manied) -.014 -.006 .042M
Educational level .193*** .258*** -.081***
The presence of children aged 0-5 .006 -.089*** .030
Employment status (employed) .179*** .215*** -.197***
Financial and Social Supports
Amount of general ﬁnancial support .061*** .062*** -.01 1
Financial support for child care -.065*** -.058** .084***
expenses
Free child care by relatives .031* -.023 -.003
Amount of child support payment .187*** .138*** -.078***
R Square .147 .209 .084
F- statistic 88.369*** l35.392*** 47.104***
n 4624 4624 4624

 

Note. Standardized regression coefﬁcients (beta) are presented. Multiple regression results
with unstandardized coefﬁcients are provided in Appendix Table D4. Multicollinearity among
independent variables was checked. The VIF values for each independent variable were not

above 10.
*p< .05, **p<.01, ***p<.001

In the third regression analysis, ﬁnancial and social support variables and
family contextual variables explained 8% of the variance in the amount of public
assistance, and this model was signiﬁcant (p< .000). Only two of the ﬁnancial and

social support variables were found to be signiﬁcant on the amount of pubic

assistance received. The result indicated that the receipt of ﬁnancial support for child

84

care and a lower amount of child support payment made a signiﬁcant contribution to
predicting a higher amount of public assistance received by single mother farrrilies.

Overall, those results of regression analyses suggest that ﬁnancial and social supports

positively affect the economic well-being of single mother families.

Economic Well-being with all independent variables

Table 12 presents the effects of all independent factors on the economic well-
being of single mother families. In models 1, 3, and 5, ten independent variables
explained 15% of the variance in family income, 22% in per capita income, and 9% in

the amount of public assistance, and these models were signiﬁcant (p< .000).

In models 2, 4, and 6, all independent variables were included in the multiple
regression analyses. Only the respondents who reported child care expenses were
examined (n=1882) in these analyses. All independent variables explained 48% of
the variance in family income, 47% in per capita income, and 5% in the amount of

public assistance. These models were signiﬁcant (p< .000).

In these regressions, several independent variables were found to be
signiﬁcant predictors of family income and per capita income. Families in the sample
had a higher mean family income and per capita income when single mothers had a
higher educational level, had higher monthly child care expenses, a lower percentage
of earnings for child care, received a higher amount of general ﬁnancial support from

kin or friends and a higher amount of child support from non-custodial fathers. On

85

Table 12
Multiple Regression Results of Economic Well-being with All Independent Variables

 

Amount of Public

Varrables Famrly Income Per Capita Income Assistance

 

Modell Mode12 Model 3 Model4 Model 5 Model 6

Family Contextual Variables

Age of the mother —.007 ~.037 .020 ~.012 -.037* -.055*
Marital status (never married) -.014 .005 -.006 .009 .042“ .039
Educational level .182*** .104*** .242*** .197*** -.069*** -.026

ThepresenceofchildrenagedO—S -.004 -.006 -.103*** -.119*** .041* .003
Employmentstatus(employed) .142*** —.034* .162*** -.005 -.157*** -.046*

Child Care Expenses
The presence of child care .107*** a. .153*** a. -.l 17*" 8-
expense
Monthly child care expenses 546*" .491*** -.100***
Percentage of earnings for -.614*** -.525*** .134***

child care expenses

Financial and Social Supports
Amount of general ﬁnancial .061*** ,090*** .062*** ,093*** -.012 -,006
support from kin or friends
Financial support for child -.089*** -.039* -.09l*** -,049** .110*** ,082***
care expenses

Free child care by relatives .075*** a. .041 ** a. -.052** a.
Amount of child support .184*** .186*** .133*** .132*** -.O75*** -.038
payment
R Square .154 .484 .223 .468 .092 .049
F- statistic 83.850“ 175.640"** 132.231” 164.521” 46.844“ 9.709”
n 4624 1882 4624 1882 4624 1882

 

Note. Standardized regression coefﬁcients (beta) are presented. Multicollinearity among
independent variables was checked. The VIF values for each independent variable were not
above 10.

*p< .05, **p<.01, ***p<.001
a. The variable is constant, so it was excluded in regression analysis.

86

the other hand, families spent a higher percentage of earnings on child care and
received ﬁnancial support for child care had a higher amount of public assistance.
The results indicated that higher monthly child care expenses and lower
percentage of earnings for child care made the strongest contributions to explaining a
higher family income, a higher per capita income, and a lower amount of public

assistance received.

87

CHAPTER V
DISCUSSION AND SUMMARY

This chapter presents the discussion and summary of ﬁndings. Discussion is
divided into ﬁve sections. The ﬁrst section discusses the effects of family contextual
factors on economic well-being. The second section presents the effects of family
contextual factors on child care expenses. The third section discusses the effects of
family contextual factors on ﬁnancial and social supports. The fourth section shows
the effects of child care expenses on economic well-being. The ﬁfth section discusses
the effects of ﬁnancial and social supports on economic well-being. Finally, the

summary of ﬁndings is presented with regard to the research hypotheses addressed in

this study.

Discussion

Economic Well-beingwith Family Contextual Factors

The results of the multiple regression analyses indicate that there are linkages

between family contextual factors and economic well-being, as hypothesized (see

Table 7). Certain family contextual factors have statistically signiﬁcant effects on

88

family income and per capita income. Single mothers who were never married, less
educated, or non-employed had lower family incomes. Likewise, single mothers who
were never married, less educated, non-employed, or had children aged 0-5 had lower
per capita incomes. Additionally, all family contextual factors had statistically
signiﬁcant effects on the amount of public assistance. When single mothers were

younger, never married, less educated, non-employed, and had children aged 0-5,

their families received more public assistance dollars.

These results are consistent with the ﬁnding of Lino (1994), who examined
family income, income per adult equivalent, and public assistance for single mother
families by the mothers’ marital status. He reported that families maintained by never
married mothers had lower family incomes, lower income per adult equivalent, and
received higher amounts of public assistance than did families maintained by
divorced, separated, or widowed mothers. Additionally, Teitler et a1. (2004) found

that unwed mothers who are employed are less likely to receive TANF beneﬁts than

unwed mothers who are non-employed.

Child Care Expenses with Family Contextual Factors

The results of the multiple regression analyses indicate that there are
relationships between child care expenses and family contextual factors (see Table 8)
First, several family contextual variables had signiﬁcant effects on the presence of

child care expenses. Single mothers who were younger, employed, had higher

89

educational levels, and children aged 0-5, were more likely to have child care
expenses. These family contextual factors inﬂuenced the monthly amount of child
care expenses as well. When single mothers were divorced, separated, or widowed,
and employed, had higher educational levels and children aged 0-5, they had higher
monthly child care expenses than others.

The particular inﬂuence of mothers’ employment on the presence of child care
expenses and the amount of care expenses is consistent with the ﬁndings of previous
studies (Folk & Beller, 1993; Connelly and Kimmel, 2003 a; Smith, 2002). Folk &
Beller (1993) reported that the estimated cost of care was signiﬁcantly higher for
mothers who were employed full-time and used market care (paid forms of care such
as center care) than mothers who were not employed. Single mothers who are
employed need more hours of child care than unemployed mothers. In addition,
mothers who are employed full-time are more likely to use center care than mothers
who are employed part-time because much center care is available only on a full-time
basis.

According to the results of this study, never married mothers had lower
monthly child care expenses than divorced, separated, or widowed mothers (see Table
8 and Appendix Table C.2, D.5, & D.6). This result is consistent with the ﬁndings of
Smith (2002), who indicated that previously married mothers (divorced, separated, or
widowed) with children under age 5 were more likely to use day care centers than

never married mothers (26 percent compared with 19 percent). Instead, never married

90

mothers with children under age 5 were more likely to rely on grandparents and other
relatives.

Based on the ﬁndings of this study, 47 percent of single mother families paid
for child care. For families with expenses, the average monthly child care expense
was $255, which accounted for 15.4 percent of the average monthly earnings of single
mother families. This ﬁnding is similar to Giannarelli & Barsimantov (2000), who
reported that employed single parents with child care expenses paid an average of
$258 for child care per month representing 16 percent of their earnings in 1997.

There is only one family contextual factor with a statistically signiﬁcant effect
on the percentage of earnings paid for child care. When single mothers had children
aged 0-5, they paid a higher percentage of their earnings for child care. This result is
consistent with the previous study ﬁndings that farrrilies with younger children were
more likely to purchase child care and spent a higher percentage of earnings on child
care (Giannarelli & Barsimantov, 2000; Han & Waldfogel, 2001). According to
Giannarelli & Barsimantov (2000), using the 1997 National Survey of America’s
Families (N SAF ), working families with infants, toddlers, or preschool children need
more hours of child care than families with school-age children. In addition, child
care providers usually charge higher hourly rates for the care of younger children.
They found that working families with children under 5 paid an average of $325 per
month (10% of earnings) compared to $224 (8% of earnings) paid by families with

the youngest child aged 5-12.

91

Financial and Social Supports with Family Contextual Factors

The results of this study indicate that as hypothesized, there are linkages
between family contextual variables and ﬁnancial and social support variables
including the amount of general ﬁnancial support from kin or friends, the receipt of
ﬁnancial support for child care expenses, free child care by relatives, and the amount
of child support payment from nonresident fathers (see Table 9).

First, the analysis showed that 10 percent of single mother families received
general ﬁnancial support from kin or friends. Certain family contextual factors had
statistically signiﬁcant effects on the amount of general ﬁnancial support from kin or
friends. When single mothers were divorced, separated, or widowed and had higher
education, families received a higher amount of general ﬁnancial support from kin or
ﬁ'iends.

The result of receiving a lower amount of general ﬁnancial support for never
married mothers is not consistent with previous research (Parish, Hao, & Hogan,
1991; Jayakody, Chatters, & Taylor, 1993). These studies found that never married
mothers received more ﬁnancial support ﬁ'om kin than divorced, separated or
widowed mothers. In this study, one possible reason for the lower level of ﬁnancial
support for never manied mothers when compared to divorced, separated, or
widowed mothers is the potential size of the kin networks (Jayakody, Chatters, &
Taylor, 1993). Never married mothers may have a smaller sized kin network than

divorced, separated, or widowed mothers who may have access to a former spouse or

92

former in-laws. The previous research on the relationship between mother’s
education and ﬁnancial supports from kin or friends is very limited (Jayakody,
Chatters, & Taylor, 1993).

