Frank F. Furstenberg

Social Capital and Successful Development among At-Risk Youth.

Social scientists have been slow to appreciate the great diversity among the poor. Until quite recently, researchers have devoted more attention to examining patterns of persistent poverty than to understanding how individuals and families maneuver their way out of economic disadvantage (for exceptions, see Clark, 1983; Kellam, Ensminger, & Turner, 1977; Williams Kornblum, 1985). Evidence about mobility patterns among the poor provides a perfect analogy to the half-empty/half-full glass. Of individuals who begin life in poverty, at least as many manage to improve their circumstances as remain persistently impoverished (Duncan, Hill, & Hoffman, 1988). Yet relatively little is known about how and why some of the disadvantaged eventually escape while others remain entrapped in poverty. As researchers from different disciplines have begun to tackle this problem, they have, not surprisingly, each featured explanations congenial to their distinctive ways of looking at the world. Economists stress the importance of financial and human capital, highlighting how individuals invest time and money to improve their long-term position in the labor force (Palmer, Smeeding, & Torrey, 1988). Psychologists point out the importance of individual traits such as competence and self-efficacy, both of which are linked to upward mobility (Bandura, 1989; Garmezy, 1985; Rutter & Madge, 1976; Werner & Smith, 1982). Sociologists, for their part, underscore the importance of institutional resources and social networks in the communities where poor people reside (Granovetter, 1973; Wellman 8t Wortley, 1990). Of course, in reality these different sorts of mechanisms often operate in tandem. Perhaps the most interesting question, then, is how these various sources of differentiation among the poor are packaged together. Answering the question of how id why certain types of individuals locate and use resources that are often in short supply within their local environments to improve their own prospects, or the long-term prospects of their children, involves integrating the different disciplinary perspectives. This article draws on data from a longitudinal study of teenage mothers and their children to investigate sources of differentiation on several indicators of young adult success. In particular, we explore the role of social capital, a concept developed by Coleman (1988) that to some extent bridges the disciplinary gaps described above. Our goal is to determine whether successful outcomes among our sample of disadvantaged youth are related to measures of both family-based and community-based social capital. SOCIAL CAPITAL AND YOUTH DEVELOPMENT The process of investment in the economic, psychological, and social resources believed to be associated with upward mobility begins early in life and typically takes place within the family. Parents, in addition to utilizing their financial resources, cultivate and promote individual competencies in their children; with varying degrees of effectiveness, these same parents seek opportunities in the environment and attempt to shelter their children from dangers. Thus, the family represents a point of common interest to social scientists seeking to understand why and how certain children are able to escape the powerful disadvantage of growing up poor. Coleman (1988) employed the term social capital to designate the complex and variegated social mechanisms that parents garner to advance their childrens chances of success. Colemans description of social capital is quite broad and overlaps with some of the specific theoretical constructs and processes identified by developmental psychologists attempting to explain the successful adaptation of children at risk of long-term disadvantage (see, e.g., Garmezy & Rutter, 1983). Colemans ideas also echo the approach to studying development formulated by Bronfenbrenner and his students (e.g., Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Garbarino, 1992; Steinberg, Dornbusch, & Brown, 1992). …

The Life Course of Children of Divorce: Marital Disruption and Parental Contact.

In a preliminary analysis of data from a nationally representative sample of U.S. children aged 11 to 16 in 1981, the authors examine (1) the incidence of marital disruption in childrens lives; (2) the type of living arrangements children experience following a disruption; and (3) the amount of contact children maintain with the outside parent. The analysis reveals large racial differences in both the incidence and aftermath of disruption. Blacks were one-and-a-half times as likely as whites to have undergone a disruption by early adolescence; within five years of a disruption, however, only one out of eight black children, compared with four out of seven white children, were in a stepfamily. Frequent contact with the outside parent (an average of at least once a weekfor the past year) occurred in only 17 percent of the disrupted families irrespective of race. Provision of child support, residential propinquity of the outside parent, and the length of time since separation occurred were the most important factors in accounting for amount of contact between the outside parent and the child.

Reevaluating the costs of teenage childbearing.

household income and mothers education, to 0.16 in Table 4 which include these two important household-level covariates. This finding is consistent with our results in the gamma models. Furthermore, the z-score for 1f1 (the probability that a family belongs to the first group) is reduced from 1.76 to 1.34 when family income and mothers education are added, an indication of the uncertainty about the two-group division. This finding also is consistent with our results in the gamma models.Teenage childbearing in the United States has long been regarded as an important social problem with substantial costs to teen mothers and their children. Recently, however, several researchers have argued that the apparent negative effects of teenage childbearing primarily reflect unmeasured family background rather than the true consequences of a teen birth. To distinguish the effect of teen childbearing from that of family background, we use data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and compare teen mothers with their sisters. We find that accounting for unobserved family background reduces, but does not eliminate, the estimated consequences of early childbearing. Statistically significant and quantitatively important effects of teen parenthood remain for high school graduation, family size, and economic well-being.

