Doctoral Dissertation Research: Risk and Consequences of Parental AbsenceDoctoral

美国社会学中关于家庭结构的许多文献都集中在离婚或单亲母亲导致的父亲缺席的影响上。尽管这项研究成果丰硕，但研究的重点是核心家庭，而在很大程度上忽视了亲属和大家庭作为育儿参与者的作用。值得注意的例外主要是人种学研究，这些研究无法量化复杂的家庭结构对整个人口的影响。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后果，而不是像在美国那样，将离婚和单亲母亲作为父母缺席的主要原因，这些文献主要关注艾滋病孤儿。因此，美国和非洲的研究往往侧重于父母缺席的特定原因造成的特定家庭结构的负面后果。本论文以父母缺席为研究对象，考察儿童的父母缺席经历，父母缺席对子女健康和教育的影响，以及父母如何对子女的生活安排做出决策。研究人员使用坦桑尼亚人口监测调查的纵向数据，首次量化了儿童面临的父母缺席风险，分解了这种风险的各种来源，并确定了父母缺席对儿童福祉的影响。从原始的质量数据中，研究人员将研究家庭如何协商育儿安排，以回应处于父母缺席状态的孩子的需求。更广泛的影响这项研究的发现具有超越坦桑尼亚的影响。最近在撒哈拉以南非洲为父母缺勤的儿童提供制度化支助的努力把重点放在艾滋病孤儿身上，而将因其他原因导致父母缺勤的儿童排除在外。这种做法忽视了家庭安全网在照顾儿童方面的作用，因此政策收效甚微。这一结果与所有试图在挑战传统家庭形式的社会变革中改善儿童福利的国家有关。此外，亲属在坦桑尼亚的重要性可能表明，在美国的育儿实践中，大家庭成员的作用是理所当然的。最后，坦桑尼亚家庭的成功和不足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