Second, the result in this study shows that about one quarter of single mother
families received ﬁnancial support for child care expenses through various sources
such as government agencies, child care agencies, or other organizations, nonresident
parents, employers, relatives or friends. This ﬁnding strengthens earlier work of
Smith (2002), who reported that in spring 1997, a higher proportion of single parent
families with children under 15 years old received help paying for child care than did
two parent families (about 14 percent compared with 5 percent).

The results of the multiple regression analysis show that there are signiﬁcant
relationships between ﬁnancial support for child care expenses and family contextual
factors. Three family contextual factors were found to have signiﬁcant effects on
ﬁnancial support for child care expenses: the age of the mother, the presence of
children aged 0-5, and employment status. Single mother families were more likely
to receive some ﬁnancial assistance for child care when they were younger, employed,
and had children under 5 years old. This result is consistent with previous research
(Meyers et al., 2001; Smith, 2002; Giannarelli, Adelman, & Schmidt, 2003). One
possible explanation for the positive relationship between mother’s employment and
ﬁnancial support for child care expenses may be because affordable child care
broadens single mothers’ employment choices (Giannarelli, Adelman, & Schmidt,

2003). Meyers et a1. (2001) also found that about one third of single mothers who had

93

child care expenses received some form of child care subsidy from the government
and indicated that single mothers who were employed were more likely to be
subsidized.

Third, the ﬁndings of the present study indicate that 16 percent of single
mother families received free child care from relatives. When single mothers were
younger, never married, less educated, employed and did not have children aged 0-5,
their families were more likely to receive free child care by relatives.

This result is similar to the ﬁndings of Giannarelli, Adelman, & Schmidt
(2003) who reported that 18 percent of low-income employed single parent families
with children under age 13 received free child care from relatives and those with a
child under 5 were less likely than those with only older children to have free child
care by relatives (14 percent compared with 21 percent). One possible reason for
getting less free child care by relatives for families with younger children may be
explained by the characteristics of care for children under 5 years old. Because care
for younger children is harder work and needs more hours per day than care for
school—age children, relatives may be not willing to provide the free care for younger
children (Giannarelli, Adelman, & Schmidt, 2003).

The previous study of the effect of mothers’ employment on free child care by
relatives is limited. Although some research shows that employed single mothers
used relative care as their primary child care arrangements more than non-employed
mothers did (Hofferth & Wissoker, 1992; Smith, 2002), they did not indicate whether

the relative care was offered free of charge. Probably, the result may reﬂect that

94

many employed single mothers who did not have child care expenses received free
child care by relatives. The receipt of free child care by relatives was measured by
only mothers who did not have child care expenses in this study.

Mothers’ higher educational levels reduced the receipt of free child care by
relatives. One possible explanation for this result may be because these mothers are
more likely to use center based care. The previous research suggested that parents
with a college degree used center based care as the child care arrangement for their
children under 13 to a greater extent than parents with a high school diploma
(Hofferth & Wissoker, 1992; Snyder & Adelm, 2004). Perhaps this reﬂects that
mothers with higher levels of education make much account of the academic and
developmental aspects of center based care.

Fourth, the analysis in this study shows that 41 percent of single mother
families received child support payments from non-custodial parents. They received
a lower amount of child support payments when mothers were younger, never
married, less educated, non-employed, and had children aged 0-5.

This result is consistent with the previous ﬁndings (Hanson, et al., 1996;
Sorensen & Zibman, 2000; Argys etal., 1998; Hao & Brinton, 1997). One possible
explanation of a lower amount of child support payment for never married mothers is
that they are less likely to have legal arrangements for child care payments from
nonresident fathers than divorced or separated mothers. Hanson et a1. (1996) also
pointed out that the nonresident fathers related to these never married mothers had

less desire or ability to pay child support payments. The ﬁnding is also supported by

95

Sorensen & Zibman (2000), who found that poor children whose custodian had not
completed high school were less likely to receive a child support award from their
nonresident parent than other poor children. They reported that 16 percent of poor
children whose custodian had not completed high school received a child support
award, while 26 percent of poor children whose custodian had completed high school

did.

Economic Well-being with Child Care Expenses

All child care expense variables were signiﬁcantly related to each economic
well-being variable as hypothesized (see Table 10). The presence of child care
expenses was positively related to family income and per capita income aﬁer
controlling for farrrily contextual factors. In other words, single mother families that
paid for child care had a higher family income and per capita income than families
that did not pay for child care.

This ﬁnding is consistent with the previous ﬁnding that low earning families
are less likely to pay for child care than higher earning families (Giannarelli &
Barsimantov, 2000). Among single mothers who did not have child care expenses,
many of them used parental care for their child care arrangement. Because of
parental care, they tended to be employed part-time or unemployed. Therefore they

had lower per capita income than single mothers who had child care expenses.

96

As expected, the presence of child care expenses was negatively related to the
amount of public assistance, after controlling for family contextual factors. One
possible reason for the lesser presence of child care expenses among families that
receive a higher amount of public assistance is that the amount of public assistance is
related to low earnings, unemployment, and the use of parental care.

In the analyses, monthly child care expenses were positively related to family
income and per capita income but negatively related to the amount of public
assistance. In contrast, the percentage of earnings for child care expenses was
negatively related to family income and per capita income but positively related to the
amount of public assistance. This result is consistent with previous research which
found the amount of child care expenses to be a signiﬁcant factor in family economic
well-being (Giannarelli & Barsimantov, 2000; Sonenstein et. a1, 2002; Smith, 2002).

Low-income single mothers are likely to choose low-cost child care
arrangements. According to Sonenstein et al. (2002), low-income single mother
families used center-based care as a child care arrangement less frequently than
higher income families. Instead, low-income single families relied to a greater extent
on grandparents and other relatives than on day care centers because of the higher

expense for these forms of child care arrangements (Smith, 2002).

97

Economic Well-being with Financial and Social Supports

The results of multiple regression analysis indicate that there are linkages
between ﬁnancial and social support variables and economic well-being variables
aﬁer controlling for family contextual variables (see Table 11). First, the amount of
general ﬁnancial support from kin or friends had a signiﬁcant and positive inﬂuence
on family income and per capita income, but no signiﬁcant effect on the amount of
public assistance. These results are contrary to the researcher’s prediction of a
negative relationship between the amount of general ﬁnancial support and family
income as well as per capita income. The ﬁndings indicated that single mother
families receiving a higher amount of general ﬁnancial support from kin or friends
had higher incomes or higher per capita income. Possibly, this is because the general
ﬁnancial support from kin or friends is included in family income as a source of
unearned income.

Second, the receipt of ﬁnancial support for child care expenses had a
signiﬁcant and negative effect on family income and per capita income but a
signiﬁcant and positive effect on the amount of public assistance as hypothesized.
Single mother families receiving ﬁnancial support for child care had lower farrrily
incomes or lower per capita incomes. This ﬁnding conﬁrms the previous study of
Smith (2002) that families with preschoolers that receive any help to pay for child

care are likely to have lower family incomes. Smith also indicated that single mother

98

families receiving public assistance may have more knowledge of the assistance
programs of the government or other organizations.

Third, the results indicate that free child care by relatives was signiﬁcantly,
positively related to family income but not statistically related to per capita income
and public assistance. This ﬁnding is not consistent with the predicted negative
relationship between free child care by relatives and family income. Previous
research (Hunts & Averty, 1998; Snyder & Adelman, 2004) suggests that relative
child care is more common among low-income families than among high-income
families. However, these researchers did not distinguish relative child care with
expenses from relative child care without expenses. One possible reason for the
positive relationship between free child care and family income may be that a
relatively high proportion of mothers who received free child care were employed.
Among single mothers who received free child care by relatives, about 80 percent
were employed in this study.

Fourth, the ﬁndings suggest that the amount of child support payments had a
signiﬁcantly positive effect on family income and per capita income but a
signiﬁcantly negative effect on the amount of public assistance. As hypothesized,
single mother families with a higher amount of child support payments had a higher
family income and a higher per capita income but received a lower amount of public
assistance. This result is similar to Sorensen & Zibman (2000), who reported that
child support payments received from nonresident fathers is an important source of

family income. The average child support payment accounted for over one quarter of

99

family income of children in poverty in 1996. This ﬁnding suggests that child

support payments from non-custodial parent have an important role in single mothers

family economic well-being.

Summary of the ﬁndings

Based on the ﬁndings of this study, the summary is presented in terms of the

research hypotheses.

Hypothesis 1: Farrrily contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status,
educational level, employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5 are
related to the economic well-being of single mother families.

Hypothesis 1.1: Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status,
educational level, employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5
are related to the family income of single mother families.

Hypothesis 1.2: Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status,
educational level, employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5
are related to the per capita income of single mother families.

Hypothesis 1.3: Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status,
educational level, employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5
are related to the amount of public assistance received by single mother
farrrilies.

The ﬁndings of this study support these hypotheses that economic well-being
is signiﬁcantly related to these family contextual characteristics (see Table 7). Never

married mothers in this study were likely to experience lower levels of economic

100

well-being than divorced, separated, or widowed mothers. Never married mothers
had lower family income, lower per capita income and received more public
assistance than divorced, separated, or widowed mothers. Single mother’s
educational level and employment status played an important role in their economic
well-being. When single mothers were employed and had higher educational level,
their families had higher family income, higher per capita income and received less
public assistance. This ﬁnding conﬁrms previous research that suggests the
importance of completion of schooling and mother’s labor force participation on
family’s economic well-being. In addition, this study indicates that having children
aged 0-5 is related to lower levels of economic well-being. Single mothers with
children aged 0-5 reported having lower per capita income and receiving more public
assistance than mothers with the youngest child 6-12. Single mother’s age is
signiﬁcantly related only to the amount of public assistance among the three
economic well-being variables. Younger single mothers received more public

assistance than older single mothers.

Hypothesis 2: Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status,
educational level, employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5 are
related to child care expenses in single mother families.

 

Hypothesis 2.1: Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status,
educational level, employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5
are related to the presence of child care expenses in single mother families.

Hypothesis 2.2: Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status,
educational level, employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5
are related to monthly child care expenses in single mother families.

101

Hypothesis 2.3: Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status,
educational level, employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5
are related to the percentage of earnings for child care expenses in single
mother families.

 

The hypotheses are supported by the ﬁndings of this study (see Table 8).
Mothers’ age, educational level, the presence of children aged 0-5, and employment
status are signiﬁcantly related to the presence of child care expense. Single mothers
who were younger, more educated, had children aged 0-5, and were employed,
reported having child care expenses. Marital status of single mothers was not
signiﬁcantly related to whether families had child care expenses. Among family
contextual factors, single mother’s employment had the strongest effect on whether
they had expenses for child care. This ﬁnding agrees with previous research (Smith,
2002) that indicates that employed single mothers are more likely to use paid forms of
child care such as center care than relative care.