Parenting Apart: Patterns of Childrearing After Marital Disruption.

Divorce and remarriage have become prominent features of American life. Today many parents divide their attention and resources among 2 or more families and children frequently grow up with multiple parents. Using a nationally representative household sample or children this study describes relations among parents steoparents and children after separation and divorce. Results suggest that most children have little contact with their nonresident parents and what contact there is tends to be social rather than instrumental. Most children who see their parents on a more or less regular basis do not complain about the amount of love or attention they receive. The data do not seem to support the speculations of a number of researchers and clinicians that stepfamily life is frequently affliated with problems created by the presence of a multitude of parents. The significance of biological parenthood may be waning in response to the emerging pattern of conjugal succession. Biological ties to children seem to count for less sociological ties or more. Like marriage childbearing and childbearing are processes that have become dictated less by constraint and obligation and determined more by voluntary participation. (authors modified)

Social Change and Transitions to Adulthood in Historical Perspective.

*John Modell is Associate Professor of History, University of Minnesota, and Research Associate, Philadelphia Social History Project. Frank F. Furstenberg, Jr. is Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania. Theodore Hershberg is Associate Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania, and Director, Philadelphia Social History Project. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association in San Francisco, August, 1975. Rules can be found in every society governing the passage to adulthood. In some

The children of adolescent mothers: Physical, academic, and psychological outcomes.

Abstract Teenage parenthood is believed to cause special problems for both the young mother and her children. In this review, individual differences in the expression of parenting by different-aged mothers are explored in light of two questions: How do parenting practices originate, and how do parental practices affect the young childs social, physical, and cognitive development? Approaches to the study of teenage pregnancy are considered. Then, the prevalence of teenage pregnancy is explored. Next, research on teenage parenting practices, on the likely antecedents of parenting practices, and on outcomes of teenage motherhood for the child is reviewed. Finally, problems in methodology and with the interpretation of findings about teenage parenting are discussed. Social and economic disadvantages and teenage parenting often cooccur; most studies have not separated out the relative effects of the two, making interpretation of the outcomes of teenage parenting difficult. In addition, most studies focus on the prototypic teenage mother (black, urban, poor, unmarried), making generalizations to other groups difficult. The major outcome findings may be summarized as follows. First, intellectual differences in children born to teenage and older childbearers become more pronounced as children develop. Small differences are seen in studies in the preschool years and larger differences are found by the elementary school years. Adolescents of early childbearers are not doing as well in school as adolescents of older childbearers. Second, behavior differences as a function of age of childbearing are more likely to be seen in the early years than intellectual differences. Problems appear in activity levels, hostility, and undercontrol of behavior. Third, boys are more affected by teenage childbearing than are girls, at least in the early years.

Paternal involvement with adolescents in intact families: The influence of fathers over the life course

We measure the quality and quantity of fathers’ involvement with adolescent children in intact families over time using longitudinal data from The National Survey of Children. We examine differentials in fathers’ involvement by children’s and family characteristics and model the long-term effects of fathers’ involvement on children’s outcomes in the transition to adulthood. Fathers are more involved with sons than with daughters and they disengage from adolescents with increasing marital conflict. We find beneficial effects for children of father’s involvement in three domains: educational and economic attainment, delinquent behavior, and psychological well-being. The course of affective relations throughout adolescence also has a beneficial effect on delinquent behavior and psychological well-being.

Paternal Participation and Children's Well-being after Marital Dissolution

Using a nationally representative sample from the National Survey of Children of 227 children in the US aged 11-16 who had experienced their parents marital dissolution this paper examines whether children generally fare better when their noncustodial father maintains an active presence in their lives. For measures of academic difficulty problem behavior and psychological distress there is little evidence that paternal involvement had either harmful or beneficial effects. Paternal economic support reduced somewhat the likelihood of problem behavior. The general absence of effects of paternal participation on childrens well-being is surprising in view of the widespread belief that children benefit from maintaining contact with their fathers. In addition the effects of fathers participation did not depend on the sex of the child or the presence of a stepfather. There are several possible explanations for these negative results. The relatively crude measures of well-being may not reveal subtle differences which are detectable using clinical or observational techniques. Closeness to the mother however is related to measures of well-being.

How marital dissolution affects children: variations by age and sex

Etude examinant les effets du divorce des parents sur plusieurs mesures du bien-etre de 1197 enfants (problemes comportementaux et psychologiques, performances scolaires)

The new American grandparent : a place in the family, a life apart

Novel compounds are disclosed which release a silver halide solvent in the presence of alkali, which compounds may be defined as quinone-or naphthoquinone-methide precursors containing the silver halide solvent moiety. These novel compounds are useful in photographic products and processes.