Parental Income and Children's Life Course: Lessons from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics.

This article reviews how the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) has contributed to our understanding of the links between childhood economic conditions- in particular, the household incomes with very young children-and the economic attainment and health of those children when they reach adulthood. From its beginning, the PSID has provided data useful for addressing intergenerational questions. In the mid-1990s, PSID data supported a series of studies that link early childhood income to early adult attainments, particularly to completed schooling. At the same time, discoveries in neurobiology and epidemiology were beginning to provide details on the processes producing the observed correlations. These discoveries led to a more recent set of PSID-based studies that focus not only on labor market and behavioral outcomes, but also on links between income in the earliest stages of life (including the prenatal period) and adult health. Links between economic disadvantage in childhood and adult health, and the developmental neuroscience underlying those links, are promising areas for future research.

Increasing Inequality in Parent Incomes and Children's Schooling.

Income inequality and the achievement test score gap between high- and low-income children increased dramatically in the United States beginning in the 1970s. This article investigates the demographic (family income, mother's education, family size, two-parent family structure, and age of mother at birth) underpinnings of the growing income-based gap in schooling using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Across 31 cohorts, we find that increases in the income gap between high- and low-income children account for approximately three-quarters of the increasing gap in completed schooling, one-half of the gap in college attendance, and one-fifth of the gap in college graduation. We find no consistent evidence of increases in the estimated associations between parental income and children's completed schooling. Increasing gaps in the two-parent family structures of high- and low-income families accounted for relatively little of the schooling gap because our estimates of the (regression-adjusted) associations between family structure and schooling were surprisingly small for much of our accounting period. On the other hand, increasing gaps in mother's age at the time of birth accounts for a substantial portion of the increasing schooling gap: mother's age is consistently predictive of children's completed schooling, and the maternal age gap for children born into low- and high-income families increased considerably over the period.

Impacts of Early Childhood Education on Medium- and Long-Term Educational Outcomes.

Despite calls to expand early childhood education (ECE) in the United States, questions remain regarding its medium- and long-term impacts on educational outcomes. We use meta-analysis of 22 high-quality experimental and quasi-experimental studies conducted between 1960 and 2016 to find that on average, participation in ECE leads to statistically significant reductions in special education placement (d = 0.33 SD, 8.1 percentage points) and grade retention (d = 0.26 SD, 8.3 percentage points) and increases in high school graduation rates (d = 0.24 SD, 11.4 percentage points). These results support ECE's utility for reducing education-related expenditures and promoting child well-being.

Socioeconomic Gaps in Parents' Discipline Strategies From 1988 to 2011.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of corporal punishment is high in the United States despite a 1998 American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement urging against its use. The current study tests whether the socioeconomic difference in its use by parents has changed over the past quarter century. It goes on to test whether socioeconomic differences in the use of nonphysical discipline have also changed over time. METHODS: Data are drawn from 4 national studies conducted between 1988 and 2011. Each asked how often a kindergarten-aged child was spanked in the past week and what the parents would do if the child misbehaved, with physical discipline, time-out, and talking to child as possible responses. We use regression models to estimate parents' responses to these questions at the 90th, 50th, and 10th percentiles of the income and education distributions and t tests to compare estimates across cohorts. RESULTS: The proportion of mothers at the 50th income-percentile who endorse physical discipline decreased from 46% to 21% over time. Gaps between the 90th and 10th income-percentiles were stable at 11 and 18 percentage points in 1988 and 2011. The percentage of mothers at the 10th income-percentile endorsing time-outs increased from 51% to 71%, and the 90/10 income gap decreased from 23 to 14 percentage points between 1998 and 2011. CONCLUSIONS: Decline in popular support for physical discipline reflects real changes in parents' discipline strategies. These changes have occurred at all socioeconomic levels, producing for some behaviors a significant reduction in socioeconomic differences.

Early childhood housing instability and school readiness.

This study assesses the consequences of housing instability during the first 5 years of a child's life for a host of school readiness outcomes. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 2,810), this study examines the relation between multiple moves and children's language and literacy and behavior problems at age 5. The moderating role of poverty is further tested in this relation. The findings show that moving three or more times in a child's first 5 years is significantly associated with increases in attention problems, and internalizing and externalizing behavior, but only among poor children.

