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