Family Structure and Children's Economic Well-Being: Incorporating Same-Sex Cohabiting Mother Families

Susan L. Brown, Bowling Green State University
Krista Payne, Bowling Green State University

Research on family structure and child well-being rarely includes children in same sex parent families, a notable omission since 22% of lesbian couple households contain children. Using the 2010-2013 Current Population Survey, we examine children’s economic well-being by family structure. The pooled CPS data are ideal for this study because (1) they include a sizable number of children in same sex mother families , (2) all children in households are identifiable through parental pointers, and (3) the CPS measures official and social poverty, incorporating the cohabiting partner. The findings elucidate the importance of distinguishing same sex parent families in family structure research.