Child support and separation: effects on the parents and children
Lead Research Organisation:
Lancaster University
Department Name: Economics
Abstract
The project aims to provide a framework for thinking about how to evaluate the effects of a child support
(maintenance) system on, inter alia, housing arrangements of families, family welfare.
Research environment and strategy: The project fits with ESRC strategic priority on housing. The project fits with the
research environment and strategy Lancaster:
- The project will be located in Labour/Education group which is part HE@L (Health Economics at Lancaster)
and has a long track record of research on many aspects of household and individual behaviour.
- Economics dept hosts the UK Housing Observatory
- LUMS hosts the Centre for Family Business Research Centre
- The project will help create momentum for the founding of a "Future of Families" program at the LU Institute
for Social Futures.
(maintenance) system on, inter alia, housing arrangements of families, family welfare.
Research environment and strategy: The project fits with ESRC strategic priority on housing. The project fits with the
research environment and strategy Lancaster:
- The project will be located in Labour/Education group which is part HE@L (Health Economics at Lancaster)
and has a long track record of research on many aspects of household and individual behaviour.
- Economics dept hosts the UK Housing Observatory
- LUMS hosts the Centre for Family Business Research Centre
- The project will help create momentum for the founding of a "Future of Families" program at the LU Institute
for Social Futures.
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ES/P000665/1 | 01/10/2017 | 30/09/2027 | |||
| 1892659 | Studentship | ES/P000665/1 | 01/10/2017 | 30/06/2021 | Charlotte Edney |
| Description | Research on separated families is limited, often due to the low incidence of separated parents in the population. Using a large representative dataset, the findings suggest that child maintenance, a transfer payment made to the resident parent by the non-resident parent, can help to reduce conduct problems and improve sociability in boys aged 10-15. Interestingly girls the same ages see no benefit in terms of these outcomes. The importance of this finding is not to be underestimated as studies suggest that conduct problems in youths translate to worse later life outcomes such as a higher probability of unemployment (Knapp et al. 2011). Other dimensions of youths behaviour and sociability such as emotional symptoms, hyperactivity/inattention and peer relationships are unaffected by the receipt of child maintenance. |
| Exploitation Route | This finding has several potential policy implications surrounding both the enforcement of child maintenance and the UK scheme more generally. The code used to put together the dataset can be made available to other researchers working in this area and the work can be extended to look at other important outcomes. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy |