Duke 2008 | ASHE | Equity and Efficiency in Health and Healthcare

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the effects of poor infant health on parental social interactions. Having a child with a serious health problem imposes significant time and monetary costs on the child’s parents. One aspect of these costs is the potential reduction of social interactions. This is a loss since social interactions directly provide utility and have been shown to increase mental and physical health. Social interaction can also produce alternatives to market-purchased child care services and other forms of instrumental support that can be especially important for low-income families. In addition, the loss of social interactions by the parents may adversely affect their health. We investigate the effect of infant health on parental social interactions using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing survey (FFCWB). The FFCWB is a longitudinal survey of about 5,000 new births to mostly new parents in 20 U.S. cities during the years 1998-2000. Both the mothers and fathers are interviewed at the time of the birth and followed up 1, 3, and 5 years later. Poor infant health is measured in alternative ways to reflect both serious and random health problems. Social interactions include religious affiliation, frequency of religious attendance, and visiting with relatives, as well as participation in church groups, service clubs, political organizations, union or other work-related groups, community groups, and organizations working with children. In addition, there are data on whether parents voted in the 2000 election. Parents’ mental and physical health are measured at all follow-up waves. Data on income, education and other demographics are included in the analyses.