Single mother’s marital status, educational level, the presence of children aged
0-5, and employment status are related to monthly child care expenses. Single
mothers who were divorced, separated, or widowed, had a higher educational level,
children aged 0-5, and were employed, had higher monthly child care expenses.
Among family contextual characteristics, the presence of children 0-5 is the most
important factor that inﬂuences the higher amounts that families pay for child care.
The results of this study also show that the percentage of earnings for child care
expenses is signiﬁcantly related to only the variable, the presence of children aged 0-5.

Single mother families with children aged 0-5 had higher monthly child care expenses

102

 

and also paid a higher percentage of their earnings for child care than did families

with the youngest child aged 6-12.

Hymthesis 3: Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status,
educational level, employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5 are
related to ﬁnancial and social supports in single mother families.

Hypothesis 3.1: Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status,
educational level, employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5
are related to the amount of general ﬁnancial support from kin or ﬁiends in
single mother families.

Hypothesis 3.2: Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status,
educational level, employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5
are related to ﬁnancial support for child care expenses in single mother
families.

 

Hypothesis 3.3: Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status,
educational level, employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5
are related to free child care by relatives in single mother families.

 

Hypothesis 3.4: Family contextual factors such as mother’s age, marital status,
educational level, employment status, and the presence of children aged 0-5
are related to the amount of child support payments in single mother families.

The ﬁndings of this study support these hypotheses (see Table 9). General
ﬁnancial support from kin or ﬁiends was related to single mothers’ marital status, and
educational level. Single mothers who were never married and had a lower
educational level received less general ﬁnancial support from kin or ﬁiends.

Financial support for child care expenses was related to single mothers’ age,
employment status and the presence of children aged 0-5. Single mothers who

received ﬁnancial support for child care were younger, employed, and had children

103

aged 0-5. Free child care by relatives was signiﬁcantly related to all family
contextual factors. Single mothers who received free child care by relatives were
younger, never married, less educated, employed, and had the youngest child aged 6-
12. The amount of child support payments was signiﬁcantly related to all family
contextual factors. Single mothers who were younger, never married, non-employed,
had a lower educational level, and had the youngest child aged 6-12 received lower

child support payments from nonresident fathers.

Hypothesis 4: Child care expenses are related to economic well-being after
controlling for family contextual effects.

Hypothesis 4.1: The presence of child care expenses is related to economic
well-being after controlling for family contextual effects.

1. The presence of child care expenses is positively related to family
income after controlling for family contextual effects.

2. The presence of child care expenses is positively related to per capita
income after controlling for family contextual effects.

3. The presence of child care expenses is negatively related to the amount
of public assistance after controlling for family contextual effects.

The ﬁndings of this study support these hypotheses (see Table 10). Having
child care expenses was signiﬁcantly related to better economic well-being after
controlling for family contextual effects. Single mother families with child care
expenses had higher family income, higher per capita income and received less public

assistance than families that did not have child care expenses.

104

Hypothesis 4.2: Monthly child care expenses are related to economic well-
being after controlling for family contextual effects.

 

1. Monthly child care expenses are positively related to family income
after controlling for family contextual effects.

2. Monthly child care expenses are positively related to per capita income
after controlling for family contextual effects.

3. Monthly child care expenses are negatively related to the amount of
public assistance after controlling for family contextual effects.

The results of this study support these hypotheses (see Table 10). Monthly
child care expenses were positively related to economic well-being. Single mother
families that had higher monthly child care expenses reported having higher family
income, having higher per capita income, and receiving lower public assistance than

families that had lower monthly child care expenses.

Hypothesis 4.3: Percentage of earnings for child care expenses is related to
economic well-being after controlling for family contextual effects.

1. Percentage of earnings for child care expenses is negatively related to
family income after controlling for family contextual effects.

2. Percentage of earnings for child care expenses is negatively related to
per capita income after controlling for family contextual effects.

3. Percentage of earnings for child care expenses is positively related to
the amount of public assistance after controlling for family contextual
effects.

The hypotheses are supported by the ﬁndings of this study (see Table 10). The
results of this study also showed that spending a higher percentage of family earnings
for child care was signiﬁcantly related to lower economic well-being. Single mother
families that paid a higher percentage of their family earnings for child care had lower

family income, lower per capita income, and received higher public assistance.

105

Overall, the results show that single mother families with fewer resources tend to
reduce child care expenditures by arranging for low-expense child care. Nevertheless,
their monthly child care expenses accounted for a higher percentage of family
earnings.

Hypothesis 5: Financial and social supports are related to economic well-being after
controlling for family contextual effects.

 

Hypothesis 5.1: The amount of general ﬁnancial support from kin or friends is
related to economic well-being after controlling for family contextual effects.

1. The amount of general ﬁnancial support from kin or friends is
negatively related to family income after controlling for family
contextual effects.

2. The amount of general ﬁnancial support from kin or friends is
negatively related to per capita income after controlling for family
contextual effects.

3. The amount of general ﬁnancial support from kin or friends is
positively related to the amount of public assistance after controlling
for family contextual effects.

These hypotheses were not supported by the ﬁndings of this study (see Table
11). General ﬁnancial support from kin or ﬁiends was positively related to family
income and per capita income, but was not signiﬁcantly related to the amount of
public assistance. A higher amount of general ﬁnancial support from kin or friends
resulted in better economic well-being of single mother families.

Hypothesis 5.2: Financial support for child care expenses is related to
econorrric well-being after controlling for family contextual effects.

1. Financial support for child care expenses is negatively related to family
income after controlling for family contextual effects.

106

2. Financial support for child care expenses is negatively related to per
capita income after controlling for family contextual effects.

3. Financial support for child care expenses is positively related to the
amount of public assistance after controlling for family contextual
effects.

These hypotheses are supported by the ﬁndings of this study (see Table 11).
The receipt of ﬁnancial support for child care expenses was related to lower levels of
economic well-being. Single mother families receiving ﬁnancial support for child
care expenses reported having lower family income, having lower per capita income,
and receiving more public assistance. This ﬁnding indicates that some families
receive ﬁnancial support for child care from government as a child care subsidy.
Thus the receipt of this support is related to lower family income rather than higher

family income.

Hypothesis 5.3: Free child care by relatives is related to economic well-being
after controlling for family contextual effects.

1. Free child care by relatives is negatively related to family income after
controlling for family contextual effects.

2. Free child care by relatives is negatively related to per capita income
after controlling for family contextual effects.

3. Free child care by relatives is positively related to the amount of public
assistance after controlling for family contextual effects.

These hypotheses were not supported by the ﬁndings of this study (see Table
11). The only indicator of economic well-being that was signiﬁcantly related to free

child care by relatives was family income. Free child care by relatives was positively

107

related to family income. Receiving free child care by relatives resulted in higher

family income in single mother families.

Hypothesis 5.4: The amount of child support payments is related to economic
well-being after controlling for family contextual effects.

 

1. The amount of child support payments is positively related to family
income after controlling for family contextual effects.

2. The amount of child support payments is positively related to per capita
income after controlling for family contextual effects.

3. The amount of child support payments is negatively related to the
amount of public assistance after controlling for family contextual
effects.

The ﬁndings of this study support these hypotheses (see Table 11). Possibly
of higher interest was the effect of child support payment from nonresident fathers on
the economic well-being of single mother families. The payment of child support
resulted in better economic well-being; in other words, this support was related to
higher family income, higher per capita income and a lower amount of public
assistance received. In fact, the amount of child support payments had the strongest

positive effect on family income and per capita income.

108

CHAPTER VI

CONCLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

This chapter presents conclusions, limitations and implications for policy and
future study. In the ﬁrst section, conclusions provide an overview of this study.
Limitations of this study are presented in the second section. The third section
suggests implications for policy. In the fourth section, implications for future study

are presented.

Conclusions

The major purpose of this study was to examine the effects of child care
expenses and ﬁnancial and social supports on the economic well-being of single
mother families. This study is particularly important at this time when the number of
single mother families has increased and their poor economic conditions are well
known. In addition, under the work-required welfare reform environment, the effect
of child care expenses has been a high-stake concern. With nationally representative
data from the 1999 National Survey of America’s Families (N SAF ), this study
examined the economic status of single mother families, determined by three

indicators: family income, per capita income, and the amount of public assistance.

109

This study used multiple regression analysis to verify the signiﬁcant effect of child
care expense variables (the presence of child care expenses, monthly child care
expenses and the percentage of earnings for child care expenses) on econorrric well-
being. This study also examined the inﬂuence of ﬁnancial and social support
variables (general ﬁnancial support from kin and friends, ﬁnancial support for child
care, free child care by relatives, and child support payments) on economic well-being.
The inﬂuence of family contextual factors (mother’s age, marital status, educational
level, the presence of children aged 0-5, and employment status) on child care
expenses, ﬁnancial and social supports and economic well-being was also explored.
The human ecological perspective and social capital theory are supported by
the ﬁndings of this study. According to the human ecological perspective, the overall
well-being of families is affected by three levels of environments such as individual,
interpersonal, and societal environments (Ihinger-Tallman, 1995). Findings ﬁ'om this
study conﬁrm that the economic well-being of single mother families is inﬂuenced by
various kinds of environments such as personal and familial environments (i.e.,
mothers’ employment status and the presence of young children), interpersonal
environments (i.e., ﬁnancial support from relatives and friends), and societal
environments (i.e., economic and institutional systems). Results of this study also
support the notion of social capital. Social capital was deﬁned as supportive social
relations that inﬂuence family well-being in relationships with extended family
members, relatives, and friends (Bourdieu, 1986). Findings of this study conﬁrm that

ﬁnancial and social support (i.e., ﬁnancial support from non-custodial fathers, kin,

110

friends, and government as well as free child care from relatives) inﬂuences the
economic well-being of single mother families.

