Family Structure and Youths' Outcomes: Which Correlations are Causal?
利用美国1988年全国教育纵向调查数据，研究发现家庭结构（离婚或再婚）与青少年结果之间的相关性是因果性的，而非由家庭或青少年原有特征导致，且不存在性别差异。
Growing up in a family that lacks a biological father is correlated with a number of poor outcomes for youths. This study uses the National Educational Longitudinal Survey of 1988 (NELS) to examine the extent to which the apparent effects of divorce or remarriage are not causal, but are due to pre-existing problems or advantages of the family or youth. We find that the correlations between family structure and youth outcomes are causal: neither divorce nor remarriage appear to be related to pre-existing characteristics of the youth or family. Finally, unlike some previous research, we do not find gender differences in the effects of the presence of a father or stepfather.