Unconditional cash transfers and mental health symptoms among parents with low incomes: Evidence from the 2021 child tax credit.

The COVID-19 pandemic increased anxiety and depression in the U.S. population, particularly among low-income households, parents, and Black and Hispanic adults. To address the negative impacts of the pandemic, Congress temporarily expanded the Child Tax Credit (CTC) in 2021, providing a near-universal, unconditional cash transfer to families with children. Using a quasi-experimental, parameterized difference-in-differences research design, we examine the effects of the 2021 monthly CTC on symptoms of anxiety and depression in a large, national sample of parents with low incomes (N∼15,000). We study potential differences in the associations by race/ethnicity and consider whether CTC effects were stronger after a longer treatment period (for instance, due to greater dosage or delayed effects). We find some evidence that the monthly credit reduced parental anxiety and depression symptoms, although the results were not robust throughout all model specifications. Analyses stratified by race/ethnicity show stronger associations for non-Hispanic Black parents than for non-Hispanic White parents or Hispanic parents, although differences were small. We also find the credit reduced anxiety (but not depression) symptoms after three months of payments, suggesting that it took some time for the CTC to affect mental health symptoms. Overall, this study suggests that recurring cash transfers to families in poverty in the U.S. may have small beneficial effects on parental mental health.

Abortion Policy in the United States: The New Legal Landscape and Its Threats to Health and Socioeconomic Well-Being.

Policy Points The historic 2022 Supreme Court Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization decision has created a new public policy landscape in the United States that will restrict access to legal and safe abortion for a significant proportion of the population. Policies restricting access to abortion bring with them significant threats and harms to health by delaying or denying essential evidence-based medical care and increasing the risks for adverse maternal and infant outcomes, including death. Restrictive abortion policies will increase the number of children born into and living in poverty, increase the number of families experiencing serious financial instability and hardship, increase racial inequities in socioeconomic security, and put significant additional pressure on under-resourced social welfare systems.

The Effect of EITC Exposure in Childhood on Marriage and Early Childbearing.

Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, this study analyzes the effect of exposure to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in childhood on marriage and childbearing in early adulthood. Results suggest that EITC exposure in childhood leads women to delay marriage and first births in early adulthood (ages 16-25), but has no effect on men. A $1,000 increase in EITC exposure in childhood leads to a 2%-3% decline in a woman's likelihood of having a first birth and a comparable decline in her likelihood of marrying by her early 20s. We find similar reductions in fertility among Black and White women, though marriage declines are concentrated among White women. Results are focused on children growing up in the bottom half of the income distribution and those who spent the majority of childhood residing with a single parent-two groups that are the primary beneficiaries of the EITC. These findings have important implications for the well-being of individuals exposed to the EITC in childhood, as well as their future children.

The Effect of the Earned Income Tax Credit on Housing and Living Arrangements.

As rents have risen and wages have not kept pace, housing affordability in the United States has declined over the last 15 years, impacting the housing and living arrangements of low-income families. Housing subsidies improve the housing situations of low-income families, but less than one in four eligible families receive a voucher. In this article, we analyze whether one of the largest anti-poverty programs in the United States-the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)-affects the housing (eviction, homelessness, and affordability) and living arrangements (doubling up, number of people in the household, and crowding) of low-income families. Using the Current Population Survey, the American Community Survey/decennial census, and the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we employ a parameterized difference-in-differences strategy to examine whether policy-induced expansions to the EITC affect the housing and living arrangements of single mothers. Results suggest that a $1,000 increase in the EITC improves housing by reducing housing cost burdens, but it has no effect on eviction or homelessness. Increases in the EITC also reduce doubling up (living with additional, nonnuclear family adults)-in particular, doubling up in someone else's home-and reduce three-generation/multigenerational coresidence, suggesting that mothers have a preference to live independently. We find weak evidence for a reduction in overall household size, yet the EITC does reduce household crowding. Although the EITC is not an explicit housing policy, expansions to the EITC are generally linked with improved housing outcomes for single mothers and their children.

Cross-National Comparisons of Union Stability in Cohabiting and Married Families With Children.