The overall ﬁnding of this study demonstrates that both child care expenses
and support resources are important determinants of the economic well-being of
single mother families. It is clear that for single mother families with a lack of
ﬁnancial resources, child care expenses are a major concern. Nationwide, about half
of all single mother families with children under age 13 had some amount of child
care expenses in 1999. Monthly child care expenses for those who paid for child care
were an average of $ 255 and accounted for about 15 percent of their family earnings.
The signiﬁcant factors that affected child care expenses were mother’s age, marital
status, educational level, the presence of children aged 0-5, and employment status.
Among these factors, single mother’s employment status was the most important
factor that determined whether families had child care expenses. Since employed
single mothers must arrange for child care when they are working, families with
employed mothers are much more likely to have child care expenses than families
with non-employed mothers. In addition, among families having child care expenses,
the presence of children aged 0-5 was the most important factor that affected the
amount of child care expenses. Children aged 0-5 need longer hours of care than
school age children because they do not go to school and child care centers usually
charge more per hour for younger children. Additionally, child care expenses
accounted for a higher percentage of the earnings of single mother families with

children aged 0-5.

111

The analysis of this study also reveals important ﬁndings regarding the effect
of child care expenses on the economic well-being of single mother families. The
presence of child care expenses was positively related to family income and per capita
income, but negatively related to the amount of public assistance. Additionally,
higher monthly child care expenses and a lower percentage of earnings paid for child
care were related to better economic well-being. Single mother families that spent a
higher amount on child care and a lower percentage of their earnings had higher
farrrily income, higher per capita income, and received a lower amount of public
assistance. Many single mothers who did not have child care expenses were not
employed and used parental care (see Appendix Table C. 1). Because of parental care
and the lack of employment, they had lower incomes than single mothers who had
child care expenses. Additionally, they received higher public assistance dollars. The
results also indicate that single mother farrrilies with low income were likely to reduce
child care expenses by choosing low-cost child care arrangements. Therefore, they
tend to rely on relatives more frequently than center based care because relatives
usually offer child care at no- or low-cost (Sonenstein et al., 2002).

A second set of ﬁndings is in regard to the determinants of ﬁnancial and social
supports and their effects on the economics of single mother families. The ﬁndings of
this study indicate that monetary assistance and free child care are important as
support resources. The proﬁle of ﬁnancial and social support shows that about one-
quarter of single mothers receive ﬁnancial support for child care, one-ﬁfth receive

free child care by relatives, just one-tenth receive general ﬁnancial supports from kin

112

or friends, and about 40 percent receive child support payments from nonresident
fathers. Furthermore, these supports have a positive effect on the economic well-
being of single mother families. It is clear that these ﬁnancial and social supports
help alleviate their economic difﬁculties. However, these ﬁndings also suggest that
many single mother families do not receive these kinds of supports from others,
possibly because of their narrow social networks, availability of those supports, or
lack of information about the availability of the supports. In general the results of this
study are consistent with the previous research that has studied the nature of those
supports and their inﬂuences on the family (Giannarelli, Adelman, & Schmidt, 2003;
Smith, 2002; Hao & Brinton, 1997; Sandfort & Hill, 1996; Jayakody, Chatters, and
Taylor, 1993; Parish, Hao, & Hogan, 1991).

Using more recent data from the NSAF, this quantitative research contributes
to the literature related to child care expenses, support systems and economic well-
being for the particular population of single mother families with children. It
provides additional evidence of child care expenses as an important determinant of
economic well-being and strengthens the arguments for proponents of ﬁnancial and

social supports for single mother families.

Limitations

This study of the effect of child care expenses and ﬁnancial and social

supports on the economic well-being of single mother families is limited by the 1999

113

NSAF data constraints. In the data, free child care by relatives is underestimated.
Single mothers were identiﬁed as receiving ﬁ'ee child care by relatives only if they
used relatives as child care providers and had no other child care expenses. If single
mothers combined free relative care with paid child care, the 1999 NSAF did not
identify these mothers as receiving free child care by relatives.

The NSAF interviewed the respondents by phone with a questionnaire which
contained sensitive questions such as family income, public assistance, subsidies and
family relationships. It is uncertain how accurate respondents are in reporting such
ﬁnancial and family information.

In several multiple regression analyses of this study, the values of R Square
were found to be quite low although their F values were signiﬁcant (p< .000). The
farrrily contextual factors explained 3% of the variance in the percentage of earnings
for child care expenses and only 0.7% of the variance in the amount of general
ﬁnancial support from kin or friends (see Table 8 & 9). The low value of R Square
seems to reduce the practical signiﬁcance of these analyses. Additionally, these
results may mitigate the policy implications for these variables.

Estimates from multiple regression analyses are likely to be biased by
unobserved variables (Woodhouse, 2001). Undoubtedly, NSAF data set does not
include all the variables that affect the economic well-being of single mother families.
Unobserved factors will inﬂuence the dependent variable, economic well-being, as

well as the independent variables, i.e., family contextual factors.

114

One of the unobserved factors in this study is co-residence (e. g., single
mothers living in their parents’ homes). To some extent the receipt of ﬁnancial and
social support is underestimated in this study since it does not consider co-residence,
which provides single mothers with greater access to a child care provider as well as
ﬁnancial supports provided by co-residents (i.e., free or low cost housing) (Hogan et
al., 1990). Another unobserved factor is the ethnic differences in ﬁnancial and social
support. The extended kin network and greater levels of support are found among
African-Americans, as compared to Whites. Aﬁican-American single mothers often
co-reside with their parents and more frequently use free child care by kin compared
to Whites (Hogan, Hao, & Parish, 1990)

Although the NSAF data contains some aspects of ﬁnancial and social support,
some types of support such as advice, emotional and informational support are not
included. These types of social support may have some inﬂuence on the economic
well-being of single mother farrrilies. In addition, the NSAF does not include asset
and debt information. These are important aspects of a family’s economic well-being
(Lino, 1995; Bartholomae, 2001).

This study is also limited because the data is cross-sectional and thus does not
determine how child care expenses affect the economic well-being of single mother
families over time. A dynamic approach with longitudinal data would be helpful to
establish causal links that may exist between child care expenses and economic well-

being.

115

Implications for Practical Use

The ﬁndings of this study suggest important implications for single mother
families. Child care expenses affect family’s economic well-being, since child care
expenses account for a signiﬁcant proportion of single mother’s family income.
Financial and social supports also affect family’s economic well-being, by providing
not only ﬁnancial help but also free child care services. These ﬁndings can be of
speciﬁc interest to federal and state policymakers attempting to improve the economic
status of single mother families since this study identiﬁes their needs for support,
particularly related to child care.

The economic burden of child care expenses for single mothers could be
alleviated by expanding child care subsidies. In this study, it is clear that many single
mothers, pay considerable amounts of their earnings for child care. This ﬁnding
suggests the efforts of policymakers are needed to help lower child care expenses for
single mother families. Policies that expand or increase child care subsidies such as
the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit and the Child Care and Development Block
Grant may reduce the impact of child care expenses. With appropriate child care
subsidies, single mothers can choose available and affordable child care arrangements
for their children and thus they can maintain and secure their jobs, which may
improve their economic stability.

Another important ﬁnding of this study is that free child care provided by

relatives is a signiﬁcant support for single mother families. Government supports can

116

be offered directly to relatives who provide care (Hunt & Avery, 1998). Direct child
care subsidies to relatives who provide child care might increase child care help by
relatives and thus lighten the child care burden and improve the economic well-being
of single mother families.

However, a child care subsidy alone would not solve the problem of poverty
and economic hardship for single mother families (Parish, Hao and Hogan, 1991).
The subsidy support would increase economic well-being if accompanied by useful
programs for supporting labor force participation and educational achievement.
Because the economic status of single mother farrrilies is highly inﬂuenced by their
contextual characteristics such as the mother’s employment status and educational
level, intervention programs that help them complete schooling or get job training
would be appropriate.

According to the ﬁndings of this study, a large proportion of single mothers
are employed (56 percent are employed full-time and 17 percent are employed part-
time) and employed mothers were more likely to pay for child care than non-
employed mothers. They use more paid forms of care such as center-based care
because they have to arrange for regular child care when they work (Folk & Beller,
1993). This ﬁnding suggests the need for policies and programs addressing the
speciﬁc concerns encountered by these employed single mothers who are looking for
paid forms of child care. Policies expanding ﬁnancial support by employers of
mothers and programs enlarging the application of a sliding fee scale offered by day

care centers can be helpful for working single mothers.

117

The ﬁndings of this study reveal that never manied mothers experienced lower
levels of economic well-being than divorced, separated or widowed mothers did.
Additionally, they received a lower amount of general ﬁnancial support from kin or
friends, and a lower amount of child support payment from non-custodial fathers.
About 70 percent of never manied mothers did not receive child support payments.
The ﬁnding of multiple regression analyses also indicates that child support payments
from non-custodial fathers had a signiﬁcant positive effect on family income. The
evidence reported here suggests that single mothers, particularly never manied
mothers, may become economically secure or may escape from poverty if they can
establish child support orders and receive child support payments regularly.

The results from this study show that single mothers with children younger
than 6 paid higher child care expenses and a higher percentage of earnings for child
care. However, relatives were less likely to provide free child care for young children.
This result suggests that single mothers with young children have a substantial need
for ﬁnancial support paying for child care. Policy makers and family researchers
should focus on their ﬁnancial need and consider expanding government support for
those families with young children.

Findings from this study show that single mothers who did not have child care
expenses received higher public assistance dollars from welfare ofﬁces. Many single
mothers who did not have child care expenses were not employed. Due to their lack
of employment, they tend to have low incomes and rely on public assistance. This

result suggests that effective child care program that provides secure and high quality

118

child care may assist single mothers in working and becoming ﬁnancially

independent.

Implications for Future Study

This study of the economic well-being of single mother families provides
implications for future research based on some of the speciﬁc limitations of this
research. First of all, future research is needed that investigates conceptually
representative and appropriate indicators of economic well-being. In this study,
indicators of economic well-being are measured by family income, per capita income
and public assistance. Future studies that include assets and debts as indicators of
economic well-being are needed.

In addition, this study is cross-sectional, which provides valuable information
on economic status of single mother families at one point in time. However, it does
not explain causal relationships in terms of the changes of economic well-being.
Without longitudinal research, it is not clear how economic well-being is changed
over time by child care expenses as well as ﬁnancial and social support. This study
also reports the importance of social support on the economic well-being of single
mother families, while only the receipt of free child care by relatives is included for
the social support variable. Future research should try to expand on the notion of
social support. Some types of social support such as co-residence with their parents,

provision of emotional support, provision of reduced-cost child care can be included

119

in future study. About one third of single mothers and their children live in their
child’s grandparents’ home at some point (Bumpass & Raley, 1995). Additionally,
co-residence considerably affects the availability of child care and ﬁnancial support
from co-residents, i.e., mothers’ parents. Therefore, the importance of co-residence
needs to be examined.

