The impact of family dissolution in adolescence on later educational outcomes

The purpose of this research project is to evaluate the impact of family dissolution during adolescence on the opportunity to attend college. This project utilizes the NELS 88 data, a nationally representative panel of eighth graders spanning the years 1988–1994. The data contain information on the respondent's living arrangements; socio-economic and demographic characteristics, parental education attainment, race, and family income; the respondent's educational history and achievement test scores; educational aspirations of the respondent; and parental time allocation.; This study compares educational choices and outcomes for two groups of students, those from Intact Families: Respondents who lived with both biological parents from 1988 to 1992, when they were seniors in high school, and those in Disrupted Families: Respondents who were living with both biological parents in 1988, but whose parents divorced or separated before 1992, the year students finished their senior year of high school.; The analysis controls for differences in family background, aspirations, and achievement test scores, measured at the 1988 interview and includes the changes in these variables during 1988–1992.; This study finds three main results. The first is that family structure plays a significant role in children's educational outcomes. The second is that imperfect capital markets are consistent with the cost of education being greater for disrupted families than for intact families. Finally, family environment accounts for children from intact families being more likely to continue to higher education than those from disrupted families.