Increases in cohabitation, nonmarital childbearing, and partnership dissolution have reshaped the family landscape in most Western countries. The United States shares many features of family change common elsewhere, although it is exceptional in its high degree of union instability. In this study, we use the Harmonized Histories to provide a rich, descriptive account of union instability among couples who have had a child together in the United States and several European countries. First, we compare within-country differences between cohabiting and married parents in education, prior family experiences, and age at first birth. Second, we estimate differences in the stability of cohabiting and married parents, paying attention to transitions into marriage among those cohabiting at birth. Finally, we explore the implications of differences in parents' characteristics for union instability and the magnitude of social class differences in union instability across countries. Although similar factors are associated with union instability across countries, some (prior childbearing, early childbearing) are by far more common in the United States, accounting in part for higher shares separating. The factors associated with union instability-lower education, prior childbearing, early childbearing-also tend to be more tightly packaged in the United States than elsewhere, suggesting greater inequality in resources for children.

Transitions From Sexual Relationships Into Cohabitation and Beyond.

Much research on cohabitation has focused on transitions from cohabitation to marriage or dissolution, but less is known about how rapidly women progress into cohabitation, what factors are associated with the tempo to shared living, and whether the timing into cohabitation is associated with subsequent marital transitions. We use data from the 2006-2013 National Survey of Family Growth to answer these questions among women whose most recent sexual relationship began within 10 years of the interview. Life table results indicate that transitions into cohabitation are most common early in sexual relationships; nearly one-quarter of women had begun cohabiting within six months of becoming sexually involved. Multivariate analyses reveal important social class disparities in the timing to cohabitation. Not only are women from more-advantaged backgrounds significantly less likely to cohabit, but those who do cohabit enter shared living at significantly slower tempos than women whose mothers lacked a college degree. In addition, among sexual relationships that transitioned into cohabiting unions, college-educated women were significantly more likely to transition into marriage than less-educated women. Finally, although the tempo effect is only weakly significant, women who moved in within the first year of their sexual relationship demonstrated lower odds of marrying than did women who deferred cohabiting for over a year. Relationship processes are diverging by social class, contributing to inequality between more- and less-advantaged young adults.

The missing women in STEM? Assessing gender differentials in the factors associated with transition to first jobs.

Women remain underrepresented in the STEM workforce. We assess explanations for women's underrepresentation in STEM jobs, focusing on a cohort that came of age in the 1980s and 1990s, when women dramatically increased their representation in the scientific labor force. Data are from the NLSY79, and our analysis focuses on members of this cohort who received a college degree, with an emphasis on those who completed a degree in a STEM field. Our analyses test the extent to which college major, expectations to work in STEM, and family expectations shaped transitions into STEM occupations within two years of degree completion. Among those majoring in STEM fields there were no gender differences in transitioning into STEM jobs, though there were sizable differences in transitions to STEM employment by field of study. Of note are gender differences in associations between family expectations and transitions into STEM employment. The most career oriented women, who expected to marry late and limit fertility, were no more likely to enter STEM jobs than were women who anticipated marrying young and having two or more children. The men most likely to enter STEM occupations, in contrast, adhered to significantly more conventional gender ideologies than their female counterparts, expecting to marry at younger ages but also to remain childless. Results of our regression decomposition indicated that marriage and family expectations and gender ideology worked in opposite directions for men and women. Nonetheless, the majority of the gender disparity in transitions into STEM jobs was related to women's underrepresentation in engineering and computer science fields of study.

Change in the Stability of Marital and Cohabiting Unions Following the Birth of a Child.

The share of births to cohabiting couples has increased dramatically in recent decades. How we evaluate the implications of these increases depends critically on change in the stability of cohabiting families. This study examines change over time in the stability of U.S. couples who have a child together, drawing on data from the 1995 and 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). We parse out the extent to which change in the stability of cohabiting and married families reflects change in couples' behavior versus shifts in the characteristics of those who cohabit, carefully accounting for trajectories of cohabitation and marriage around the couple's first birth. Multivariate event history models provide evidence of a weakening association between cohabitation and instability given that marriage occurs at some point before or after the couple's first birth. The more recent data show statistically indistinguishable separation risks for couples who have a birth in marriage without ever cohabiting, those who cohabit and then have a birth in marriage, and those who have a birth in cohabitation and then marry. Cohabiting unions with children are significantly less stable when de-coupled from marriage, although the parents in this group also differ most from others on observed (and likely, unobserved) characteristics.

Fertility patterns of college graduates by field of study, US women born 1960-79.

Building on recent European studies, we used the Survey of Income and Program Participation to provide the first analysis of fertility differences between groups of US college graduates by their undergraduate field of study. We used multilevel event-history models to investigate possible institutional and selection mechanisms linking field of study to delayed fertility and childlessness. The results are consistent with those found for Europe in showing an overall difference of 10 percentage points between levels of childlessness across fields, with the lowest levels occurring for women in health and education, intermediate levels for women in science and technology, and the highest levels for women in arts and social sciences. The mediating roles of the following field characteristics were assessed: motherhood employment penalties; percentage of men; family attitudes; and marriage patterns. Childlessness was higher among women in fields with a moderate representation of men, less traditional family attitudes, and late age at first marriage.

