DURATION IN PARENTAL STRUCTURES AND HIGH-SCHOOL GRADUATION

This article extends research on the effects of living in non-intact f amily types during childhood find adolescence on high school graduatio n. Data from the National Survey of Families and Households show that not only do ?rears spent in mother-only families have a negative effec t on high school graduation but so do years spent in mother-stepfather and father-stepmother families. In addition, living only with grandpa rents or other relatives has a negative effect as does living on own. These effects are additive so that the more years spent in nonintact f amilies, the lower the chances of graduating high school. The research also shows that the effects of years spent in nonintact families do n ot vary much by family type at birth, age at experience, gender or yea r of birth. However, years in mother-stepfather familes were negative for whiles but not for blacks.