In this study the role of child care support by relatives is limited due to the
data constraint. The possibility of a family receiving free child care by relatives and
also paying for child care was not an option. However, some relative care is paid care,
although it is usually provided at a very low cost (Hunts & Avery, 1998).
Furthermore sometimes, relatives who provide child care receive in-kind payment.
To investigate all kinds of child care supports by relatives and how these supports
inﬂuence single mothers’ employment and their economic well-being, is needed in
future study.

Finally, further research may consider the quality of care for the children of
single mother families. The previous research showed that single mothers reduced
the quality of the child care instead of reducing the hours they work when child care
expenses increased (Woodhouse, 2001). However, few studies included measures of
quality of care, particularly in relative care settings. Research on the relationship
among quality of care for the children, child care expenses, and child outcome in
single mother families may be useﬁrl to provide economic implications for the well-

being of children of single mothers.

120

These are some implications for the future research on the economic issues of
single mother families that need to be addressed. As long as a considerable
proportion of children in America are living with only their mothers and the economic
conditions of single mother families are relatively poor, given high child care
expenses and insufﬁcient supports, future research should focus on issues of child

care and improving the overall well-being of single mothers and their children.

121

APPENDIX

122

APPENDIX A

VARIABLES IN THE STUDY

123

APPENDIX A. Variable Names and Explanations for the Study

 

 

Variables Names Explanation
Economic Well-being
Family Income Ublinc Continuous variable, dollar
Per Capita Income UblincZ Continuous variable, dollar
Receipt of Public J anypub Dummy variable, =1 if the respondent receives
Assistance public assistance
Amount of Public Janypamt Continuous variable, dollar
Assistance
Child Care Expenses
The Presence of Child Care Gpay_rcd Dummy variable, =1 if the respondent report
Expenses - any child care expenses.
Monthly Child Care Uccexp_r Continuous variable, dollar
Expenses
Percentage of Earnings for Uccex_ar Continuous variable, percentage
Child Care Expenses
Financial and Social Supports
Amount of General Ublfrrel Continuous variable, dollar
Financial Support ﬁom
Kin or Friends
Financial Support for Gotpay_s Dummy variable, =1 if the respondent report
Child Care Expenses any ﬁnancial support for child care expenses
Free Child Care by Grelrcd3 Dummy variable, =1 if the respondent use
Relatives relatives as child care providers and pay
nothing for any child care arrangements
Amount of Child Support Ublchsp Amount of child support payment, dollar
Payments
Family Contextual Factors
Mother’s Age Uage Continuous variable, years
Marital Status (Never Umarsta2 Dummy variable, =1 if the mother is never
married) married
Educational Level Uedlv4rc Continuous variable, 1 through 4 (missing-9,-
8,-7)
Families with Children Youngchl Dummy variable, =1 if the mother has
Aged 0-5 children aged 0-5
Employment Status U_ushrs2 Categorical variable, =0 if the mother is not

 

employed, =1 if the mother is employed part
time, =2 if the mother is employed full time

 

124

APPENDIX B

NSAF VARIABLES AND DESCRIPTIONS

125

 

APPENDIX B. NSAF VARIABLES AND DESCRIPTIONS

Family Income

Label
Description

Variable
Label
Description

Variable
Label
Description

Variable
Label
Description

Variable
Label
Description

Variable
Label
Description

Variable
Label
Description

Total family income last year

This item represents the total past year income for the family. It was
derived by summing together the income variables: UBLAFDC,
UBLCHSP, UBLEA, UBLEARN, UBLFPAY, UBLFRREL, UBLGA,
UBLINDV, UBLOTH, UBLPNAN, UBLRENT, UBLSOC, UBLSSI,
UBLUNEM, and UBLWKCOS.

UBLAFDC

Amount of AFDC received

The interviewer deﬁned AFDC (or Aid to Families with Dependent
Children) and TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) as
federal programs administered by state or local government that makes
payments to low-income families with children.

UBLCHSP

Amount of Child Support received

The interviewer deﬁned a child support order as any written agreement
between the parents that indicated the amount of ﬁnancial support that a
nonresident parent was expected to make. The agreement did not have
to be a legal document ratiﬁed by a court, but it had to be a written
agreement, not an oral agreement.

UBLEA

Amount of Emergency Assistance received

The interviewer deﬁned emergency assistance as emergency or one-
time cash payment from the welfare ofﬁce. Values for this variable were
derived from questions J27 and J28 of the questionnaire.

UBLEARN

Total family earnings last year

This variable was calculated by summing the total earnings from all jobs
for each family member, and thus represents the family’s total earnings
in the previous year.

UBLFPAY

Amount of foster care payments received

A family receives foster care payments for providing care to children
placed in the home by the local welfare department. Respondents
included only actual payments received, even if they did not cover all the
expenses.

UBLFRREL

Amount from friends/relatives

Respondents were instructed to include regular assistance as well as
assistance received on an irregular basis from friends or relatives, but
not occasional gifts or contributions.

126

Variable
Label
Description

Variable
Label
Description

Variable
Label
Description

Variable
Label
Description

Variable
Label
Description

Variable
Label
Description

Variable
Label
Description

UBLGA

Amount of General Assistance received

General assistance (or general relief) was deﬁned as cash assistance
from state and local programs for persons who are not eligible for or who
are waiting to enroll in other assistance programs.

UBLINDV

Amount of interest/dividends received

This category includes interest from accounts with banks, credit unions,
and savings and loans; interest from money market funds and
certiﬁcates of deposit; and interest from government bonds (such as
savings bonds). It also includes dividends from shares of stock in
corporations and mutual funds are also included.

UBLOTH

Amount of other income received

Examples of some other sources of income include housing assistance;
aid received through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program
(LIHEAP); the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC); scholarships from
federal, state, or local public programs; incentive payments for work-
related expenses by persons undergoing classroom training provided for
by the JTPA; and other property income (such as royalties, estates and
trusts).

UBLPNAN

Amount of pension/annuity received

Pension money and annuities include regular or lump-sum payments
received by retired workers or their survivors from employer or union
retirement or pension funds. This category also includes payments from
annuities and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). It does not,
however, include veterans’ payments or one-time payments from estates
or inheritances.

UBLRENT

Amount of rental income received

Rental property income includes income from renting land, buildings, or
real estate, and rental income from roomers or boarders.

UBLSOC

Amount of Social Security received

Social security includes payments from the US. government to workers
who are at least 62 years old, the severely disabled, and dependents or
survivors of workers. Workers must have contributed to the Social
Security fund for the required number of years. This variable does not
include money received as SSI or reimbursement for medical bills paid
under Medicare.

UBLSSI

Amount of SSI received

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) refers to checks received by low-
income people who are either aged (65 years old or older), blind, or

127

Variable
Label
Description

Variable
Label
Description

disabled. Most SSI recipients receive one monthly SSI check from the
federal government. Income from the SSI program is not the same as
Social Security; Social Security income was not included here.

UBLUNEM

Amount of Unemployment Compensation received

Respondents were to include state unemployment insurance funds;
railroad unemployment beneﬁts; strike beneﬁts paid from union funds;
supplemental unemployment beneﬁts (paid by private companies during
layoffs); and federal supplementary compensation payments (from the
federal government when state unemployment funds run out). Earnings
for on-the-job training sponsored under the JTPA do not count as
unemployment compensation.

UBLWKCOS

Amount of workers compensation/ veterans payments

Workers compensation and/or veterans payments included payments
made to workers injured on the job or who had a job-related illness,
veteran service-connected disability compensation, veteran survivor
beneﬁts, veterans pensions, and educational assistance for veterans
(under the GI Bill).

Receipt of Public Assistance

Question

Description

In 1998, did anybody receive public assistance, welfare payments,
vouchers, or emergency help from the welfare office?

This variable designates whether any member of the social family
received public assistance, welfare payments, vouchers, or emergency
help from the welfare ofﬁce. Help included money received from the
state or local welfare ofﬁce under the Temporary Aid to Needy Families
program (TANF) (which replaced Aid to Families with Dependent
Children or AFDC); General Assistance (GA) or General Relief (cash
assistance from state and local programs for people who are not eligible
for or who are waiting to enroll in other programs); Emergency
Assistance or other forms of one-time cash payments; and vouchers or
coupons received from welfare ofﬁces. Interviewers were instructed not
to include regular payments from welfare ofﬁces for elderly, blind, or
disabled persons, nor food, food stamps, clothing, or scholarships.

The Presence of Child Care Expenses

Question

Description

Now think about all the child care arrangements and programs you use
regularly for [(CHILD1)/(CH|LDZ)/all your children under age 13] while
you worked, were in school or looked for work. How much did you pay
for all child care arrangements and programs used in the last month? ]
[IF NECESSARY, SAY: If it is easier for you, you can tell us what you
paid, in a typical week of the last month?]

This variable asked the respondent to estimate the total amount of
money she or he paid during the last month for all child care used while

128

she or he worked at a job for pay, looked for a job, went to school, or
went to a job training program. The respondent was instructed to include
child care costs for all of her or his children age 12 or younger. Many
parents pay a single amount for child-care arrangements that actually
cover more than one child. In other cases, it was necessary to help the
respondent count up separate costs for each child in care. If the
respondent had difﬁculty providing an estimate for the entire month, the
respondent was asked to report an estimate for a typical week during the
month. This variable notes only whether an amount was given or not. If
an amount was given, it was recorded using the variable UCCEXP.

Monthly Child Care Expenses

Variable UCCEXP

Label Cost of child care (last month)

Description This variable shows how much was paid for all child care arrangements
used regularly during the last month. It was created for MKAs that used
child care arrangements (including Center-Based Care, Head Start,
Before and/or After School Care, Relative Care, ln-Home Care by a
Non-Relative, or Out-of-Home Care by a Non-Relative) for at least one
focal child while the MKA worked, looked for work, or was in school.
MKAs were asked how much they paid for all child care arrangements
and programs used regularly for all their children under thirteen, while
the MKA worked, was in school, or looked for work. Expenses could be
reported in monthly or weekly terms. If weekly expenses were reported,
this variable equals the weekly amount multiplied by 4.33. A small
number of cases were edited to adjust for apparent confusion between
weekly and monthly expenses.

Family Earning§
Label Total family earnings last year
Description This variable was calculated by summing the total earnings from all jobs

for each family member, and thus represents the family’s total earnings
in the previous year.

Amount of General Financial Support from Kin or Friends

 

Label Amount from friends/relatives

Description Respondents were instructed to include regular assistance as well as
assistance received on an irregular basis from friends or relatives, but
not occasional gifts or contributions.

