Scientists are genuinely divided on this question.

What's still open

What the evidence found 3 findings
Based on 14 sources:
Harvard Gazette institutional View
PMC peer-reviewed View
Annie E. Casey Foundation institutional View
PMC (PubMed Central) peer-reviewed View
UCLA Center for Population Research institutional View
ResearchGate peer-reviewed View
PMC (PubMed Central) peer-reviewed View
National Bureau of Economic Research institutional View
UCLA institutional View
PMC peer-reviewed View
Sage Journals peer-reviewed View
ResearchGate peer-reviewed View
PMC peer-reviewed View
Science Direct peer-reviewed View
Based on 13 sources:
PMC peer-reviewed View
PMC - NIH peer-reviewed View
UNLV institutional View
PMC (PubMed Central) peer-reviewed View
ResearchGate peer-reviewed View
PMC (PubMed Central) peer-reviewed View
PMC/National Institutes of Health peer-reviewed View
CliffsNotes unknown View
PMC peer-reviewed View
ResearchGate peer-reviewed View
PMC peer-reviewed View
PMC/NCBI peer-reviewed View
Sorg Center institutional View
Based on 10 sources:
PMC (PubMed Central) peer-reviewed View
BBC News news View
PMC peer-reviewed View
Society for Research in Child Development institutional View
PMC peer-reviewed View
Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study - Princeton University peer-reviewed
Institute for Family Studies institutional View
Ohio State University News news View
PMC peer-reviewed View
Annie E. Casey Foundation institutional View
What research hasn't answered 2 gaps
Harvard Gazette institutional View
PMC peer-reviewed View
Annie E. Casey Foundation institutional View
PMC (PubMed Central) peer-reviewed View
UCLA Center for Population Research institutional View
Sources 18 findings
argumentation Unknown
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
tree-leaf argumentation
argumentation Unknown
argumentation Unknown
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Generated by reaso.ai's editorial pipeline: claim restated, scientific consensus classified via 3-run majority vote, 18 findings enriched with attribution and study type, narrative written in neutral voice. No individual researcher has signed off on this specific analysis — see methodology for how the pipeline works. Built with Claude Sonnet by Anthropic. Updated April 16, 2026. How we do this →

Written by AI. Sources are linked for verification.