In a study of 1,000 New Zealand children from birth to 10 years, risks of family breakdown were found to vary inversely to the number of preschool children in the family. These results persisted when many fixed and time-dependent variates were controlled, suggesting that the presence of preschool children reduces risks of family breakdown.…

Studied rates of family breakdown in families of New Zealand children (N=1,002) from birth to five years. By five years nearly one child in eight had experienced a family breakdown. Rates were related to family formation and social factors. Risk factors were modeled using the proportional hazards model. (JAC)

Studied the family history of preschool children (N=1,067). By 6 years, 16 percent of children born to two-parent families experienced a family breakdown. Findings suggest that, once children left the traditional two-parent family, there was a strong possibility they would be exposed to both marriage formation and breakdown. (BH)