Imputation of Single Custodial Mother Status

If the single mother is not identified as a custodial mother through the child support or health insurance variables, TRIM3 determines whether or not there is a possible cohabiting father -- a man in the household who might be the father of one or more of the children. Unfortunately, the CPS does not indicate whether a cohabiting male is the father of a single mother's children, so this is imputed using data from the 1998 CPS-CSS.

The methodology for identifying possible cohabiting fathers varies by whether the single mother is the household reference person, or a related or unrelated subfamily member.

In the discussion below, a "single man" is defined as a man who is never-married, divorced, widowed, or separated.

If the single mother is the household reference person, there is a possible cohabiting father if:

• There is a man present who is identified as the unmarried partner of the household reference person (ExpandedRelationship=13 or 14) OR;
• There is a single man, no more than 9 years older or 9 years younger than the single mother, who is an unrelated individual or unrelated subfamily head (DetailedHhFamilyRelation=46, 50, or 51).

Else, if the single mother is not the household reference person, there is a possible cohabiting father if:

• There is a single man, no more than 9 years older or 9 years younger than the single mother, who is an unrelated individual or unrelated subfamily head (DetailedHhFamilyRelation=46, 50, or 51) AND WHO IS NOT the unmarried partner of the household reference person (is not ExpandedRelationship=13 or 14).

Note that a single man who is the household reference person is not considered a potential cohabiting father. Given the way family relationships are reported on the CPS, all children of the household reference person are reported as the household reference person's children. So, if a household contains a male household reference person and an unrelated subfamily containing a single mother and her children, it is unlikely that the children are the children of the household reference person. If they had been his children, they would have been reported as members of his own family, and the single mother would have been identified as an unrelated individual. This is born out in tabulations of the 1998 CPS-CSS, where single mothers who are unmarried partners of the household reference person appear no less likely to be a "custodial mother" than single mothers who do not have a partner.

Divorced and Separated Mothers without Possible Cohabiting Father

If the single mother is divorced or separated and does not live with a man who might be the father of her children, then she is randomly assigned custodial parent status based on the probabilities entered through program rule ProbDivSepCustMom. ProbDivSepCustMom varies by race/ethnicity: Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White, Black, and Other.

Never-Married Mothers without Possible Cohabiting Father

If the single mother is never-married and does not live with a man who might be the father of her children, then her custodial parent status is imputed using a logit model estimated using data from the CPS-CSS.

The key explanatory variables in the logit model are the number of children and the age of the mother's youngest child: 0-1, 2-5, or 6+ (the omitted category). Each additional child raises the likelihood that at least one child has a father living elsewhere. In addition, mothers with an infant (and no possible cohabiting father) are much more likely than those with older children to be custodial parents. Given the young age of the child, there is less chance that the father has died or given up his legal rights, and a greater likelihood that the mother will report (on the CPS-CSS) that there is a father living elsewhere.

Program rule SingleMomAdjustment2 provides multiplicative adjustments (by race/ethnicity) to the imputed probability that a never-married mother without a possible cohabiting father is a custodial mother.

Single Mothers with Possible Cohabiting Father

If the single mother lives with a man who might be the father of her children, then her custodial parent status is imputed using a logit model estimated using data from the CPS-CSS.

The key explanatory variables in the logit model are the number of children and the age of the oldest child: 0-1, 2-5, and 6+ (the omitted category). Each additional child raises the likelihood that at least one child has a father living elsewhere. The younger the age of the oldest child, the more likely the child was fathered by the possible cohabiting father, and the less likely that the mother is a custodial mother.

Program rule SingleMomAdjustment1 provides multiplicative adjustments (by race/ethnicity) to the imputed probability that a single mother with a possible cohabiting father is a custodial mother.