Exploring the reasons for labour market gender inequality a year into the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from the UK cohort studies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unexpected disruptions to Western countries which affected women more adversely than men. Previous studies suggest that gender differences are attributable to: women being over-represented in the most affected sectors of the economy, women's labour market disadvantage as compared to their partners, and mothers taking a bigger share childcare responsibilities following school closures. Using the data from four British nationally representative cohort studies, we test these propositions. Our findings confirm that the adverse labour market effects were still experienced by women a year into the COVID-19 pandemic and that these effects were the most severe for women who lived with a partner and children, even if they worked in critical occupations. We show that adjusting for pre-pandemic job characteristics attenuates the gaps, suggesting that women were over-represented in jobs disproportionately affected by COVID-19 pandemic. However, the remaining gaps are not further attenuated by adjusting for the partner's job and children characteristics, suggesting that the adversities experienced by women were not driven by their relative labour market position, as compared to their partners or childcare responsibilities. The residual gender differences observed in the rates of active, paid work and furlough for those who live with partner and children point to the importance of unobserved factors such as social norms, preferences, or discrimination. These effects may be long-lasting and jeopardise women's longer-term position through the loss of experience, leading to reinforcement of gender inequalities or even reversal of the progress towards gender equality.

Does residential mobility affect child development at age five? A comparative study of children born in U.S. and U.K. cities.

Residential mobility is a normal feature of family life but thought to be a source of disruption to a child's development. Mobility may have its own direct consequences or reflect families' capabilities and vulnerabilities. This article examines the association between changes of residence and verbal and behavioral scores of children aged 5, contributing to the literature in three ways. First, it compares two countries, by drawing on the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study in the United States (N = up to 1,820) and an urban subsample of the U.K. Millennium Cohort study (N = up to 7,967). Second, beside taking into account an extensive range of demographic characteristics, it applies inverse probability weights to minimize observable selection bias associated with residential mobility and further controls for a wide range of family changes that often co-occur with moves. Third, the article adds to extant research on residential mobility by incorporating the type of locality from and into which families move. Individual-level longitudinal data are linked to objective measures of neighborhood socioeconomic status to gauge the quality of moves families make. Results show that residential moves are not inevitably deleterious to children. In both countries the poorer outcomes of some moves result not from moving per se but rather from the context in which they occur. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Ability-grouping and problem behavior trajectories in childhood and adolescence: Results from a U.K. population-based sample.

Ability-grouping has been studied extensively in relation to children's academic, but not emotional and behavioral outcomes. The sample comprised 7259 U.K. children (50% male) with data on between-class and within-class ability-grouping at age 7. Peer, emotional, hyperactivity, and conduct problems were measured at ages 7, 11, and 14 years. Children in low within-class ability groups showed more hyperactivity and emotional problems across the study period compared to non-grouped children, after adjustments for the different types of ability grouping and confounding. Additionally, children in the middle within-class ability groups showed more, and those in the top within-class groups less, hyperactivity compared to non-grouped children, after adjustment. Children in lower within-class groups should be monitored closely to ensure that their well-being is not compromised.

Placing context in longitudinal research.

John Bynner is a leading advocate of considering context in life course research. In this paper I review some of the ways contextual information on time and place may enrich the analysis of individual histories, as well as vice versa. I take three examples from my own research: (1) a late 20th century analysis of adult health and mortality in Britain where individual and area level evidence are combined; (2) a cross-national analysis of neighbourhood and family predictors of child outcomes at age five in Britain and the US from the early 2000s; and (3) workplace as the context of segregation and the gender pay gap in Britain as it changed over several decades to 2015. The article ends with a discussion of the pros and cons of incorporating contextual evidence in longitudinal survey data sets with reference to the UK Millennium Cohort Study, which John Bynner helped to bring into existence.

Neighborhood and Child Development at Age Five: A UK-US Comparison.

