Synonyms
Family structure
Definition
Family composition discusses the role of family structure (e. g. single parent, married couple, married couple parents, kin co‐residence); union formation (i. e. marriage, divorce and cohabitation); and marital quality on various health‐related outcomes.
Basic Characteristics
Family structure shapes the mental health, physical well-being and longevity of children, adolescents and adults. Major themes have typically been developed based on studies in industrialized countries. They address: 1) children's emotional and developmental well-being; 2) adolescent problem behaviors; and 3) the health and longevity of married couples.
Children's Emotional and Developmental Wellbeing
In both industrialized and industrializing nations, population‐representative surveys strongly associate non-marital childbearing with infant mortality , low birth weight, and delayed cognitive development. In industrialized...
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© 2008 Springer-Verlag
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Weden, M. (2008). Family Composition . In: Kirch, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Public Health. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5614-7_1116
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5614-7_1116
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-5613-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-5614-7
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