Children in households that receive federal rental assistance are healthier and miss less school due to illness than those whose households are waiting for help, new research demonstrates.1 However, up to 75% of renters who need federal housing assistance—including public housing or rental vouchers—don’t receive it, data show. Most households that get assistance have incomes…
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As Mother’s Day 2020 fast approaches, the coronavirus pandemic—coupled with ongoing demographic trends—is making family life even more complicated for Americans. Millions of families are at increased risk of falling into poverty due to pandemic-related job losses, and social distancing protocols are separating some children from their parents who live in a different household. American…
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Scientists have long debated the importance of nature versus nurture—genes versus the environment—in shaping the choices people make and the paths their lives take. Two decades of research make it increasingly clear that both nature and nurture always play a role—that is, the extent to which genetic factors affect behavior depends on the social environment…
Read MoreThe percentage of U.S. adults who smoke has fallen dramatically during the past 50 years, from 42 percent in 1965 to just 15 percent in 2015.1 Despite this decline, roughly one in five U.S. deaths is due to tobacco-related disease, making it the nation’s top cause of preventable disease and death.
Read MoreNew studies add to the growing body of research on the toll U.S. mass incarceration is taking on prisoner’s children and families. Three recent articles in the journal Demography document the spillover effects of the prison boom on family poverty, couples’ relationship stability, and child well-being.
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U.S. children of incarcerated parents are an extremely vulnerable group, and much more likely to have behavioral problems and physical and mental health conditions than their peers, reports Kristin Turney, a University of California-Irvine sociologist. “We know that poor people and racial minorities are incarcerated at higher rates than the rest of the population,” she…
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