Early childhood is a critical period in the life course, setting the foundation for future life. Early life contexts-neighborhoods and families-influence developmental outcomes, especially when children are exposed to economic and social disadvantage. Residential mobility, frequent among families with pre-school children, may reduce or increase exposure to adverse surroundings. We examine children's cognitive and behavioral outcomes at age five, in relation to neighborhood composition, family circumstances and residential moves, using two longitudinal micro datasets: an urban subsample of the UK Millennium Cohort Study (N up to 7967), and the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study in the US (N up to 1820). Each is linked to an index of neighborhood advantage, created to make UK/US comparisons, based on census and administrative information. A series of estimates indicate a strong association, in both countries, between cognitive scores and neighborhood advantage, attenuated but not eliminated by family circumstances. Children's behavior problems, on the other hand, show less association with neighborhood advantage. There are minor and mixed differences by residential mobility particularly when neighborhood disadvantage changes. Notwithstanding the primacy of the family in predicting preschool development, the findings support the notion of neighborhood as potentially advantageous at least in relation to cognitive outcomes.

The Role of Primary School Composition in the Trajectories of Internalising and Externalising Problems across Childhood and Adolescence.

There is little research on the role of school and its composition in explaining individual children's psychological outcomes. This study examined for the first time the role of several primary-school compositional characteristics, and their interactions with individual level characteristics, in the development of two such outcomes, internalising and externalising problems, at ages 7, 11 and 14 years in 4794 children in England participating in the Millennium Cohort Study. Using hierarchical (multilevel) linear models, we found that, even after adjusting for individual and family characteristics, children in schools with higher proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals had more externalising problems. In general, children with special educational needs, lower academic performance, more distressed mothers, and those in non-intact families had more internalising and externalising problems. Our results underline the importance of targeting schools with less affluent overall intakes, but also highlight the key role of individual and family characteristics in the development of their pupils' psychological functioning.

Developmental Trajectories of Conduct Problems and Cumulative Risk from Early Childhood to Adolescence.

Pathways into and out of conduct problems differ by circumstances experienced since infancy. There is a research gap in understanding how these developmental patterns vary according to the timing and persistence of risk and whether there are differences across ecological domains. This study examines variations in trajectories of conduct problems between ages 3 to 14 years and associated child, family and socio-economic risk factors from ages 9 months to 14 years, drawing on the UK Millennium Cohort Study (n = 17,206, 49% female), a nationally representative longitudinal study of children born between 2000/02. Group-based modeling was used to identify four distinct trajectories of conduct problems: low (56%), persistent high (8%), childhood-limited (23%) and adolescent-onset (13%). All three problem pathways were associated with high levels of exposure to risk, particularly early socio-economic and persisting child and family risks. However, while for the persistent and adolescent-onset pathways, exposure to higher levels of family and child risks continued through adolescence, it receded for the childhood-limited trajectory. The effects of early socio-economic disadvantage persisted for those on the adolescent-onset trajectory, highlighting the importance of early markers for this later onset group. Maternal smoking in pregnancy continued to be a significant predictor for all three conduct problem groups, even up to age 14 years. The findings indicate that different influences and processes may explain diverse pathways of conduct problems. This offers insights into who and what might be targeted and when might be the most effective developmental window for intervention.

