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Configurations of early risk and their association with academic, cognitive, emotional and behavioural outcomes in middle childhood

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Abstract

Purpose

Risk factors for children’s development are multifarious and co-occur, having cumulative as well as individual impacts. Yet common configurations of early childhood risks remain little understood. The current study aimed to identify patterns of early risk exposure and to examine their relationship with diverse outcomes in middle childhood.

Methods

Using latent class analysis in a large, community-based, UK sample (N = 13,699), we examined 13 putative risk factors to identify patterns of exposure.

Results

Four risk configurations were identified: low (65 %), socio-demographic (14 %), family dysfunction (12 %), and multiple (9 %) risk classes. As expected, children in the low risk group fared best on all outcome measures, and those with multiple risk, worst. Importantly, specificity in associations with outcomes emerged, such that cognitive outcomes were predominantly linked with socio-demographic adversities, emotional difficulties with family dysfunction, and conduct problems increased across risk classes.

Conclusions

Better understanding of configurations of childhood risk exposures may help to target resources for children in need.

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Notes

  1. We acknowledge that examination of the risk factors in question throughout this article cannot identify cause, and so are ‘putative’ risk factors rather than risk factors per se [8]; we refer to ‘risk factors’ in the interests of space.

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Acknowledgments

We are extremely grateful to all the families who took part in this study, the midwives for their help in recruiting them, and the whole ALSPAC team, which includes interviewers, computer and laboratory technicians, clerical workers, research scientists, volunteers, managers, receptionists and nurses. The UK Medical Research Council, the Welcome Trust and the University of Bristol provide core support for ALSPAC. This publication is the work of the authors and Dr Bonamy Oliver and Professor Barbara Maughan will serve as guarantors for the contents of this paper. This research was specifically funded by a grant to Barbara Maughan from the UK Medical Research Council (MRC G0500953).

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9RH, UK

    Bonamy R. Oliver

  2. University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands

    Tina Kretschmer

  3. MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, King’s College London, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK

    Bonamy R. Oliver & Barbara Maughan

Authors
  1. Bonamy R. Oliver
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  2. Tina Kretschmer
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  3. Barbara Maughan
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Correspondence to Bonamy R. Oliver.

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Oliver, B.R., Kretschmer, T. & Maughan, B. Configurations of early risk and their association with academic, cognitive, emotional and behavioural outcomes in middle childhood. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 49, 723–732 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-013-0756-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-013-0756-1

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