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Links |
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See Also: Examples of Research in the Social Sciences |
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McLanahan, Sara, and Larry Bumpass. 1988. "Intergenerational
Consequences of Family Disruption."
American Journal of Sociology 94: 130-152. |
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McLanahan & Bumpass (M & B) asked what factors contribute to / cause teen parenthood |
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M & B verified many other researchers findings that teenage girls
from single-parent homes
are more likely than other girls to have babies |
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The hypothesis M & B want to test is
Single parent homes are correlated w/ a higher rate of teen pregnancy Single parent homes :: Higher rate of teen pregnancy |
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But are single-parent homes the primary cause, or even a cause at all? |
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M & B speculated that there are other possible factors influencing
rates of teen pregnancy, such as:
income level & education |
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M & B used income as a control variable & found the following relationships |
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Low education :: Single parent homes :: Higher rate of teen pregnancy |
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Low education :: Two parent homes :: Higher rate of teen pregnancy |
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Middle education :: Single parent homes :: Middle rate of teen pregnancy |
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Middle education :: Two parent homes :: Middle rate of teen pregnancy |
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High education :: Single parent homes :: Lower rate of teen pregnancy |
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High education :: Two parent homes :: Lower rate of teen pregnancy |
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Holding Education constant at a low level, M & B found that
the rate of teen pregnancy was higher in both single & two parent families than in families w/ higher educational attainment rates |
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Holding Education constant at a high level, M & B found that
the rate of teen pregnancy was lower in both single & two parent families than in families w/ lower educational attainment rates |
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The correlation btwn Single Parent Homes & rates of Teen Pregnancy
is Spurious, that is,
there is an apparent, although false, association btwn two or more variables caused by some other variable |
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