Developmental cascades of internalising symptoms, externalising problems and cognitive ability from early childhood to middle adolescence.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive ability and problem behaviour (externalising and internalising problems) are variable and inter-related in children. However, it is not known if they mutually influence one another, if difficulties in one cause difficulties in the other, or if they are related only because they share causes. METHODS: Random-intercept cross-lagged models adjusted for confounding were fitted to explore this in 17,318 (51% male) children of the UK's Millennium Cohort Study at ages 3, 5, 7, 11 and 14 years. Externalising and internalising problems were assessed using the parent-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Cognitive ability was measured using standardised scores of age-appropriate validated cognitive ability assessments. Where multiple cognitive assessments were available a single score was derived using principal components analysis. RESULTS: There was much evidence for cross-domain longitudinal effects in childhood, especially for cognitive ability (on both internalising and externalising problems and in both males and females) and externalising problems (on internalising problems in both genders and cognitive ability in males). Bidirectional effects were childhood-limited, gender-specific and less consistent. The consistent bidirectional associations were, in males, between externalising problems and cognitive ability, and, in females, between externalising and internalising problems (although the effects of internalising problems were weak). In adolescence, only externalising problems had cross-domain effects such that, in both genders, they were associated with lower cognitive ability in subsequent measurements and increased levels of internalising problems. CONCLUSIONS: In either childhood or adolescence, reducing behavioural problems could have both emotional and cognitive benefits. In childhood, improving cognitive skills could reduce both emotional and behavioural problems.

Early adolescent outcomes of joint developmental trajectories of problem behavior and IQ in childhood.

General cognitive ability (IQ) and problem behavior (externalizing and internalizing problems) are variable and inter-related in children. However, it is unknown how they co-develop in the general child population and how their patterns of co-development may be related to later outcomes. We carried out this study to explore this. Using data from 16,844 Millennium Cohort Study children, we fitted three-parallel-process growth mixture models to identify joint developmental trajectories of internalizing, externalizing and IQ scores at ages 3-11 years. We then examined their associations with age 11 outcomes. We identified a typically developing group (83%) and three atypical groups, all with worse behavior and ability: children with improving behavior and low (but improving in males) ability (6%); children with persistently high levels of problems and low ability (5%); and children with worsening behavior and low ability (6%). Compared to typically developing children, the latter two groups were more likely to show poor decision-making, be bullies or bully victims, engage in antisocial behaviors, skip and dislike school, be unhappy and have low self-esteem. By contrast, children (especially males) in the improver group had outcomes that were similar to, or even better than, those of their typically developing peers. These findings encourage the development of interventions to target children with both cognitive and behavioral difficulties.

Gender-Specific Trajectories of Conduct Problems from Ages 3 to 11.

Gender-specific pathways of conduct problems (CP) from toddlerhood have received little attention. Using a nationally representative sample of UK children born in 2000-2001 (6458 boys and 6340 girls), the current study (a) identified subgroups of CP pathways separately for boys and girls from ages 3 to 11 and (b) examined early precursors (pregnancy to 9 months) of these trajectories. Group-based trajectory models identified four distinct trajectories for both boys and girls: each characterized as 'low'; 'early-onset, desisting'; 'early-onset, persistent' and 'school-onset'. This suggests that the taxonomic framework developed to conceptualise childhood-onset CP among males is also applicable to females, though needing some revision to capture heterogeneity identified during early and middle childhood. We also found significant precursors of the different trajectory groups with some variation by gender. Early socioeconomic deprivation was a significant risk factor of the early-onset pathways among both genders, but played no significant role for 'school-onset'. Childhood-onset trajectories of boys, but not girls, were predicted by parenting attitudes and behaviour.

Trends in parent- and teacher-rated mental health problems among 10- and 11-year-olds in Great Britain: 1999-2012.

BACKGROUND: Previous evidence indicates that mental health problems are becoming more common for adolescents. Less is known about whether these trends have continued and there has been no study to date which has specifically focused on early adolescents over a sufficiently long period. This study examines changes in parent- and teacher-reported mental health problems among 10- and 11-year-olds in 1999, 2004 and 2012 in Great Britain. METHOD: Parent and teacher ratings of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire were used to compare the prevalence of conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, emotional problems, peer problems and total difficulties among 10- and 11-year-olds in three nationally representative British samples assessed in 1999 (n = 1904), 2004 (n = 1348) and 2012 (n = 11,397). RESULTS: Teacher reports showed improving trends for boys' and girls' mental health from 1999 to 2012, particularly for externalizing behaviours (i.e. conduct problems and hyperactivity/inattention). Parent reports, on the other hand, identified only one area of sustained improvement between 1999 and 2012, namely hyperactivity/inattention among boys. Although parent reports of girls' mental health indicate improving trends from 1999 to 2004, they also suggest worsening mental health from 2004. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that perceptions of emotional and behavioural problems vary by the gender of the adolescent, the context in which they are observed or by whom they are reported.

