Socioeconomic status, parental investments, and the cognitive and behavioral outcomes of low-income children from immigrant and native households

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Abstract

The current study examines the effects of socioeconomic status (SES) on preschool children's cognitive and behavioral outcomes and if these relations are mediated by the quality of children's home environment and moderated by family nativity status. Data come from 1459 low-income families (n = 257 and 1202 immigrant and native families, respectively). Results indicated that among both immigrant and native households, maternal education, as compared to household income or welfare receipt, was the strongest predictor of a composite of SES. Path analyses estimated direct and indirect effects of SES and revealed greater similarity than difference in the processes by which SES influences immigrant and native children's preschool outcomes. Language/literacy stimulation and maternal supportiveness mediated the relations of SES to children's cognitive outcomes among both immigrant and native families. In contrast, parenting stress mediated the effects of SES on children's aggressive behavior among native, but not immigrant, households.

Section snippets

SES and child well-being

SES and its relation to family functioning and children's development is one of the most heavily investigated constructs in social science research (Bornstein & Bradley, 2003). SES, generally conceived of as separate sources of capital, including financial, human, and social capital, has been argued to matter for children because it enables parents to provide their children with the goods, services, parental actions, and social connections that promote children's well-being (Bradley & Corwyn,

SES and child well-being: mediation through parental investment

An extensive body of research evidence indicates that much of the effect of SES on children's development can be traced through processes more proximal to the child. The selection of family process mediators included in the current investigation was informed by accumulating evidence of two primary family-based pathways – investments and socialization processes (Conger & Donnellan, 2007). An investments perspective posits that SES matters in so much as it allows families to purchase material

The current study

In the current study, we investigated the relations among indicators of socioeconomic status, parental investments, and children's cognitive and behavioral outcomes for a sample of low-income children, many of whom were from immigrant families. Furthermore, we examined longitudinal associations among SES and family processes, assessed during infancy and toddlerhood, and children's preschool-age outcomes. Much of the prior research on immigrant children focuses on older children (i.e.,

Sample description

We use longitudinal data, covering the period of 1996–2001, from the National Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (NEHSREP; Love et al., 2002), which includes a sample of ethnically diverse low-income families with young children (birth through age three) who vary by immigration status. The NEHSREP is a prospective, national evaluation study of 17 Early Head Start (EHS) programs. Program selection was conducted by the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families branch of the

Mean-level differences in study variables by mother's immigrant status

Table 1 presents results from independent-samples t-tests comparing mean differences on study variables across native and immigrant families. Immigrant families differed from native families across a majority of study variables, including all sociodemographic covariates included in the analyses. Of importance, however, is that the two groups did not differ by EHS treatment status; equivalent numbers of native and immigrant families were assigned to the EHS program and control groups. Immigrant

Discussion

Young, poor, immigrant and ethnic minority are descriptors that characterize a rapidly expanding segment of the United States’ child population. A great deal has been learned over the past two decades about the consequences of growing up poor, especially during early childhood. Less well investigated, however, are the developmental repercussions of growing up in poor immigrant households. Given the rapidly shifting demographics of the U.S. population, understanding child development within the

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