Prevalence and Determinants of Domestic Violence Among Unmarried Mothers

Chien-Chung Huang, Rutgers University
Esther Son, Rutgers University

Buoyed by the success of the 1996 welfare reform, conservative advocates of welfare reform are now moving to ensure that welfare system reflects traditional family values as well. Responding to this sentiment, the Bush Administration is encouraging states to use TANF to support marriage promotion efforts. Most women’s groups and traditional welfare reform advocates were sharply opposed to this idea given the majority of welfare recipients and low-income mothers are victims of domestic violence. Nevertheless, most of previous studies depend on non-representative sample. Using the baseline, year 1, and year 3 follow-up data of the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Survey, the purpose of this paper is to examine prevalence and determinants of domestic violence, including sexual abuse, among unmarried mothers in order to assess the challenge that marriage promotion policies face with respect to a population with high risk of family violence.