Why have relative rates of class mobility become more equal among women in Britain?

In a previous paper it has been shown that across three cohorts of men and women born in Britain in 1946, 1958 and 1970 a gender difference exists in regard to relative rates of class mobility. For men these rates display an essential stability but for women they become more equal. The aim of the present paper is to shed light on the causes of this trend-or, that is, of increasing social fluidity-among women. We begin by considering a refined version of the perverse fluidity hypothesis: that is, one that proposes that part-time work leads to increasing downward worklife mobility among women that also entails downward intergenerational mobility and thus promotes greater fluidity. We do in fact find that the increase in fluidity is very largely, if not entirely, confined to women who have had at least one period of part-time work. However, a more direct test of the hypothesis is not supportive. We are then led to investigate whether it is not that part-time working itself is the crucial factor but rather that women who subsequently work part-time already differ from those who do not at entry into employment. We find that eventual full- and part-timers do not differ in their class origins nor, in any systematic way, in their educational qualifications. But there is a marked and increasing difference in the levels of employment at which they make their labour market entry. Eventual part-timers are more likely than eventual full-timers to enter in working-class positions, regardless of their class origins and qualifications. Insofar as these women are from more advantaged origins, they would appear not to seek to exploit their advantages to the same extent as do full-timers in order to advance their own work careers. And it is, then, in the downward mobility accepted by these women-who increase in number across the cohorts-that we would locate the main source of the weakening association between class origins and destinations that is revealed among women at large.

Emotional and behavioural resilience to multiple risk exposure in early life: the role of parenting.

Ecological and transactional theories link child outcomes to neighbourhood disadvantage, family poverty and adverse life events. Traditionally, these three types of risk factors have been examined independently of one another or combined into one cumulative risk index. The first approach results in poor prediction of child outcomes, and the second is not well rooted in ecological theory as it does not consider that distal risk factors (such as poverty) may indirectly impact children through proximal risk factors (such as adverse life events). In this study, we modelled simultaneously the longitudinal effects of these three risk factors on children's internalising and externalising problems, exploring the role of parenting in moderating these effects. Our sample followed 16,916 children (at ages 3, 5 and 7 years; N = 16,916; 49% girls) from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. Parenting was characterised by quality of parent-child relationship, parental involvement in learning and parental discipline. Neighbourhood disadvantage, family poverty and adverse events were all simultaneously related to the trajectories of both outcomes. As expected, parenting moderated risk effects. Positive parent-child relationship, rather than greater involvement or authoritative discipline, most consistently 'buffered' risk effects. These findings suggest that a good parent-child relationship may promote young children's emotional and behavioural resilience to different types of environmental risk.

Environmental influences on children's physical activity.

BACKGROUND: This paper aims to assess whether 7-year-olds' physical activity is associated with family and area-level measures of the physical and socioeconomic environments. METHODS: We analysed the association of environments with physical activity in 6497 singleton children from the UK Millennium Cohort Study with reliable accelerometer data (≥2 days and ≥10 h/day). Activity levels were assessed as counts per minute; minutes of moderate to vigorous activity (MVPA); and whether meeting recommended guidelines (≥60 min/day MVPA). RESULTS: Higher levels of children's physical activity were associated with households without use of a car and with having a television in a child's bedroom (for counts per minute only). Aspects of the home socioeconomic environment that were associated with more children's physical activity were lone motherhood, lower maternal socioeconomic position and education, family income below 60% national median, and not owning the home. Children's activity levels were higher when parents perceived their neighbourhood as poor for bringing up children and also when families were living in the most deprived areas. Relationships were independent of characteristics such as child's body mass index and ethnic group. When adjusted for physical and socioeconomic correlates, the factors remaining significant in all outcomes were: household car usage and maternal education. CONCLUSIONS: Although physical and socioeconomic environments are associated with children's physical activity, much of the variation appears to be determined by the child's home socioeconomic circumstances rather than the wider environment where they live.

