Child Gender and Family Behavior

描述（由申请人提供）：最近的研究表明，孩子的性别对广泛的家庭结果有重大影响。与有女儿的婚姻相比，有儿子的婚姻往往更稳定、更传统，表现出更多的父亲参与，对双方都产生更大的满足感。拟议工作的目的是通过检查对儿童性别的反应，提高我们对为人父母和家庭过程的理解。为此，我们将：(1)对儿童性别对美国家庭的广泛结果的影响进行全面的实证研究，(2)开发包含儿童性别的家庭行为理论模型，(3)生成可测试的假设，以区分家庭的其他模型并实施这些测试。这项工作的一个重点是儿童性别对未婚父母之间关系的影响。另一个是性别对父亲家庭教养和工作行为的影响。由于父亲的行为似乎对孩子的性别特别敏感，我们的研究结果将有助于阐明父亲在家庭中角色的本质。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Recent research has demonstrated that a child's gender has a significant impact on a wide range of family outcomes. Marriages with Sons tend to be more stable and traditional, exhibit greater father involvement, and generate greater satisfaction for both partners than marriages with daughters. The objective of the proposed work is to improve our understanding of parenthood and family processes by examining responses to child gender. To this end, we will: (1) conduct a comprehensive empirical study of the impact of child gender on a broad range of outcomes for U.S. families, (2) develop theoretical models of family behavior that incorporate child gender, and (3) generate testable hypotheses that distinguish among alternative models of the family and implement these tests. One focus of the work is the impact of child gender on the relationships between unmarried parents. Another is the effect of gender on fathers' family parenting and work behaviors. Since fathers' actions appear to be particularly sensitive to child gender, our results will help illuminate the nature of fathers' roles within the family. Our economic models incorporate differences in parental preferences towards, and differences in productivity in raising, boys and girls. Six data sets, including the PSID, NLSY79, Consumer Expenditure Survey, and the Fragile Families study, are used to address a set of specific research questions. These include: (1) the effect of child gender on the stability and quality of both marital and non-marital relationships and on the formation of new relationships; (2) the effect of gender on parental investments in marriage and family; (3) the relative well-being of mothers and fathers; and (4) the allocation of resources to children. Parental investments are reflected in expenditures on household public goods, measures of parental specialization, and indicators of dysfunctional behavior (such as parents' substance abuse). Detailed data on children's activities and environment capture various dimensions of parents' resource allocation.