Single Motherhood and Children's Health

Abstract
This analysis employs the recently released Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (Hispanic HANES) and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey II (NHANES) to determine the effect of a mother''s marital status on her report of her child''s health for Mexican-American, black, and non-Hispanic white children aged six months to 11 years. The results reveal that single mothers report poorer overall physical health for their children than do mothers in intact marriages. Analysis of a matched sample of Mexican-American children and their mothers revealed that, net of physician''s assessment of the child''s health, a mother''s depression score is among the most significant predictors of her assessment of her child''s health.

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