Parental employment and children's body weight: Mothers, others, and mechanisms.

A robust body of literature spanning several countries indicates a positive association between maternal employment and child body mass index (BMI). Fewer studies have examined the role of paternal employment. More importantly, little empirical work examines the mechanisms that might explain the relationships between parental employment and children's BMI. Our paper tests the relationship between the cumulative experience of maternal and spouse employment over a child's lifetime and that child's BMI, overweight, and obesity at age 13 or 14. We further examine several mechanisms that may explain these associations. We use data from the U.S. National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) merged mother-child file on cohorts of children who were born during a period of dramatic increase in both childhood obesity and maternal employment. We find that the number of hours that highly-educated mothers work over her child's lifetime is positively and statistically significantly associated with her child's BMI and risk of overweight at ages 13 or 14. The work hours of mothers' spouses and partners, on the other hand, are not significantly associated with these outcomes. Results suggest that, for children of highly-educated mothers, the association between maternal work hours and child BMI is partially mediated by television viewing time.

Early childhood poverty, immune-mediated disease processes, and adult productivity.

This study seeks to understand whether poverty very early in life is associated with early-onset adult conditions related to immune-mediated chronic diseases. It also tests the role that these immune-mediated chronic diseases may play in accounting for the associations between early poverty and adult productivity. Data (n = 1,070) come from the US Panel Study of Income Dynamics and include economic conditions in utero and throughout childhood and adolescence coupled with adult (age 30-41 y) self-reports of health and economic productivity. Results show that low income, particularly in very early childhood (between the prenatal and second year of life), is associated with increases in early-adult hypertension, arthritis, and limitations on activities of daily living. Moreover, these relationships and particularly arthritis partially account for the associations between early childhood poverty and adult productivity as measured by adult work hours and earnings. The results suggest that the associations between early childhood poverty and these adult disease states may be immune-mediated.

Health and medical care among the children of immigrants.

Using data spanning 1996-2009 from multiple panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation, this study investigates children's (average age 8.5 years) physical health, dental visits, and doctor contact among low-income children (n=46,148) in immigrant versus native households. Immigrant households are further distinguished by household citizenship and immigration status. The findings show that children residing in households with non-naturalized citizen parents, particularly those with a nonpermanent resident parent, experience worse health and less access to care even when controlling for important demographic, socioeconomic, and health insurance variables.

First- and second-trimester WIC participation is associated with lower rates of breastfeeding and early introduction of cow's milk during infancy.

BACKGROUND: Existing literature suggests prenatal participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) may reduce breastfeeding among low-income mothers. However, little is known about whether the timing of WIC entrance during pregnancy influences infant feeding decisions. OBJECTIVE: This study assesses the association between the timing of prenatal participation in WIC and various infant feeding practices, including breastfeeding initiation, breastfeeding for at least 4 months, exclusive breastfeeding, formula feeding, and early introduction of cow's milk and solid food. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey matching of birth certificate data to mothers' interviews 9 months after the child's birth. Mothers provided information on participation in the WIC program, infant feeding practices, and sociodemographic characteristics. SUBJECTS: A nationally representative sample of 4,450 births in 2001 from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-Birth Cohort. ANALYSES: Multivariate logistic regression techniques (using STATA 9.0 SE, Stata Company, College Station, TX) estimated the relationship between the timing of prenatal WIC participation and infant feeding practices. RESULTS: Entry into the WIC program during the first or second trimester of pregnancy is associated with reduced likelihood of initiation of breastfeeding and early cow's milk introduction; and entry during the first trimester is associated with reduced duration of breastfeeding. WIC participation at any trimester is positively related to formula feeding. CONCLUSIONS: Prenatal WIC participation is associated with a greater likelihood of providing babies infant formula rather than breastmilk after birth. Findings also indicate that there are critical prenatal periods for educating women about the health risks of early cow's milk introduction. Given the health implications of feeding infants cow's milk too early, WIC may be successful in educating women on the health risks of introducing complementary foods early, even if direct counseling on cow's milk is not provided.

