Marital and Parental Relationship Quality and Educational Outcomes for Youth

Abstract

This research examines the effects of parental marital quality and the quality of the parent-child relationship on the educational progress of adolescents. Previous research indicates that family structure and economic capacity have significant effects on educational achievement and high school graduation rates. Few studies, however, examined the effects of the quality of the parental relationship on the educational outcomes of their children. This study is built on bioecological and social capital theories of human development suggesting that the capacity for child and youth development is enhanced when their primary relationships are supportive and provide them with social assets that encourage human capital development. The study uses data from the NLSY97, a nationally representative sample of adolescents who are being followed into adulthood. The findings indicate that family stability and living with two biological parents is a stronger predictor of high school graduation than parent marital quality and the quality of the parent-child relationship. But the data also indicate that parent marital quality and the quality of the parent-child relationship have a strong and positive effect on postsecondary education 249 access among those who do graduate from high school. These findings are interpreted in light of the contribution of relationship quality to further educational involvement and the implications this has for workforce development and successful labor force competition in a global economy.

Conceptual Framework for Marriage Education Programs for Stepfamily Couples with Considerations for Socioeconomic Context

“…These challenges arise in part from complex relationships with stepchildren, former partners, and halfand stepsiblings (Ganong & Coleman, 2004). Third, although children can do well in a variety of family forms, there is some evidence that living in a stepfamily is associated with greater risk for negative outcomes for children when compared with living in a nuclear family (Coleman, Ganong, & Fine, 2000;Ganong & Coleman, 2004;Orthner et al, 2009). This is evidenced more for children and youth in European American families .…”

The role of parents in young people’s education—a critical review of the causal evidence

“…The study suggests that children's capacity for development is enhanced by supportive family relationships that encourage human capital development (Orthner et al 2009), and that the quality of the parent-child relationship can have a strong and positive links with participation in postsecondary education among those who graduate from high school.…”

“…Many successive large scale, longitudinal studies tracking students from birth to adulthood, have shown a strong association between parental involvement and children's school outcomes across all age ranges (e.g. Bates 2009;Crosnoe et al 2010;Desforges with Abouchaar 2003;Gfellner et al 2008;Hango 2007;Orthner et al 2009). However, the associations are based on passive and post hoc datasets which are not suitable for establishing, rather than speculating on, causal mechanisms (Gorard 2013).…”

Essays on labour economics

“…Motivated by heightening standards for knowledge acquisition, Orthner et al (2009) posit that the family status and the quality of intra-household relationships are the most fundamental factors behind the educational progress and schooling outcomes of US adolescents.…”

“…While the intergenerational transmission of maternal gender role attitudes toward female labour force participation has received rather limited attention, the intergenerational transmission of human capital accumulation has been scrutinized (Azam and Bhatt, 2015;Blanden, 2013;Chevalier et al, 2013;Conway and Li, 2012;Del Bello et al, 2016;Fessler et al, 2012;Holmlund et al, 2011;Oreopoulos et al, 2003;Orthner et al, 2009;Schneebaum et al, 2015). Holmlund et al (2011) employ Swedish register data to demonstrate a link between the schooling of parents and their descendants due to unobserved genetic transmission, preferences or/and environmental influences.…”