The Effects of Integrated and Intentional Parenthood on Children

Abstract

This paper makes a case for an integrated family, and more specifically for the formal, legally recognized statuses of husband/wife and parent/child. Children do better both in the short and long term if they live with married parents and if they are biological or adopted children of these parents. Children are particularly affected by the stability and permanence of their relationships, although they are famously resilient. Under any circumstances, parental warmth affects children significantly and positively. One of the more dramatic ways to see the influence of parental relationships involves mixed race marriages because they tend to be of shorter duration. The mixed race case, where children do fine only so long as their parents stay together, reveals the importance of community as well as intentions of parents for children's outcomes. Community includes the formal community denoted by legal status, the family's religious community (especially important for African-American families), and the peer community, which particularly influences older children. Stable marriages may provide a kind of buffer for fathers, who on their own may prefer sons to daughters.