The Well-Being of Maryland Parents and Their Children: Differences by Income Status and Family Structure. Research Brief. Publication #2009-22.

OVERVIEW When compared with their higher-income counterparts, on average, parents in low-income Maryland families (that is, those with incomes that are less than twice the official poverty threshold) have less advantageous environments for raising children, and both the parents and their children experience fewer positive outcomes. Similarly, when compared with their counterparts in families headed by two biological or adoptive parents, families headed by single mothers are associated with less advantageous environments for raising children and fewer positive outcomes for both parents and children. When family structure and income are jointly taken into account, family circumstances and child outcomes are often dramatically different.