Department of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Martin School of Public Policy and Administration, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
Demography. 2023 Feb 1;60(1):41-72. doi: 10.1215/00703370-10424403.
Unpartnered mothers rely on formal and informal income sources to support their coresident minor children. Building on work focusing on selective populations and shorter time horizons, we describe the family income sources on which U.S. women and their minor children rely for up to 17 years following an unpartnered birth or union dissolution (Panel Study of Income Dynamics 2001-2017; N = 12,369 person-year records from 3,148 children). Using rich description and fixed-effect models, we treat family income as dynamic, mapping change in the share and amount of family income from multiple sources as children age and women gain employment experience; enter new unions; experience changes in eligibility for public support programs; and receive contributions from kin, friends, and other household members. A patchwork of income sources is the norm throughout childhood, with mothers' earnings nearly universal but insufficient as a sole source of family income. Maternal repartnering increases family income through new partner earnings but is accompanied by offsetting reductions in other income sources, particularly from outside the household. In the context of weak institutional support for U.S. families, families with nonresident fathers rely on a complex mix of income sources to make ends meet.
单身母亲依靠正式和非正式的收入来源来抚养同住的未成年子女。本研究基于针对特定人群和短期时间范围的工作，描述了美国女性及其未成年子女在未婚生育或婚姻破裂后长达 17 年的家庭收入来源（收入动态面板研究，2001-2017 年；来自 3148 名儿童的 12369 个人-年记录）。我们使用丰富的描述和固定效应模型，将家庭收入视为动态的，随着孩子的成长和女性获得就业经验，以及进入新的婚姻、享受公共支持计划资格的变化、从亲属、朋友和其他家庭成员那里获得的收入，来描绘多种来源的家庭收入份额和数量的变化。在整个童年时期，收入来源都是多样化的，母亲的收入几乎是普遍的，但作为家庭收入的唯一来源是不够的。母亲的再婚通过新伴侣的收入增加了家庭收入，但伴随着其他收入来源的抵消性减少，特别是来自家庭之外的收入。在美国家庭制度支持薄弱的背景下，有非居民父亲的家庭依靠复杂的收入来源组合来维持生计。
