Child Support Enforcement and Domestic Violence

1
Child Support Enforcement and Domestic Violence

• Angela Fertig
• Irwin Garfinkel
• Sara McLanahan

• Prepared for the Fragile Families Summer Data
  Workshop 2004

2
Question

• Does stricter child support enforcement increase
  domestic violence among non-cohabiting couples?

3
Selection Bias

• CSE also affects fertility and cohabitation
  decisions, e.g.
• If Ms incentive dominates, more non-cohabiting
  couples in strict CSE states
• In strict states, bigger and better pool of
  non-cohabiting Fs

not cohabiting
cohabiting
bad
Strict CSE
good
4
What makes Fragile Families ideal?

• Sample of non-cohabiting mothers from different
  states
• Rich set of variables
• Violence
• Child support (effect should differ by status)
• Welfare (effect should differ by status)
• Unique controls (like fathers jail time)
• Baseline father characteristics to control for
  selection into non-cohabiting sample (Like
  fathers commitment)

5
Sample

• All mothers at baseline 4898
• All mothers at follow-up 4365
• Married 1275
• Cohabiting 1264
• Not cohabiting 1800
• Non-cohabiting mothers who were romantic at
  baseline or follow-up 1120

6
PrevalenceViolence, Order, Welfare
7
MeansDemographic Controls
8
MeansMore controls
9
Selection ControlsFathers commitment
10
Results CSE increases violence
Seriously Hurt after the birth Seriously Hurt after the birth Hit/Slap after the birth Hit/Slap after the birth
CSE .004 (.003) .006 (.003) .008 (.004) .014 (.005)
selection controls X X
N 1090 1071 1071 1053