Child's Social Background Research Articles

Social-class parenting practices and their influence on educational outcomes in the United States and Scotland

Drawing upon Lareau's (2011) work on social class and family life, this study explored social-class differences in children's cognitive outcomes from the United States and Scotland—two nations that share a policy emphasis on parental engagement to reduce the achievement gap. At the same time, the two countries differ in the extent to which such policy orientations are enforced, in the overall levels of socioeconomic inequality, and in the form and extent of welfare support for families and children. We find that parental endeavors are not unequivocally associated with children's outcomes. Findings from our decomposition analyses indicate that some practices of concerted cultivation are positively associated with children's outcomes but that the strength and direction of the relation often depend on children's social background. Moreover, social-class differences in parenting practices are more pronounced and more often statistically significant in the United States than in Scotland.

The selective child welfare funnel. Children's exposure to violence and CWS investigations in Sweden

BackgroundResearch indicates that child welfare services reach out to children exposed to violence unequally depending on the child's social background, living conditions and violence type. ObjectiveBased on the notion of selective recognition of vulnerability and risk, this study explores which children CWS pursue to a complete child welfare investigation. Participants and settingA register was set up including all children (n = 1764) between 7 and 12 years that were investigated for suspected exposure to violence by CWS in the municipality of the City of Stockholm, Sweden, in 2019. MethodsThis cohort was systematically compared to demographic data and national self-report prevalence studies to explore possible biases regarding which children CWS investigates. Descriptive analysis, cluster analysis and logistic regressions were used. ResultsThe results confirm previous research that children exposed to violence have reduced access to material resources and inferior living conditions compared to non-exposed children. Physical abuse is more prevalent among boys of foreign backgrounds in stable, two-parent families residing in higher-status suburbs. Conversely, neglect is more common among children of Swedish backgrounds in low-income, single-parent households living in low-status suburbs. In comparison with self-reported prevalence studies, sexual and psychological abuse seem underrepresented in the study group, while neglect and violence in the family are relatively more frequently investigated compared to self-reported prevalence studies. ConclusionsThe results indicate that CWS should develop its methods to reach certain vulnerable groups that are underrepresented for safeguarding and support, for example, girls exposed to sexual abuse.

Numeracy skills in young children as predictors of mathematical competence.

As mathematical competence is linked to educational success, professional achievement, and even a country's economic growth, researchers have been interested in early predictors for quite some time. Although there have been numerous studies on domain-specific numerical abilities predicting later mathematical competence in preschool children, research in toddlers is scarce, especially regarding additional influential aspects, such as domain-general cognitive abilities and the children's social background. Using a large-scale dataset, the present study examined predictive effects of numeracy skills in 17-month-olds for later mathematical achievement. We found small, positive effects, even when controlling for child-related variables (i.e., age and sex) and the children's social background (i.e., maternal education and household language). Additionally, we compared results with a domain-general categorization task and found no distinct effect on mathematical competence. The present results are discussed with regard to the specificities of the dataset, as well as implications for future studies on predictors of mathematical competence.

“It's not as easy as saying, ‘just get them to eat more veggies’”: Exploring healthy eating in residential care in Australia

Young people living in residential out-of-home care (henceforth OoHC) are at increased risk of becoming overweight or obese. Currently, recognition of the everyday mechanisms that might be contributing to excess weight for children and young people in this setting is limited. The aim of this study was to better understand the barriers and complexities involved in the provision of a ‘healthy’ food environment in residential OoHC. Heightening awareness of these factors and how they might compromise a young person's physical health, will inform the development, refinement and evaluation of more sensitive and tailored weight-related interventions for this population. The paper presents a nuanced picture of the complexity of everyday food routines in residential care, and illustrates the ways in which food is ‘done’ in care; how food can be both symbolic of care but also used to exercise control; the way in which food can be used to create a ‘family-like’ environment; and the impact of traumatic experiences in childhood on subsequent behaviours and overall functioning in relation to food. It is argued that a health agenda designed for a mainstream population ignores the very complex relationship that children in residential OoHC may have with food. It is recommended that future intervention approaches account for personal food biographies, trauma and children's social backgrounds and how these are implicated in everyday practices and interactions around food.

Differences in nutritional status of preschool children in the context of the maternal social characteristics.