Financial Support for Child Care Expenses

Label Other pay for part of child care cost
Question Does anyone else pay for all or part of the cost of the care for

129

Description

Label
Question

Description

[(CHlLD1)/(CHILDZ)/any of your children under age 13]? By this I mean
a government agency, your employer or someone outside your
household?

Some low-income families receive child care from centers or other
programs that are free of charge or of minimal cost to the parent. Often
this means that some other agency (such as the government or an
employer) is covering the rest of the child care costs. This question
covered child-care voucher programs and situations in which someone
outside the household contributed to the cost of child care, such as a
divorced parent or a grandparent.

Sliding fee for child care arrangements

Is the amount of money you are charged for the child care of
[(CHlLD1)/(CHILDZ)/any of your children under age 13] determined by
how much money you earn? [IF NECESSARY, PROBE: Do you pay a
sliding fee amount for any of these arrangements?]

Many non-profit child-care programs use graded fee systems so that
parents with lower incomes pay less than other parents for child care.
This question determined whether the respondent paid less for child
care than other families because the respondent was low-income. This
question covered child care for any of the respondent’s children age 12
and younger.

Free Child Care by Relatives

Label
Question

Description

Label
Question

Description

Label
Question
Description

Have child care in MKA’s home

We'd like to know how (CHILD1) spent (his/her) time when (he/she) was
not with you during the last month. I'm going to read a list of different
kinds of programs children attend and of people who care for children.
I'd like you to tell me which ones you used for (CHILD1), at least once a
week during the last month. First, did (CHILD1) attend...

Care in the child's home could be provided by someone who comes in to
take care of the child or by someone who lives in the household. The
interviewer was instructed to include care given by relatives, but not to
include care given by the respondent’s spouse or partner, or care given
by a parent of the child, even if they live somewhere else.

Child had child care in other’s home

We'd like to know how (CHILD1) spent (his/her) time when (he/she) was
not with you during the last month. I'm going to read a list of different
kinds of programs children attend and of people who care for children.
I'd like you to tell me which ones you used for (CHILD1), at least once a
week during the last month. First, did (CHILD1) attend...

Care provided in a private home other than the home where the child
lives includes care given by relatives, but does not include care given by
a parent of the child, even if the parent lives somewhere else.

Care giver in home kin to child

Is this person related to (CHILD1)?
Care by a parent was not included, even if the parent does not live with

130

Label
Question
Description

the child.

Care giver in other’s home kin to Child

Is this person related to (CHILD1)?

Care by a parent was not included, even if the parent does not live with
the child.

Receipt of Child Support Payment

Question
Description

[In 1998, did anybody receive] child support?

This variable designates whether any member of the social family
received child support payments last year. Child support was deﬁned as
money received from parents for the support of their children.
Sometimes child support payments were paid through a welfare agency
or a court. Interviewers were instructed not to include TANF payments or
any money received from relatives or friends other than a parent.

Amount of Child Support Payment

Description

Mother’s Age

Description

Marital Status

Description

The interviewer deﬁned a child support order as any written agreement
between the parents that indicated the amount of ﬁnancial support that a
nonresident parent was expected to make. The agreement did not have
to be a legal document ratiﬁed by a court, but it had to be a written
agreement, not an oral agreement.

The variable UAGE provides the age for each sampled person,
truncated at 85. Ages were asked about early in the NSAF. The ﬁrst
name of each household member was also obtained at this point so that
further questions about each individual could be asked using his or her
name.

Marital status was asked of the respondent only. Spouses of
respondents were automatically coded as married, but unmarried
partners of respondents were assigned a value of "No spouse in HH,
partner in HH, DK marital status." It is coded as follows;

1 Married, spouse in household

2 Married, spouse not in household
3 Widowed

4 Divorced

5 Separated

6 Never married

131

7 No spouse in HH, marital status unknown
8 No spouse in HH, partner in HH, DK marital status

Educational Level

 

Description Highest level of education completed (4-way, matches Census reports) It
is coded as follows;
1 No high school diploma or GED
2 High school diploma or GED, no college
3 Completed some college classes
4 Bachelors degree (may have graduate deg)
Employment Status
Label Hours worked per week this year
Description This variable indicates the number of hours the sampled adult usually

worked each week in the current year. Depending on how the sampled
adult was employed, each score for this variable was calculated from
responses to questions in section I (Employment and Earnings).

Families with Children Aged 0-5

Label
Description

Number of family members aged 0-5
This variable documents the number of family members younger than
six years old at the time of the interview.

Number of Family Members

Label
Description

Numer of family members

This variable provides the number of people in the social/CPS family.
The social family includes not only married partners and their children,
but also unmarried partners, all of their children, and members of the
extended family (anyone related by blood to the MKA, the
spouse/partner, or their children). The CPS family is limited to persons
living together in the same household related by blood, marriage, or
adopﬁon.

132

APPENDIX C

DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS

133

Table C.1 Child Care Expenses by Primary Child Care Arrangement for Single

Mother Families with Children under 13 a

 

 

Before
Monthly Child Care All Center or after Relative Head . Parental Self Summer
. . relative
Expenses familresc care school care start care care care program
care
Never Married 2179 302 188 795 59 248 460 60 12
Pay for care 890 218 106 291 32 174 27 16 5
Monthly expenses b 234 266 21 l 21 1 229 251 214 233 248
(180) (193) (170) (165) (158) (200) (164) (162) (319)
Divorced, Separated, or
Widowed 2497 183 348 668 29 355 624 204 20
Pay for care 1010 121 239 260 9 257 50 34 13
(259) (404) (203) (213) (94) (270) (163) (136) (316)
High school diploma 2678 246 248 890 57 321 719 120 12
Pay for care 926 153 139 303 22 213 44 24 6
Monthly expenses 221 246 207 207 242 238 206 148 258
(174) (227) (156) (157) (172) (165) (173) (129) (220)
Some college 1946 233 285 558 28 278 352 142 19
Pay for care 956 182 204 242 18 216 32 26 11
Monthly expenses 289 387 257 256 191 292 251 221 514
(265) (331) (214) (223) (109) (301) (147) (156) (339)
Employed 3405 393 449 1 137 57 526 500 224 28
Pay for care 1757 314 329 499 34 401 68 48 18
Monthly expenses 260 326 241 232.98 226 272 229 191 403
(229) (295) (196) (194) (147) (248) (167) (147) (323)
Not Employed 1271 92 87 326 31 77 584 40 4
Pay for care 143 25 16 52 7 30 9 2 0
Monthly expenses 190 258 172 184.50 197 167 182 50
(175) (290) (124) (138) (153) (152) (116) (0)
Families with Children
Aged 0-5
Pay for care 1213 339 111 365 41 244 54 23 4
Monthly expenses 285 321 321 246 221 305 250 227 428
(246) (295) (261) (206) (147) (248) (163) (154) (303)
Families with Children
Aged 6-12
Pay for care 687 0 234 186 0 187 23 27 14
Monthly expenses 202 198 194 213 161 151 396
(176) (136) (147) (229) (146) (133) (339)
Number of Observation 4676 485 536 1463 88 603 1084 264 32

(10.4%) (1 1.5%) (31.3%) (1.9%) (12.9%) (23.2%) (5.6%) (0.7%)

 

a. Standard errors are in parentheses.

b. Monthly expenses represent average monthly child care expenses in dollars among single mothers who

pay for care.

c. The sum of numbers in each arrangement is not same with the number of all families because of missing

cases.

134

Table C.2 Percentage and Mean of Variables by Marital Status of the Mother 3

 

 

. Divorced/
Variables N61? gamed Separated/
0 ers Widowed Mothers
Age ofthe mother 28.37 (7.06) 35.61 (7.41)
Education of the mother
No high school diploma or GED 19.4% 13.9%
High school diploma or GED 43.0% 38.9%
Completed some college classes 277% 339-4%
At least a bachelor’s degree 85% 172%
Employment status of the mother
Not employed 30.6% 24.2%
Part-time work 16.8% 16.5%
Full-time work 52.6% 59.3%
Families with children aged 0-5 70.9% 54.2%
Families with children aged 6-12 29.1% 45.8%
Child Care Expenses
The presence of child care expenses 47.9% 46.8%
Monthly child care expenses b $234 (180) $274 (259)
Percentage of earnings for child care 16.1% (15.0) 14.9% (14.2)
expenses b
Financial and Social Supports
Receipt of general ﬁnancial support 9.1% 10.8%
from kin or ﬁiends
Amount of general ﬁnancial support $94 (663) $220 (1,688)
from kin or ﬁiends
Financial support for child care 27.5% 20.6%
expenses
Free child care by relatives 18.5% 14.4%
Receipt of child support payment 31.7% 49.5%
Amount of child support payment $785 (1894) $2,178 (3,510)

Economic Well-being
Family income
Per capita income
Receipt of public assistance
Amount of public assistance

Number of observations

$24,378 (23,818) $29,168 (25,462)

$7,049( 6,433) $8,906( 8,036)
23.9% 12.4%
$811 (1,927) $418 (1,443)

2179 2497

 

a. Standard deviations are in shown in parentheses.

b. n=l,900. The samples that have child care expenses are included in this analysis. In addition,
outliers are removed. The variable Monthly child care expenses and Percentage of earnings for
child care expenses have many outliers (extreme scores). The researcher deleted the top and

bottom 5 percent of the cases.

APPENDIX D

MULTIPLE REGRESSION TABLES

136

Table D.1

Multiple Regression Results of Child Care Expenses with Financial and Social
Supports After Controlling for Family Contextual Factors

 

The Presence Monthly Child

Percentage of

 

Financial and Social Supports of Child Care C Earnings Spent
are Expenses .
Expenses on Child Care
Family Contextual Factors
Age of the mother -.084*** .020 -.039
Marital status (never married) .001 -.081** -.021
Educational level .103 * ** . 172* * * -.037
Presence of children aged 0-5 .090*** .249*** .154***
Employment status .346*** .074** -.002
(employed)
Financial and Social Supports
Amount of general ﬁnancial -.001 .074** .031
support
Financial support for child .218*** -.O76** .008
care expenses
Free child care by relatives -.417*** a 8
Amount of child support .027* .044 -.015
payments
R Square .409 .105 .034
F- statistic 354.489*** 27.438*** 8.272***
n b 4624 1882 1 882

 

Note. Standardized regression coefﬁcients (beta) are presented.