What's So Special about STEM? A Comparison of Women's Retention in STEM and Professional Occupations.

We follow female college graduates in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and compare the trajectories of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related occupations to other professional occupations. Results show that women in STEM occupations are significantly more likely to leave their occupational field than professional women, especially early in their career, while few women in either group leave jobs to exit the labor force. Family factors cannot account for the differential loss of STEM workers compared to other professional workers. Few differences in job characteristics emerge either, so these cannot account for the disproportionate loss of STEM workers. What does emerge is that investments and job rewards that generally stimulate field commitment, such as advanced training and high job satisfaction, fail to build commitment among women in STEM.

Associations between common variation in the aromatase gene promoter region and testosterone concentrations in two young female populations.

We recently reported association between a coding-region single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP50) in the aromatase gene that encodes a key enzyme in testosterone metabolism, with risk for the development of precocious pubarche and circulating testosterone concentrations in two independent female populations. We have now explored further association with variation in the promoter-region of the aromatase gene. We genotyped six promoter-region haplotype-tag SNPs in young women from Oxford, UK (n = 109), and in girls with precocious pubarche (n = 186) and controls (n = 71) from Barcelona, Spain. Aromatase distal promoter-region variation was associated with plasma testosterone concentrations in both Oxford (r(2) = 18.3%, p = 0.01) and Barcelona (r(2) = 8.5%, p = 0.03) females. These associations were independent of SNP50, but appeared to be dependent on different SNPs in Oxford (r(2) = 13.7%, p = 0.006 with SNPs 11 (p = 0.009), 28 (p = 0.02) and 39 (p = 0.06)) and Barcelona (r(2) = 5.9%, p = 0.002 with SNP43 (p = 0.002)) populations. Aromatase distal promoter-region variation was also associated with PCOS symptom score in Oxford women (r(2) = 14.5%, p = 0.048), but, unlike SNP50, was not associated with precocious pubarche risk in Barcelona girls. In conclusion, aromatase distal promoter-region variation appears to have functional consequences for plasma testosterone concentrations in females. The variable associations with androgen-related clinical features could possibly reflect the tissue-specific promoters of the aromatase gene.

The physical, developmental, and mental health needs of young children in child welfare by initial placement type.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends comprehensive assessments for children entering foster care. These children may be placed with biological parents, kin, or in nonrelative foster care. It is not known whether health-related needs differ by placement. Chart abstractions were conducted of child welfare and medical records of 1542 children, ages 3 months to 5 years 11 months, admitted to San Diego's sole emergency shelter/receiving facility from April 1, 1998, through June 30, 1999, for investigation of alleged maltreatment. Children were discharged to three placement types: biological parents (28.5%), kinship caregivers (28.4%), or nonrelative foster parents (43.1%). Overall, 86.7% of children studied demonstrated physical, developmental, or mental health needs, with more than half displaying two or more problems. More than half of the children had a "Suspect" score on the Denver-II; 70.3% of children with "Suspect" scores were found to have delay on a developmental evaluation. Almost one tenth of the sample were diagnosed with one or more mental health conditions. Few differences were found for physical, developmental, or mental health concerns by placement. Results suggest that young children placed with biological parents or in kinship care have similar needs to those of children placed with foster parents. This study confirms the importance of comprehensive assessments for young children removed from their homes, regardless of placement. It also illustrates a need for standardized assessment criteria, particularly for developmental and mental health status, and for collaborative care models for all young children entering the child welfare system, regardless of their placement following investigation.

Polycystic ovary syndrome in adolescence and early adulthood.

Polycystic ovaries and the associated syndrome are recognized as the most common cause of endocrine disturbances in adult women, but much less research has been performed to examine how polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) presents in girls and young women. Polycystic ovaries have been demonstrated in childhood, and there is evidence to show that even very young women may show symptoms and signs of the associated syndrome. Closer examination of younger populations (less-than-or-eq, slant 25 years of age), and in particular, studies of girls during the transition from puberty into early adulthood (adolescence), may provide new insights into the pathogenesis and natural history of polycystic ovaries and PCOS, and may indicate whether polycystic ovaries could potentially be considered as a marker for health screening. Consideration should be given to the management of girls and young women with polycystic ovaries and PCOS as this group may have different needs and health risks compared with older women.