It is generally accepted that maternal factors are important in maintaining the adequate nutritional status of young children. This study was aimed at verifying whether mother's socio-demographic (age and relationship status) and socio-economic features (education and professional status) differentiate the child's nutritional status. A cross-sectional study was conducted between April and October 2013. Five hundred thirty mothers of preschool children from 5 different regions of Poland were interviewed. Mothers were interviewed on their socio-demographic and socio-economic status. To assess the child's nutritional status, body mass index (BMI) z-score and the diet indicators were calculated, such as the percentage of the estimated average requirement for energy (%EAR), the percentage of energy coming from carbohydrates (%EC), fat (%ET) and proteins (%EP). Percentage of the estimated average requirement for energy, %EC, %ET and %EP was obtained from 24-h dietary recalls conducted with the mothers. The results showed that mother's education and professional status did not differentiate any of the indices of the child's nutritional status. However, maternal age and her relationship status occurred significant (ANOVA; p < 0.05). Children of younger mothers had higher BMI z-score and higher %EC as compared to children of older mothers. Moreover, %EAR was higher among children of single mothers and it was closer to the recommended nutrition standards as compared to children of mothers with a partner. When a child is diagnosed with any type of malnutrition, it is worth assessing various factors that might influence the nutritional status, such as child's social background (e.g., maternal factors). Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2017;30(5):811-821.

Language evaluation and use during early childhood: Adhesion to social norms or integration of environmental regularities?

Whether social uses of language, in concert with their acquisition, are driven by the awareness of the social value assigned to linguistic variants remains unanswered. The present study examines how 185 French native speakers, aged from 2 to 6 years from different social backgrounds, produce and evaluate a well-known French phonological alternation, the liaison: obligatory liaisons, which are categorical and do not vary sociolinguistically for adults, and variable liaisons, which are a sociolinguistic variable and are more frequently produced by higher-class adults. Different developmental and social patterns were found for obligatory and variable liaisons. Children's productions of obligatory liaisons were related to their judgments when 3-4 years old, regardless of the children's social backgrounds. However, a developmental gap was observed between higher- and lower-class children that appeared earlier in production than in evaluation. For variable liaisons, children's productions were related to their judgments, irrespective of their social backgrounds, at 4-5 years. Social differences appeared in both children's productions and judgments a year later. Although the ability to evaluate different linguistic forms emerges at an early developmental stage, the awareness of the social value of the variants does not seem to precede the ability to select the standard varieties in formal situations.

Language Outcomes for Children of Low-Income Families Enrolled in Auditory Verbal Therapy

A common misconception about families in the UK who choose to participate in an Auditory Verbal (AV) approach for their child with hearing impairment, is that they are uniformly from affluent backgrounds. It is asserted that the good spoken language outcomes in these children are a product of the child's social background and family's values rather than as a result of the intervention. Auditory VerbalUK, a national charity offering individual programmes in AV therapy to families with children who are hearing-impaired, obtained funding to offer 'no cost' therapy to a group of 12 low-income families. There was a highly significant increase in the rate of language development for the group of 12 children over the period of intervention compared to the rate of language development at the start of the children's therapy (p<0.001). Financial status of the family per se is not a factor that influences spoken language outcomes for families participating in AV therapy.

Innerfamiliale Beziehungen und Bildungserfolg

According to Coleman, social capital lies in the social relations between parents and children and constitutes a child's social background in addition to the family's human capital and economic resources. in this perspective, Coleman emphasizes the importance of social rela - tions as an independent third factor for the acquirement of human capital. Considering the early selection into the different types of secondary education in the educational system after fourth grade, not only effects of social relations at this decisive point in time are investigated, but also changes across time towards this transition. Therefore, using longitudinal data is of special advantage in this field of research, which is dominated by cross-sectional analyses. Applying multinomial logistic regression it is shown that structural aspects as well as pro- c ess-related aspects of the parent-child-relation have a significant effect on academic achievement. Under this perspective indicators for school-related parent-child interaction are as important as

