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Family Structure and Children’s Economic Well-Being: Incorporating Same-Sex Cohabiting Mother Families

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Abstract

Research on family structure and child well-being rarely includes children in same-sex parent families, a notable omission since 28 % of female–female couple households contain children. Using the 2010–2013 pooled current population survey (CPS), we examined children’s economic well-being by family structure. These data were ideal for this study because they included a sizeable number of children in same-sex cohabiting mother families and the CPS measured both official and supplemental poverty, incorporating the cohabiting partner. Using the official poverty measure, children in same-sex cohabiting mother families were more likely to be poor than their counterparts in either different-sex cohabiting or married parent families. Using the supplemental poverty measure, children in same-sex mother families were no more likely to be poor than children in all other types of different-sex two-parent families.

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Correspondence to Susan L. Brown.

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Brown, S.L., Manning, W.D. & Payne, K.K. Family Structure and Children’s Economic Well-Being: Incorporating Same-Sex Cohabiting Mother Families. Popul Res Policy Rev 35, 1–21 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-015-9375-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-015-9375-8

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