A study looking at a wide range of family and parenting practices in low-income families identified factors that predict learning achievement and socio-emotional outcomes for children at the ages of 4\u00bd, 11 and 15 years.<\/p>\n
Growing up in a low-income family has negative implications for a child\u2019s development. Research has shown that much of that fact can be attributed to the financial and psychological strain that low income places on parents, who are less able to engage in positive parenting practices and to provide materials, time and energy to stimulate a child\u2019s learning. But low-income families vary widely, in relation both to parenting and to children\u2019s outcomes. This study focused on such variations to examine low-income families\u2019 investments for promoting positive outcomes among children.<\/p>\n
Data on 528 low-income families came from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD), a prospective longitudinal study that followed US children born in 1991 through age 15, assessing their home environment and development at multiple points.<\/p>\n
The researchers aggregated various individual parenting measures at different times in the child\u2019s life into five \u201cinvestment domains\u201d and looked for associations between those parenting investments and children\u2019s achievement and socio-emotional functioning over childhood and early adolescence. The five investment domains and significant findings are summarized below:<\/p>\n
Breastfeeding predicted vocabulary scores at 4\u00bd years and at 11 years old.<\/p>\n
The quality of the physical environment in the home predicted vocabulary scores at 4\u00bd years, and children\u2019s feelings of safety predicted vocabulary scores at 11 years old.<\/p>\n
Progressive child rearing beliefs, balancing behavioral control and encouraging autonomy, \u00a0were associated with lower vocabulary skills at 11 years old and 15 years old. In other studies, progressive parenting beliefs are associated with better<\/u> academic skills, but perhaps in low-income contexts, less belief in autonomy is a necessary adaptation.<\/p>\n Maternal monitoring predicted greater achievement and fewer behavioral problems at 15 years of age, both externalizing (e.g., anger, disruptive behaviour) and internalising (e.g. ,withdrawal, sadness).The link with fewer internalizing behavioural problems is greater than has been found in middle-income families in other studies, suggesting that greater supervision and monitoring may be particularly effective for ensuring the well-being of youth in low-income families.<\/p>\n Learning stimulation was the strongest predictor of achievement at all ages, particularly at 4\u00bd years, though more so for vocabulary skills than for math skills.<\/p>\n Socioemotional support did not predict achievement at 4\u00bd years of age, but it did predict fewer behaviour problems at 11 and 15 years. In particular, greater household order when the child was eight years old predicted fewer externalizing problems at both age 11 and 15 years.<\/p>\n Contrary to the predictions of the researchers, early childhood parenting investments between birth and five years old did not have a greater impact than later investments during middle childhood and early adolescence. This finding suggests that cumulative investments over time that the most difference in compensating for the harm posed by poverty in early childhood.<\/p>\n\n
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