*p< .05, **p<.01, ***p<.001

a. The predictor variable is constant, thus excluded in regression analysis.
b. n=l 881, the sample who have child care expenses was included in regression analysis.

137

Table D. 2

Multiple Regression Results of Economic Well-being with Financial and Social
Support by the Presence of Child Care Expenses

 

 

. . . Amount of Public
Varrables Famrly Income Per Caprta Income Assistance
Have Don’t Have Don’t Have Don’t

Child Care Have Child Care Have Child Care Have
Expenses Child Care Expenses Child Care Expenses Child Care

Expenses Expenses Expenses
Family Contextual Variables
Age of the mother .004 -.015 .050 -.003 -.024 -.038
Marital status (never -.008 -.016 —.002 -.005 .037 05]”
married)
Educational level .21 1*" .152*** .281*** .205*** -.072** -.069**
Families with Children -.011 -.018 -.090*** -.123*** .003 .069“
Aged 0-5
Employment status .087*** .178*** .113*** .207*** -.121*** -.l49***
(employed)
Financial and Social Supports
Amount of General .097*** .009 .100*** .003 -.015 -.010
Financial Support
Financial Support for -.102*** -.056** -.101*** -.053** .126*** .115***
Child Care Expenses
Free Child Care by a. .098*** a. .054” a. -.064**
Relatives

AmountofChild Support .196*** .175*** .145*** .124*** -.066** -.089***
Payments

R Square .139 .142 .207 .187 .057 .098
F- statistic 44.215*** 44.357*** 71.39?" 61.983*** l6.565*** 29.227***
11 2193 2431 2193 2431 2193 2431

 

Note. Standardized regression coefﬁcients (beta) are presented.
*p< .05, **p<.01, ***p<.001
a. The predictor variable is constant, thus excluded in regression analysis.

138

Table D. 3

Multiple Regression Results of Econorrric Well-being with Child Care Expenses
(unstandardized regression coefﬁcients are presented)

 

Amount of Public

Varrables F amrly Income Per Caprta Income Assistance

 

Modell Mode12 Model3 Model4 ModelS Model6

(Constant) 7127.96 31300.27 448.83 6092.13 1613.59 752.81
Family Contextual Factors
Age of the mother 2.408 ~80.30 27.25 24.61 -9.04* -9.85*
Marital status (never manied) -2418.83** -1837.96 -484.80* -346.48 190.97*** 114.81“
Educational level 5781.48*** 3637.56*** 2147.37*** 1877.28*** -152.62*** -40.94

The presence of children -1127.11 -1363.39 -l782.35*** -2154.99*** 190.86" 38.66
aged 0-5

Employment status 9152.93*** -3557.44* 2880.13*** 29.29 -639.54*** -184.42
(employed)
Child Care Expenses
The presence ofchildcare 2316.66" a. 1601.28*** a. -195.11*** a.
expense
Monthly child care expenses 62.35*** 17.06*** -.546***
Percentage of earnings for -107605*** -27951.9*** 1084.54***

child care expenses

R Square .108 .445 .194 .442 .075 .042
F- statistic 93304*** 214.472*** 185.791*** 212426*** 62193*** 11.666***
N b. 4624 1882 4624 1882 4624 1882

 

*p< .05, **p<.01, ***p<.001

a. The predictor variable is constant, thus excluded in regression analysis.

b. n=4624, in model 1, 3, 5, full sample was included in regression analysis. n=l882, in model, 2, 4,
6, only the sample who have child care expenses was included in regression analysis.

In the analyses, it was predicted that single mother families with child care
expenses had $2,316.66 higher annual family income on average than families with
no child care expenses. The predicted annual family income increased $62.35 on
average for every one-dollar increase in monthly child care expenses. It was also
predicted that on average a one percent increase in the percentage of earnings spent

on child care decreased family income by $1076.05.

139

Table D. 4

Multiple Regression Results of Economic Well-being with Financial and Social
Supports (unstandardized regression coefﬁcients are presented)

 

 

. . r i Amount of
Varrables Famrly Income PanderIieta Public Assistance
(Constant) 6876.15 807.00 1554.05
Family Contextual Factors
Age of the mother -49.09 6.56 -5.73
Marital status (never married) -680.56 -87.42 141.81**
Educational level 5251 .16*** 2085.24*** -l49.33***
The presence of children aged 0-5 283.07 -l339.67*** 103.74
Employment status (employed) 10021 .26*** 3575.91 *** -750.49***
Financial and Social Supports
Amount of general ﬁnancial 1.14*** .35*** -.02
support
Financial support for child care -3823.70*** -1006.42** 334.15***
expenses
Free child care by relatives 2071 .67* -455.42 -15.88
Amount ofchild support 157*" .34*** -.04***
payment
R Square .147 .209 .084
F- statistic 88.369*** 135.392*** 47.104***
n 4624 4624 4624

 

Note. Standardized regression coefﬁcients (beta) are presented.

*p< .05, **p<.01, ***p<.OOl

In the analyses, it was predicted that annual family income increased $1.57 on

average for every one dollar increase in child support payments. Financial support for

child care expenses predicted a $334.15 increase in public assistance.

140

Table D5

Multiple Regression Results of Economic Well-being with All Independent Variables
for Never Married Mothers

 

Amount of Public

Varrables Famrly Income Per Caprta Income Assistance

 

Modell Mode12 Model 3 Model 4 Model 5 Model 6

Family Contextual Variables
Age of the mother -.064** -.078** -.O32 -.016 -.011 -.051
Educational level .169*** 099*" .249*** .195*** -.079*** -.033
The presence of children aged 0-5 -.026 .049 -.069** -.051 059* .009
Employment status (employed) .143 *** —.043 .l85*** -.007 -.149*** -.050

Child Care Expenses
The presence of child care .13 l *** a. .164*** a. -.152*** 3-
expense
Monthly child care expenses .457*** .475*** -.124**
Percentage of earnings for -.643 *** -5754" .131..."

child care expenses

Financial and Social Supports
Amount of general ﬁnancial .014 .076M .050* .101*** -.028 -.022

support from kin or friends
Financial support for child -.124*** -.098*** -.1 13*” -.082** .128*** .103"
care expenses
Free child care by relatives .116*** a. .088*** a. -.064** a.
Amount ofchild support .147*** .115*** .118*** .082“ -.081*** -.O60
payment
R Square .126 .448 .203 .451 .093 .054
F- statistic 34232*** 78.612*** 60.517*** 79.507*** 24.271*** 5531*“
n 2149 880 2149 880 2149 880

 

*p< .05, **p<.01, ***p<.001
Note. Standardized regression coefﬁcients (beta) are presented.
a. The variable is constant, so it was excluded in regression analysis.

141

Table D6

Multiple Regression Results of Economic Well-being with All Independent Variables
for Divorced, Separated, and Widowed Mothers

 

Amount of Public

Varrables F amrly Income Per Caprta Income Assistance

 

Modell Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Model 5 Model 6

Family Contextual Variables

Age of the mother .041* -.002 .056" -.O31 -.044* —.042
Educational level . 193*" .107*** .239*** .198*** .063" -.017
The presence of children aged 0-5 -.031 -.036 -.126*** -.150*** .027 .003
Employment status (employed) .146**"' -.020 .154*** -.019 -.163*** -.035
Child Care Expenses
The presence of child care .096*** a. .153*** a. -.089*** a.
expense

Monthly child care expenses .611*** .526*** -.091*
Percentage of earnings for child -.613*** -.528*** .159***

care expenses

Financial and Social Supports

Amount of general ﬁnancial .080*** .098*** .067*** ,096*** -.010 -,005
support from kin or friends
Financial support for child care -.059** .000 -.076*** -.032 .094*** .049
expenses
Free child care by relatives .041 a. .005 a. -.046"‘ a.
Amount of child support .l95*** 202*“ .l30*** .136*** -.086*** .034
payment
R Square .173 .507 .226 .474 .075 .033
F- statistic 57.468*** 113.415*** 79.829"* 99.333*“"" 22.305*** 3748*"
n 2475 1002 2475 1002 2475 1002

 

*p< .05, **p<.01, ***p<.001
Note. Standardized regression coefﬁcients (beta) are presented.
a. The variable is constant, so it was excluded in regression analysis.

142

APPENDIX E

UCRIHS APPROVAL LETTER

143

MICHIGAN STATE

 

U N , V E R S r r )7 Certification for
April 18, 2005 use (of an
approved public
To: Rosemary Walker (il‘QJlit‘iii fille

Room 3 Human Ecology
Re: Certification # PDOS—010

Title: Child Care Costs and Financial and Social Support Factors Related
to Ecomonic Well-being in Single Mother Families.

Thank you for submitting your certiﬁcation for the use of an approved
public data ﬁle. The University Committee on Research Involving Human
Subjects (UCRIHS) has received and accepted your certiﬁcation.

You may conduct this research project using the approved data ﬁle until its
completion without any further review from UCRIHS. If your project
expands to include human subjects or identiﬁable data from human
subjects you will have to submit a complete application to UCRIHS.

In the future, if you wish to conduct another project, not directly related to
this project, or use another approved data ﬁle not listed on this
certiﬁcation, please submit another certiﬁcation form. This will allow you
to continue your work without IRB review. In addition, the certiﬁcation
allows us to keep a total of all human research being performed and gives
credit to you and your department in any reports or statistics.

 

omega; Please use the certiﬁcation number listed above on any forms submitted
RESEARCH which relate to this project, or on any correspondence with UCRIHS.
ETHICS AND
STANDARDS Thank you for your cooperation and good luck with your research. If we
III-MM! mm a can be of further assistance, please contact us at 517-355-2180 or via

an: rah Involving .
"3,,“ “M email at ucRrHspgmsuedu,

MichiganStateUniversity ,
monster Sincerely,
East mm
”“7394 year/«Q

srmssmo
nix- 517/432-4503
Peter Vasilenko, PhD

mhmmchmsuedu UCRIHS Chair

E-Marl; uchnsuedu
V4: Sunwook Park

3040 Staten Ave. #11
Lansing, MI 48910

m1 bum-actim
WW War.

144

REFERENCES

145

REFERENCES

Abi-Habib, N., Saﬁr, A., & Triplett. T. (2004). NSAF Public Use File user ’s guide.
(Assessing the New Federalism 2002 Methodology Reports No. 11).
Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.

Anguiano, R. (1999). European American, Native American, Asian American, and
Latino parental involvement and their children 's high school completion,
college aspirations, and entrance into and working in the labor force.
Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Michigan State University, East Lansing,
Michigan.