Learning Difficulties Among Children Separated From a Parent

To study the relationship between experiencing separation from parents and having learning difficulties among children in a community-based sample. In 2003, parents of children entering kindergarten in the city of Rochester completed a survey assessing the child's social background, medical history, and behavioral profile. Children separated from parents for >1 month were compared with those who had never been away for >1 month on 4 validated developmental measures (range, 1-4): a learning scale, an expressive language scale, a preliteracy scale, and a speech scale. Bivariate analyses and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to determine associations between separation from parents and learning difficulties. Among the 1619 children, 18% had been separated from a parent for >1 month at least once (11% once, 7% > or =2 times). Separated children scored worse compared with those without separations on learning (3.14 vs 3.28, P = .001) and preliteracy (2.21 vs 2.35, P = .03). Higher rates of learning difficulties (26.7% vs 16.7%, P < .001) and preliteracy problems (25.9% vs 18.7%, P = .01) were noted among those who had been separated versus those who had not. In multivariable modeling, separation was associated with learning problems (adjusted odds ratio, 1.71; 95% confidence interval, 1.18-2.49) and preliteracy problems (adjusted odds ratio, 1.46; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-2.05) when adjusted for demographic, medical, and social factors. Urban children who have experienced separation from a parent may have more learning difficulties at entrance to kindergarten. Screening and intervention practices to remedy these challenges may better equip such young children to succeed when they enter school.

Prevalence of recurrent complaints of pain among Greek schoolchildren and associated factors: A population‐based study

To determine the prevalence of recurrent complaints of pain (RCP) in Greek children, and to examine associations with socio-demographic characteristics and psychosocial factors. Cross-sectional study comprising a nationally representative population of 8130 7-y-old Greek schoolchildren. Data were collected by mailed questionnaires (response rate 89%). RCP was defined as present if at least one of the complaints of headache, abdominal pain or limb pain occurred at least once a week. The RCP prevalence rate was 7.2%, with significant gender differences (8.8% of girls, 5.7% of boys; p<0.001). RCP was significantly positively associated with a chronic health problem among the children, frequent change of residence, poor school performance, often watching TV and rarely playing with other children. There were no statistically significant associations of RCP with family structure and socio-economic status. The results are indicative of the prevalence of RCP in Greek schoolchildren. This study enlightens the psychosocial component of RCP and emphasizes the importance of gathering information on children's social background in medical settings.

Does mother's IQ explain the association between birth weight and cognitive ability in childhood?

There is a significant association between birth weight and cognitive test scores in childhood, even among individuals born at term and with normal birth weight. The association is not explained by the child's social background. Here we examine whether mother's cognitive ability accounts for the birth weight–cognitive ability association. We analysed mother and child data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. Random effects models were employed to utilise fully the repeated cognitive tests on the same child, and to include all children of each mother. Mother's score on the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) was significantly related to child's birth weight. Birth weight was significantly related to the child's scores on the Peabody Individual Achievement Test. This association was attenuated by up to two-thirds after taking into account mother's AFQT score. In this large sample the association between birth weight and cognitive ability was substantially explained by mother's IQ.

Free school meals and children's social and nutritional status in Trinidad and Tobago.

To evaluate the provision of free school meals in Trinidad and Tobago in relation to children's social and nutritional status. Cross-sectional survey of a nationally representative sample of 66 government schools, including children in the admissions classes (aged 4 to 7 years) and classes for 'rising nines' (aged 7-10 years). Data included questionnaire details of free school meals and children's social background, and measurements of children's heights, weights and skinfold thicknesses. Of 6731 eligible children, data were analysed for 5688 (85%). There were 2386 (42%) children receiving free meals provided at school. At different schools the proportion of all children receiving free meals ranged from 20% to 100%, Receipt of free meals was associated with larger family size (one child, 32% received free meals; > or =6 children, 63%), lower paternal educational attainment (primary, 52% free; university, 30%), father's employment (employed, 39% free meals; unemployed >12 months, 59%) as well as maternal education and employment and household amenities. After adjusting for age, sex and ethnic group, children who received free meals were shorter (mean difference in height standard deviation score (SDS) -0.12, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.17 to -0.06), lighter (body mass index SDS -0.21, -0.28 to -0.14) and thinner (subscapular skinfold SDS -0.13, -0.18 to -0.09). Free school meals were widely available, with some targeting of provision to children with less favourable social and nutritional status. Greater universality would reduce inequity, but more stringent targeting and reduction of school-level variation would increase efficiency.

CHILDREN'S RESPONSES TO CONTRASTING 'REALISTIC' MATHEMATICS PROBLEMS: JUST HOW REALISTIC ARE CHILDREN READY TO BE?

