Families, Work and Care: Qualitative Longitudinal Research and Policy Engagement

Qualitative longitudinal research can make a distinctive contribution to policy discussions and to the assessment of outcomes. This article draws on research with lone-parent families over fifteen years to illustrate how change and continuity can look different over shorter and longer time periods, to discuss presenting longitudinal qualitative evidence through the selection of case studies, and to explore some of the challenges of engaging in policy debates with qualitative data.

Lone parenthood

Chapter four explores the importance of, and relationship between, family formation, or ‘breakdown’ and lone parenthood in the context of childhood poverty. Few subjects excite the public and political imagination quite as much as the issue of lone parents. It is an area with strong connections to poverty, disadvantage, gendered inequalities, and the supposed breaching of normative values and expectations. I engage with myths and assumptions about lone parents and reveal the corrosive effect of demonising lone-parent family life on children’s lives and wellbeing. I show that relationships are dynamic, that lone parents are not a homogenous group, that a large proportion of children will spend time in a lone parent formation, and that how a government responds to lone parents in policy terms directly relates to how impoverished their children will be. This chapter also discusses how poverty and emotional mal-being are not inevitable consequences of separation and divorce. The role of separated fathers in lone parent families, particularly their financial contribution and involvement in their children’s lives, are explored.

Understanding recurrent care proceedings: Competing risks of how mothers and fathers enter subsequent care proceedings in England

BackgroundDespite progress in understanding mothers' (re)appearances within family justice, fathers have not yet received due attention in research on recurrent care proceedings. Aims Compare parents' gendered risks of entering subsequent care proceedings; Map family relations underpinning recurrent care proceedings; Investigate the role of family members' life course characteristics (e.g. age, number of children) in shaping the risk of returning to court. MethodsAnalysis drew on 2007/08-2017/18 administrative records from the Child and Family Court Advisory and Support Services (Cafcass) in England. From a sample of recurrent parents (N = 24,460), a latent class analysis established profiles of who they returned with. A competing risks analysis of all parents (N = 165,550) modelled the risk of returning into each profile given index characteristics. ResultsOverall rate of return for mothers was 1.7 times that of fathers: 22% after 5 years, compared to 13% for fathers, and 29% and 17% after 10 years, respectively. Five distinct profiles of recurrent parents were established: 'recurrent family', 'recurrent couple', 're-partnered couple', 'complex recurrence', and 'lone parent'. The vast majority of fathers who entered subsequent proceedings did so as either a part of a recurrent family (41%) or recurrent couple (36%). However, these two profiles represented a much smaller proportion (25% and 19%, respectively) of all recurrent mothers, while the remainder returned with either a new partner or as a lone parent (49%), both with a new child. Complex recurrence represented a small proportion for both mothers and fathers (7% and 11%, respectively). The risk of each of these profiles is characterised by the distinct life course positions of the parent. ConclusionThe results underscore the value of a relational approach and understanding a parent's position within the life course in social work research towards building a fuller picture of recurrence.

Understanding, negotiating and navigating the politicisation of evidence-based policy research: the case of Irish research on lone parent labour market activation policy

Utilising a case study of evidence-based policy (EBP) commissioned by government we explore how academic outputs can serve several purposes, depending on the political milieu and the values and ideologies of any given party. Our commissioned research was being carried out in the context of significant policy change for lone parents in Ireland which saw the introduction of labour market activation. The research was initially used by the then Government to appease the Opposition to the highly emotive policy change. Following a general election, Opposition and advocacy groups called on policymakers to acknowledge the report they had commissioned. Concepts of research(er) deficit, normative reality and a shifting ‘policy agora’ are explored to highlight how the political context shaped the uptake of the research findings. We followed the debate by drawing on publicly available documentary evidence relevant to the policy of lone parent activation in Ireland from pertinent parliamentary and committee debates involving all stakeholders, that is the Government, civil servants, Opposition and advocacy groups, to ascertain what happened with the research and why did it happen. Attention is given to the consequences of producing outputs that diverge from political values and ideologies, whereby research can be subject to manipulation to discredit and invalidate findings.

Could increasing income in lone-parent households reduce inequality in child mental health problems?

Half of lone-parent families in the UK live in relative poverty (income <60% national median) compared to a quarter of two-parent families. Family hardship is associated with increased risk of child mental health problems (CMHP). Using data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study (∼18,000 children born 2000-02), we investigated whether equalising income between lone- and two-parent households could reduce prevalence and inequality in CMHP. Exposure was family structure (lone-/ two-parent household) at 9 months; mediator was equivalised weekly household income at 3 years(y); outcome was parent-report CMHP at 5y (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; normal/ borderline-abnormal). The analytic sample comprised 11,193 children. We modelled the relationship between family structure, income and CMHP in logistic marginal structural models, weighted for attrition to MCS at 5y, and adjusted for baseline and intermediate confounding. Prevalence of CMHP was assessed overall and according to family structure. Differences between lone and two-parent households were represented by risk ratios (RRs) and differences (RDs) [95% CIs]. We modelled a hypothetical increase in income for all lone-parent households, so that median income was equalised between lone- and two-parent households, and re-estimated prevalence, RRs and RDs. Prevalence of CMHP was 8.5%. Children from lone-parent households were more likely to exhibit CMHP (RR 1.73[1.28-2.19]; RD 5.70[2.44-8.97]). Equalising income reduced prevalence (8.2%), and differences in CMHP by family structure (RR, 1.37[0.90-1.83]; RD, 2.86[-0.06-6.31]). Sensitivity analyses showed that associations between exposure, mediator and outcome were comparable in more recent MCS sweeps, indicating that these relationships still hold today. Inequalities in CMHP between lone- and two-parent families in the UK are large. Levelling up income for lone-parents households could reduce differences in child mental health problems related to family structure. Key messages Inequalities in CMHP between lone- and two-parent families in the UK are large. Levelling up income for lone-parents households could reduce differences in child mental health problems related to family structure.

Child Poverty, Child Maintenance and Interactions with Social Assistance Benefits Among Lone Parent Families: a Comparative Analysis

In many developed countries lone parent families face high rates of child poverty. Among those lone parents who do get child maintenance there is a hidden problem. States may retain all, or a proportion, of the maintenance that is paid in order to offset other fiscal costs. Thus, the potential of child maintenance to alleviate poverty among lone parent families may not be fully realized, especially if the families are also in receipt of social assistance benefits. This paper provides an original comparative analysis exploring the effectiveness of child maintenance to reduce child poverty among lone parent families in receipt of social assistance. It addresses the question of whether effectiveness is compromised once interaction effects (such as the operation of a child maintenance disregard) are taken into account in four countries Australia, Finland, Germany and the UK using the LIS dataset (2013). It raises important policy considerations and provides evidence to show that if policy makers are serious about reducing child poverty, they must understand how hidden mechanisms within interactions between child maintenance and social security systems can work as effective cost recovery tools for the state, but have no poverty reduction impact.