Argyrous, G. (2000). Statistics for social and health research with a guide to SPSS.
London; Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE.

Argys, L., Peters, E., Brooks-Gunn, J ., & Smith, J. (1998). The impact of child
support on cognitive outcomes of young children. Demography, 35 (2), 159-
173.

Bartholomae, S. (2001). Financial stress and coping resources: A comparative
analysis of Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics. Unpublished doctoral dissertation,
Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.

Baum II, C. (2002). A dynamic analysis of the effect of child care costs on the work
decisions of low-income mothers with infants. Demography, 39(1), 139-164.

Bianchi, S. M. (1995). The changing demographic and socioeconomic characteristics
of single parent families. In S. M. H. Hanson, M. L. Heims, D. J. Julian, & M.
B. Sussman (Eds), Single parent families: Diversity, myths and realities.
Marriage & Family Review, 20 (1/2), 71-97.

Blank, R. M. (1988). Simultaneously modeling the supply of weeks and hours of
work among female household heads. Journal of Labor Economics, 6(2), 177-
204.

Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. Richardson Handbook of theory and
research for the sociology of education, New York: Macmillian.

Bradbury, K., & Katz, J. (2002). Women’s labor market involvement and family

income mobility when marriages end. New England Economic Review, 4, 41-
74.

146

Bubolz, M. M., & Sontag, M. S. (1993). Human ecology theory. In P.G. Boss, W.J.
Doherty, R. LaRossa, W.R. Schumm, & S.K. Steinmetz (Eds), Sourcebook of
family theories and methods: A contextual approach (pp. 419-450) New York:
Plenum Press.

Bubolz, M. M., Eicher, J. B., & Sontag, M. S. (1979). The human ecosystem: A
model. Journal of Home Economics, 71(1), 28-31.

Bump, P. H. (1996). Searching for a grounded theory of social capital: hearing the
voices of head start mothers in rural Michigan. Unpublished doctoral
dissertation, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.

Bumpass, L., & Raley, K. (1995). Redeﬁning single-parent families: Cohabitation and
changing family reality. Demography, 32 (1), 97-109.

Capizzano, J ., Adelman, S., & Stagner, M. (2002). What happens when the school
year is over? The use and costs of child care for school-age children during
the summer months. (Assessing the New Federalism Occasional paper No. 58).
Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.

Capizzano, J ., & Adams, G. (2003). Children in low-income families are less likely to
be in center-based child care. (Assessing the New Federalism, Snapshots of
America’s Families III No.16). Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.

Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American
Journal of Sociology, 94(Suppl.), 895-8120.

Connelly, R., & Kimmel, J. (2003a). Marital status and ﬁill-time/ part-time work
status in child care choices. Applied Economics, 35, 761-777.

Connelly, R., & Kimmel, J. (2003b). The effect of child care costs on the employment
and welfare recipiency of single mothers. Southern Economic Journal, 69(3),
498-519.

Converse, N., Saﬁr, A., Scheuren, F ., Steinbach, R., & Wang, K. (2001). 1999 NSAF
Public Use File data documentation. (Assessing the New Federalism 1999
Methodology Reports No. 11). Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.

DeNavas-Walt, C., Proctor, B., & Lee, C. (2005). Income, poverty, and health
insurance coverage in the United States: 2004. Current Population Reports

Series, P60-229. Washington, DC: US. Government Printing Ofﬁce.

Folbre, N. (2001). The invisible heart: Economics and Family Values. New York: The
New Press.

147

 

Folk, K. F., & Beller A. H. (1993). Part-time work and child care choices for mothers
of preschool children. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 55 (1), 146-157.

Giannarelli, L., & Barsimantov, J. (2000). Child care expenses of America ’s families
(Assessing the New Federalism Occasional Paper No. 40). Washington, DC:
The Urban Institute.

Giannarelli, L., Adelman, S., & Schmidt, S. (2003). Getting help with child care
expenses (Assessing the New Federalism Occasional Paper No. 62).
Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.

Griffore, R. & Phenice, L. (2001). The language of human ecology: A general
systems perspective. Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt Publishing.

Han, W., & Waldfogel, J. (2001). Child care costs and women’s employment: A
comparison of single and married mothers with pre-school-aged children.
Social Science Quarterly, 82(3). 552-568.

Hanson, S.M., Heims, M.L., Julian, D.J., & Sussman, MB. (1995). Single parent
families: Present and future perspectives. Marriage & Family Review, 20(1/2),
1-25.

Hao, L. (1995). How does a single mother choose kin and welfare support? Social
Science Research, 24 (1), 1-27.

Hao, L., & Brinton, M. C. (1997). Productive activities and support systems of single
mothers. The American Journal of Sociology, 102(5), 1305-1344.

Hofferth, S., & Wissoker, D. (1992). Price, Quality, and Income in child care choice.
The Journal of Human Resources, 27(1), 70-111.

Hogan, D. P., Hao, L. X., & Parish, W. L. (1990). Race, kin networks, and assistance
to mother-headed families, Social Forces, 68, 797-812.

Hunts, H. J ., & Avery, R. J. (1998). Relatives as child care givers: After hours support
for nontraditional workers. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 19(4),
315-341.

Ihinger-Tallman, M. (1995). Quality of life and well-being of single parent families:
Disparate voices or a long overdue chorus? In S. M. H. Hanson, M. L. Heims,
D. J. Julian, & M. B. Sussman (Eds.), Single parent families: Diversity, myths
and realities. Marriage & Family Review, 20 (3/4), 513-532.

148

J ayakody, R., Chatters, L. M., & Taylor, R. J. (1993). Family support to single and
married Aﬁican American mothers: The provision of ﬁnancial, emotional, and
child care assistance. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 55(2). 261-276.

Jung, M. (1996). F amily-centered practice with single-parent families. Families in
Society, 77(9), 583-590.

Kimmel, J. (1998). Child care costs as a barrier to employment for single and married
mothers. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 80(2), 287-299.

Kratzer, C. (1991). Perceived economic well-being of three cohorts of rural female
household ﬁnancial mangers. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Michigan
State University, East Lansing, Michigan.

Lewis-Beck, M. S. (1980). Applied regression: An introduction. Beverly Hills: Sage.

Lino, M. (1994). Income and spending patterns of single-mother families. Monthly
Labor Review, 11 7(5), 29-37.

Lino, M. (1995). The economics of single parenthood: Past research and future
directions. In S. M. H. Hanson, M. L. Heims, D. J. Julian, & M. B. Sussman
(Eds), Single parent families: Diversity, myths and realities. Marriage &
Family Review, 20 (1/2), 99-114.

Marshall, N. L., & Marx. F. (1991). The affordability of child care for the working
poor. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 72,
202-211.

Meszaros, R. (2001 ). Factors Inﬂuencing quality of parenting for head start single
parents. Unpublished master’s thesis, Michigan State University, East
Lansing, Michigan.

Meyers, M., Han, W., Waldfogel, J ., & Garﬁnkel, I. (2001). Child care in the wake of
welfare reform: The impact of government subsidies on the economic well-
being of single-mother families. Social Service Review, 75(1), 29-59.

Nestmann, F., & Hurrelmann, K. (Eds). (1994). Social networks and social support
in childhood and adolescence. New York: Walter de Guyter.

Pallant, Julie. (2005). SPSS survival manual: a step by step guide to data analysis
using SPSS for windows (version 12). Maidenhead, Berkshire. UK: Open

University Press.

Parish, W., Hao, L., & Hogan, D. (1991). Family support networks, welfare, and work
among young mothers. Journal of marriage and the family, 53(1), 203-215.

149

Putnam, R. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community.
New York: Simon and Schuster.

Sandfort, J. & Hill, M. (1996). Assisting young, unmarried mothers to become self-
sufﬁcient: The effects of different types of early economic support. Journal of
Marriage and the Family, 58, 311-326.

Schmid, A. (2002). Using motive to distinguish social capital from its outputs.
Journal of Economic Issues, 36 (3), 747-768.

Smith, K. (2002). Who’s minding the kids? Child care arrangements: Spring 1997.
Current Population Reports Series, P70-86. Washington, DC: US.
Government Printing Ofﬁce.

Snyder, K. & Adelman, S. (2004). The use of relative care while parents work:
ﬁndings from the 1999 National Survey of America ’5 Families. (Assessing the
New Federalism Discussion Papers 04-09). Washington, DC: The Urban
Institute.

Sonenstein, F ., Gates, G., Schmidt, S., & Bolshun, N. (2002). Primary child care
arrangements of employed parents: ﬁndings from the 1999 National Survey of
America ’5 Families. (Assessing the New Federalism Occasional Paper No.
59). Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.

Sorensen, E., & Zibman, C. (2000). Child support oﬂers some protection against
poverty. (Assessing the New Federalism Series B, No. B-10). Washington,
DC: The Urban Institute.

Teitler, J. O., Reichman, N. E., & Nepomnyaschy, L. (2004). Sources of support,
child care, and hardship among unwed mothers, 1999-2001. The Social
Service Review, 78(1), 125-148.

Tin, J. & Castro, C. (2004). Dynamics of economic well-being: program participation,
1996 to 1999 who gets assistance? Current Population Reports, P70-94.
Washington, DC: US. Census Bureau.

Urban Institute. (1999). National Survey of America ’s Families (NSAF) Public Use File,
1999 [Data ﬁle]. Available from National Survey of America’s Families Website,
http://www.urban.org/ Content/Research/Neerderalism/N SAF/ Overview/N S
AF Overview.htm

150

US. Bureau of the Census. (2005 a). Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2004-
2005 (124th edition), Washington, DC: US. Department of Commerce,
Economics and Statistical Administration.

US. Bureau of the Census. (2005 b). Poverty status, food stamp receipt, and public
assistance for children under 18 years by race, and Hispanic origin of the child
for all children: 2004. Retrieved November 1, 2005, from
http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam/cpsZ004.html

US. Bureau of the Census. (2005 c). Poverty Thresholds 2004. Retrieved January 28.
2005, from http://www.census.gov/hhes/poverty/threshld/thresh04.html

US. Bureau of the Census. (1971). Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1971
(92” edition). Retrieved October 10,2005, from
http://www2.census. gov/prod2/statcomp/documents/ 1971 -01 .pdf

Wijnberg, M. & Weinger, S. (1998). When dreams wither and resources fail: The
social-support systems of poor single mothers, Families in Society, 79(2),
212-219.

Woodhouse, S. (2001). The relationships between child care costs, maternal
employment and children ’s test scores. Unpublished doctoral dissertation,
University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California.

151

   

iiiiiiiiiiiiiii