Family Stability and Instability among Low-Income Hispanic Mothers with Young Children

Early experiences of young children in Latino families vary greatly from the experiences of children in white and black families. Family Stability and Instability Among Low-Income Hispanic Mothers with Young Children compares the experiences of low-income Latina mothers, both US and foreign-born, to their white and black counterparts using four rounds of quantitative data from the national "Fragile Families and Child Well-Being" survey. Key findings include evidence that low-income, foreign-born Hispanic mothers report more stable family life and lower levels of depression in the first five years after their child's birth than black, white or U.S.-born Latina mothers. However, levels of economic stress remain the same for all groups. Both foreign- and U.S.-born Latina mothers are also less likely to move in with a new romantic partner in the first five years of their child's life than white or black women. The authors conclude that, because foreign-born Latina mothers are more likely to be in a stable relationship at the time of their child's birth, efforts made on their behalf to increase family stability should account for those long-term relationships and focus on strategies to improve economic mobility. (The ILC Public Education Institute)

Download now or view online.