Early-childhood poverty and adult attainment, behavior, and health.

This article assesses the consequences of poverty between a child's prenatal year and 5th birthday for several adult achievement, health, and behavior outcomes, measured as late as age 37. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (1,589) and controlling for economic conditions in middle childhood and adolescence, as well as demographic conditions at the time of the birth, findings indicate statistically significant and, in some cases, quantitatively large detrimental effects of early poverty on a number of attainment-related outcomes (adult earnings and work hours). Early-childhood poverty was not associated with such behavioral measures as out-of-wedlock childbearing and arrests. Most of the adult earnings effects appear to operate through early poverty's association with adult work hours.

Job insecurity and change over time in health among older men and women.

OBJECTIVES: We estimated associations between job insecurity and change over time in the physical and psychological health of older adult men and women. METHODS: We conducted secondary analyses of longitudinal data from men and women (N = 190) born between 1935 and 1952 in the Chicago Health, Aging, and Social Relations Study. We used multivariate regression techniques to test the association of job insecurity with changes in physical health (self-reported global health, resting blood pressure, and urinary catecholamines [epinephrine]) and psychological health (depressive symptoms, hostility, loneliness, and personal stress). We controlled for individual characteristics and baseline measures of the outcomes. RESULTS: Men who experience job insecurity rate themselves in significantly poorer physical health and have higher blood pressure and higher levels of urinary catecholamines compared with men who do not experience job insecurity and women who do. Women who experience job insecurity show higher depressive symptoms and report more hostility, loneliness, and personal stress compared with women who do not experience job insecurity and men who do. DISCUSSION: The correlation between job insecurity and health is different in men and women but may be clinically significant in both populations and is a potentially important threat to older adults' health and well-being.

Early childhood poverty and adult body mass index.

OBJECTIVES: We estimated associations between poverty in early, middle, and later childhood and adult body mass index to further elucidate the effects of socioeconomic status on health. METHODS: We conducted secondary analyses of data from men and women (N = 885) born between 1968 and 1975 who were tracked between their prenatal and birth years and adulthood in the nationally representative Panel Study of Income Dynamics. We used multivariate regression techniques and spline models to estimate the relationship between income in different stages of childhood and adult body mass index, overweight, and obesity. We controlled for other family characteristics, including income in other periods of childhood. RESULTS: Mean annual family income in the prenatal and birth years for children whose annual family incomes averaged less than $25,000 was significantly associated with increased adult body mass index, but mean annual family income between 1 and 5 years of age and between 6 and 15 years of age was not. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicated that economic conditions in the earliest period of life (during the prenatal and birth years) may play an important role in eventual anthropometric measures.

Reexamining the effects of family structure on children's access to care: the single-father family.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of family structure, focusing on the single-father family, on children's access to medical care. DATA SOURCE: The 1999 and 2002 rounds of the National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) including 62,193 children ages 0-17 years. STUDY DESIGN: We employ a nationally representative sample of children residing in two-parent families, single-mother families, and single-father families. Multivariate logistic regression is used to examine the relationship between family structure and measures of access to care. We estimate stratified models on children below 200 percent of the federal poverty threshold and those above. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHOD: We combine data from the Focal Child and Adult Pair modules of the 1999 and 2002 waves of the NSAF. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Children who reside in single-father families exhibit poorer access to health care than children in other family structures. The stratified models suggest that, unlike residing in a single-mother family, the effects of residence in a single-father family do not vary by poverty status. CONCLUSIONS: Children in single-father families may be more vulnerable to health shocks than their peers in other family structures.

Single mothers' employment dynamics and adolescent well-being.

The links between single mothers' employment patterns and change over time in the well-being of the mothers' adolescent children were investigated using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Adolescents were ages 14 to 16 at baseline, and they and their mothers were followed for 2 years. Relative to being continuously employed in a good job, findings suggest that adolescents whose mothers lose a job without regaining employment show declines in mastery and self-esteem, those whose mothers are continuously employed in a bad job show an increased likelihood of grade repetition, and those whose mothers are either persistently unemployed or lose more than one job show an increased likelihood of school dropout. These effects are not explained by concomitant changes in family income.