Family Structure And Children’s Physical And Mental Health

Using the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health, this paper examines the physical and mental health of children by family structure. Children in step, single-mother, or grandparent-only families had poorer health than children living with two biological parents. Adjusting for demographic differences reduced observed disparities, although children living in single-mother or grandparent-only families still had poorer health than children living with two biological parents. Adjusted estimates showed that children in single-father families generally did as well as (for mental health) or better than (for physical health) children living with two biological parents.