Neighbourhood social fragmentation and the mental health of children in poverty.

Using data from 7,776 Millennium Cohort Study children in England, we examined the role of neighbourhood social fragmentation in trajectories of emotional/behavioural problems at ages three, five and seven, and in moderating the association of children's emotional/behavioural problems with neighbourhood poverty, family poverty and adverse family events. Allowing for key background characteristics, social fragmentation generally added little to explain child outcomes, but there were fewer conduct problems among children in poor neighbourhoods with less fragmentation. Surprisingly, in less fragmented neighbourhoods poor families tended to feel less safe and more distressed, which was associated with children's conduct problems.

Family poverty and trajectories of children's emotional and behavioural problems: the moderating roles of self-regulation and verbal cognitive ability.

Socio-economic disadvantage is strongly associated with children's emotional (internalising) and behavioural (externalising) problems. Self-regulation and verbal cognitive ability have been related to children's emotional and behavioural resilience to socio-economic disadvantage. Despite being inter-related, self-regulation and verbal cognitive ability have not been examined jointly as promoting resilience in young children. This study investigated the roles of self-regulation and verbal cognitive ability in children's emotional and behavioural resilience to family socio-economic disadvantage from early to middle childhood (ages 3, 5, and 7 years; N = 16,916; 49 % girls). Using multivariate response growth curve modelling, we found that the relationship between socio-economic disadvantage and internalising problems was stronger for children with lower verbal cognitive ability. Also, poor children with high and low levels of self-regulation showed a widening gap in both emotional and behavioural problems over time. Poor and non-poor children alike benefited from self-regulation, but poor children appeared to be more vulnerable to low self-regulation. Self-regulation and verbal cognitive ability seem to be important protective factors for young children growing up in poor families.

How active are our children? Findings from the Millennium Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: To describe levels of physical activity, sedentary time and adherence to Chief Medical Officers (CMO) physical activity guidelines among primary school-aged children across the UK using objective accelerometer-based measurements. DESIGN: Nationally representative prospective cohort study. SETTING: Children born across the UK, between 2000 and 2002. PARTICIPANTS: 6497 7-year-old to 8-year-old singleton children for whom reliable accelerometer data were available for at least 10 h a day for at least 2 days. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Physical activity in counts per minute (cpm); time spent in sedentary and moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA); proportion of children meeting CMO guidelines (≥60 min/day MVPA); average daily steps. EXPLANATORY MEASURES: Gender, ethnicity, maternal current/most recent occupation, lone parenthood status, number of children in the household and country/region of residence. RESULTS: The median daily physical activity level was 595 cpm (IQR 507, 697). Children spent a median of 60 min (IQR 47-76) in MVPA/day and were sedentary for a median of 6.4 h/day (IQR 6-7). Only 51% met CMO guidelines, with girls (38%) less active than boys (63%). Children took an average of 10 229 (95% CI (8777 to 11 775)) steps each day. Children of Indian ethnicity were significantly less active overall than all other ethnic groups. Children of Bangladeshi origin and those living in Northern Ireland were least likely to meet CMO guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: Only half of 7-year-old children in the UK achieve recommended levels of physical activity, with significant gender, ethnic and geographic variations. Longitudinal studies are needed to better understand the relevance of these (in)activity patterns for long-term health and well-being. In the meantime population-wide efforts to boost physical activity among young people are needed which are likely to require a broad range of policy interventions.

