FP-24-24 Adult Children’s College Completion by Parental Stepfamily Status and Race/EthnicityStepfamily Status and Race/Ethnicity

Children raised in stepfamilies are less likely to complete college (McLanahan & Percheski, 2008). Stepfamilies arealso more common among non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic families, compared to non-Hispanic White families(Westrick-Payne & Wiborg, 2021). However, it is unclear whether the variation in college completion between stepand biological families differs across racial/ethnic groups. This family profile examines the distribution of adultchildren’s college completion by stepfamily status for non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White adultsover the age of 50 in the United States. Data are drawn from the 2018 U.S. Health and Retirement Study (HRS).Respondents who are parents of at least one adult child aged 25 or older are included in the sample. Respondentsare differentiated by those with all, some, or no children who completed a four-year degree. When a respondent or arespondent’s partner has a step-tie to any child, the respondent is classified as being a member of a stepfamily.Conversely, biological family status is assigned when a respondent and their partner only list biological relationshipsto all children. Single parents are also included and biological or stepfamily status is classified similarly.