Low-income Women and Marriage Entry: Evidence for Qualitative Data

描述(申请人提供)：这项研究的重点是低收入单身母亲之间的联盟形成。我们的具体研究问题是：1)低收入单亲母亲如何做出组建联盟的决定，主要考虑的因素是什么？现任和前任工会的子女在这些决定中扮演什么角色？2)过渡到婚姻和同居结合后的“新”家庭是什么样子？这些“新”家庭类型对家庭动态(如家庭暴力、养育子女和养育子女)、经济和物质资源(如物质困难)和儿童福祉(如行为问题)有何影响？特别注意多配偶生育(即与多个伴侣生育子女)所产生的复杂家庭安排对联盟形成决定及其后果的影响。大多数低收入个人的婚姻过渡都涉及到现有的子女--共同子女、她的子女、他的子女，以及所有这三个孩子的组合。这种家庭复杂性的影响需要调查。为了调查这些问题，我们依靠嵌套设计，使用来自女性就业研究(WES)的小组调查数据和从WES受访者的子样本收集的定性数据。WES定性数据的分析是这一应用的基础。反过来，定性的发现有望为假说的发展提供信息，这些假说可以使用小组数据进行检验。从科学上讲，这项研究将产生关于工会形成及其对低收入个人影响的新假设和概念模型。在方法上，这项研究可以通过在研究低收入样本中的婚姻和同居时确定要纳入的概念来为未来的调查数据收集提供信息，并在衡量这些概念方面提供指导。这项研究的结果也将为婚姻促进计划和政策的设计和实施提供参考。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This research focuses on union formation among low-income single mothers. Our specific research questions are: 1) How do low-income single-mothers make decisions about union formation and what are the main factors considered? What role do children from current and former unions play in these decisions? and 2) What do "new" families look like after transitions into marital and cohabiting unions? What implications do these "new" family types have for family dynamics (e.g., domestic violence, parenting and step-parenting), economic and material resources (e.g., material hardship), and child well-being (e.g., behavior problems)? Particular attention is given to the implications of complex family arrangements resulting from multiple partner fertility (i.e., having children with more than one partner) for union formation decisions and its consequences. Most union transitions among low-income individuals involve existing children-joint children, her children, his children, and a mix of all three. The implications of this family complexity need investigation. To investigate these questions, we rely on a nested design using panel survey data from the Women's Employment Study (WES) and qualitative data gathered from a sub-sample of WES respondents. Analyses of the WES qualitative data serve as the basis for this application. In turn, qualitative findings are expected to inform hypotheses development that can be tested using the panel data. Scientifically, this research will result in the formulation of new hypotheses and conceptual models on union formation and its consequences for low income individuals. Methodologically, this research can inform future survey data collections by identifying concepts for inclusion when studying marriage and cohabitation among low-income samples and provide guidance in the measurement of these concepts. Results from this research will also inform the design and implementation of marriage promotion programs and policies.