Children born after unplanned pregnancies and cognitive development at 3 years: social differentials in the United Kingdom Millennium Cohort.

Children born after an unplanned pregnancy have poorer developmental scores. This could arise from less favorable parenting but also could reflect confounding from the socioeconomic circumstances. In a large representative sample in the United Kingdom, the Millennium Cohort Study (2001-2005), cognitive delay at 3 years was explored with the Bracken Assessment. Its association with unplanned pregnancy was studied in logistic models controlling for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the family, the child's characteristics, and parenting behavior. Stratification by the mother's educational level (grouped into 3 categories) was explored. Of 12,182 children included in the analysis, 41% were born after a pregnancy reported by the mother to have been a "surprise." Such unplanned pregnancies were associated in univariate analysis with more cognitive delay. Among mothers with a low or middle level of education, this association vanished when socioeconomic circumstances were controlled. Among mothers with a high level of education, the risk of cognitive delay remained significantly and unexplainedly raised after unplanned pregnancies, despite controlling for socioeconomic characteristics and parental behavior. In conclusion, for socially disadvantaged children, having resulted from an unplanned pregnancy does not seem to increase their already disproportionate risk of cognitive delay. Births after unplanned conceptions are mainly a symptom rather than a source of disadvantage.

Predictors of non-response in a UK-wide cohort study of children's accelerometer-determined physical activity using postal methods.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the biological, social, behavioural and environmental factors associated with non-consent, and non-return of reliable accelerometer data (≥2 days lasting ≥10 h/day), in a UK-wide postal study of children's activity. DESIGN: Nationally representative prospective cohort study. SETTING: Children born across the UK, between 2000 and 2002. PARTICIPANTS: 13 681 7 to 8-year-old singleton children who were invited to wear an accelerometer on their right hip for 7 consecutive days. Consenting families were posted an Actigraph GT1M accelerometer and asked to return it by post. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Study consent and reliable accelerometer data acquisition. RESULTS: Consent was obtained for 12 872 (94.5%) interviewed singletons, of whom 6497 (50.5%) returned reliable accelerometer data. Consent was less likely for children with a limiting illness or disability, children who did not have people smoking near them, children who had access to a garden, and those who lived in Northern Ireland. From those who consented, reliable accelerometer data were less likely to be acquired from children who: were boys; overweight/obese; of white, mixed or 'other' ethnicity; had an illness or disability limiting daily activity; whose mothers did not have a degree; who lived in rented accommodation; who exercised once a week or less; who had been breastfed; were from disadvantaged wards; had younger mothers or lone mothers; or were from households with just one, or more than three children. CONCLUSIONS: Studies need to encourage consent and reliable data return in the wide range of groups we have identified to improve response and reduce non-response bias. Additional efforts targeted at such children should increase study consent and data acquisition while also reducing non-response bias. Adjustment must be made for missing data that account for missing data as a non-random event.

UNIVERSAL VERSUS ECONOMICALLY POLARIZED CHANGE IN AGE AT FIRST BIRTH: A FRENCH-BRITISH COMPARISON.

France and the United Kingdom represent two contrasting institutional models for the integration of employment and motherhood, respectively the 'universalistic' regime type that offers subsidized child-care and maternity-leave benefits to women at all income levels, and the 'means-testing' regime type that mainly offers income-tested benefits for single mothers. Using the two countries as comparative case studies, we develop and test the hypothesis that the socio-economic gradient of fertility timing has become increasingly mediated by family policy. We hypothesize and find increasing polarization in age at first birth by pre-childbearing occupation between the 1980s and 1990s in the U.K. but not in France. Early first childbearing persisted in the U.K. only among women in low-skill occupations, while shifts towards increasingly late first births occurred in clerical/secretarial occupations and above. Increases in age at first birth occurred across all occupations in France, but this was still much earlier on average than for all but low-skill British mothers.