Doctoral Dissertation Research: Risk and Consequences of Parental AbsenceDoctoral

美国社会学中关于家庭结构的大部分文献都集中在离婚或单身母亲导致的父亲缺失的影响上。尽管研究成果丰富且有力，但研究主要集中在核心家庭，而在很大程度上忽视了亲属和大家庭在抚养孩子方面的作用。值得注意的例外主要是无法量化复杂家庭结构对整个人口的影响的人种学研究。关于非洲家庭的人口统计文献同样关注与非双亲家庭结构相关的负面结果，而不是像美国那样将离婚和单身母亲作为父母缺失的主要原因，这些文献绝大多数关注艾滋病孤儿。因此，在美国和非洲进行的研究往往侧重于由于父母缺席的具体原因而造成的特定家庭结构的消极后果。本论文以父母的缺席为研究对象，考虑了孩子在父母缺席的情况下的经历，这种缺席如何影响孩子的健康和教育，以及父母如何对孩子的生活安排做出决定。研究人员利用来自坦桑尼亚人口监测调查的纵向数据，首次量化了儿童所面临的父母不在的风险，分解了这种风险的各种来源，并确定了父母不在对儿童健康的影响。根据原始的定性数据，研究人员将研究家庭如何协商儿童抚养安排，以应对父母缺席的儿童的需求。更广泛的影响这项研究的发现不仅对坦桑尼亚有影响。最近在撒哈拉以南非洲将对父母不在身边的儿童的支助制度化的努力集中在艾滋病孤儿身上，而排除了因其他原因父母不在身边的儿童。这种做法忽视了家庭安全网在照顾儿童方面的作用，因此政策的成效有限。面对挑战传统家庭形式的社会变化，这些结果对所有努力改善儿童福利的国家都有意义。此外，坦桑尼亚亲属关系的重要性可能表明，在美国，大家庭成员在抚养孩子方面的作用被视为理所当然。最后，坦桑尼亚家庭的成功和缺点可以为解决美国家庭面临的问题提供启示

SES-1302828Sara MclanahanLauren GaydoshPrinceton University Much of the literature on family structure in American sociology focuses on the effects of father absence as a result of divorce or single motherhood. While prolific and robust, the research has focused on the nuclear family and largely ignored the role of kin and extended family as participants in childrearing. The notable exceptions are primarily ethnographic studies that are unable to quantify the influence of complicated family structures on the population at large. The demographic literature on African families focuses similarly on the negative outcomes associated with non-two parent family structures Rather than focusing on divorce and single motherhood as the primary causes of parental absence as in the US, this literatures focuses overwhelmingly on AIDS orphanhood. The research in both the United States and Africa therefore tends to focus on the negative consequences of particular family structures resulting from specific causes of parental absence. This dissertation project investigates parental absence and considers children's experience with parental absence, how this absence influences children's health and education, and how parents make decisions about their children's living arrangements. The researchers are using longitudinal data from demographic surveillance surveys in Tanzania to provide the first quantification of the risk of parental absence to which children are exposed, to decompose the various sources of this risk, and identify the consequences of parental absence for children's wellbeing. Drawing from original qualitative data, the researchers will study how families negotiate childrearing arrangements in response to the needs of children exposed to parental absence. Broader ImpactsThe findings of this research have implications beyond Tanzania. Recent attempts to institutionalize support for children experiencing parental absence in sub-Saharan Africa have focused on AIDS orphans to the exclusion of children exposed to parental absence for other reasons. This approach ignores the role of familial safety nets in caring for children, and policies have consequently been of limited success. The results are relevant for all countries trying to improve the welfare of children in the face of social changes that challenge traditional family forms. In addition, the importance of kin in Tanzania may demonstrate the taken for granted role of extended family members in child rearing practices in the United States. Finally, the successes and shortcomings of the Tanzanian family can shed light on solutions to the problems faced by American families