In recent years there has been an increasing emphasis within the world of mathematics education on realistic problem solving. At the same time research has shown that children typically remain apparently unwilling or unable to introduce realistic consid- erations when solving supposedly realistic word problems, though research has also shown that children's behaviour in this domain does vary as a function of the nature of the item, its context and the child's social background. This paper analyses 11-12 year-old English children's responses to two 'realistic' problems. The first is taken from English national tests; the second is a revised version of this item which has been rewritten to encourage a more realistic pattern of responses. Through a comparison of responses to the two items it is suggested that, given suitable 'realistic' problems, many children may be more willing and able to introduce realistic responses in a testing context than earlier research might lead us to expect.

Street Children in Moscow: Using and Creating Social Capital

The paper analyses the strategies of homeless street children in Moscow connected with the accumulation of social capital. Based on recent empirical research, it looks at the involvement of children in non-criminal and criminal subcultures as a way to get access to important networks and resources, and shows how young people use their social skills and appropriate subcultural norms and values in order to build alternative careers. It demonstrates that children's social background plays an important role in their trajectories in the urban informal economy and society, and that they should not be viewed, as it is usually suggested in the social exclusion paradigm, as a single dispossessed mass which has fallen through support networks in various risk scenarios. Research data is reviewed to provide evidence that Moscow's homeless children are resourceful and deeply social agents who find surrogate families and ad hoc social memberships.

Randomized controlled trial of the effect of zinc supplementation on the mental development of Bangladeshi infants

Zinc deficiency is thought to be common in young children in developing countries and some data suggest that it may detrimentally affect children's development. Our goal was to assess the effect of zinc supplementation on the developmental levels and behavior of Bangladeshi infants. This was a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial conducted in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Three hundred one infants aged 1 mo were randomly assigned to receive either 5 mg elemental Zn or placebo daily for 5 mo, and subsequent growth and morbidity were observed. For the present study, developmental levels were assessed in a subsample of 212 infants at 7 and 13 mo of age with use of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, and the infants' behavior during the tests was observed. The children's social backgrounds, weights, and lengths were also recorded. The children's nutritional status was generally poor. The zinc-treated group had slightly lower scores on the mental development index of the Bayley Scales than did the placebo group (beta = 3.7, SE = 1.3, P < 0.005). This effect remained significant when nutritional status and social background were controlled for. No other significant differences between groups were noted. The mental development index scores of the zinc-treated group were slightly but significantly lower than those of the placebo group. This finding may have been due to micronutrient imbalance. Caution should be exercised when supplementing undernourished infants with a single micronutrient.

Social background, phonological awareness and children's reading

A close connection has been found between children's phonological awareness and the progress that they make in reading, but little is known about the role played by the children's social background in the development of this connection. We report a large‐scale, partly cross‐sectional and partly longitudinal, study of two groups of children—one from middle‐class homes and the other from seriously disadvantaged backgrounds. We found that the socially disadvantaged children did not fall behind the middle‐class children in phonological awareness until they went to school. After that a serious gap emerged between the two groups in tests of phonological skills. The disadvantaged children also made a great deal less progress in reading. Some of this difference in reading can be explained as the product of differences in phonological awareness. The difference between the two group's ability to read single words and connected prose was reduced and in some tests was even abolished after controls for differences in phonological awareness.

Factor Analytic Strategies Partitioning Children'S Verbal Expression of Affectivity

Summary The Structured Pediatric Psychosocial Interview (SPPI) has been developed to gain information about children's social background and the process by which they relate affective distress. To detect patterns of covariation in such data, a variety of factor analytic approaches have been applied to independent samples of 500, 400, 519, and 1,000 pediatric patients and public school children. No single method of analysis adequately accommodated the complexity of interview responses. Combined use of image factoring and square root methods, however, produced acceptable solutions.

Parental smoking and respiratory illness in infancy.

The relationship between parental smoking and respiratory illness in a birth cohort of 1180 one-year-old children was examined. Maternal smoking was associated with an increased incidence of lower respiratory illness but there was no statistically significant association between paternal smoking and lower respiratory illness. While children of mothers who smoked suffered more lower respiratory illnesses, their overall risk of respiratory infection was similar to that for children of nonsmoking mothers. The association between maternal smoking and infantile lower respiratory illness persisted when the child's social background, perinatal history, and postnatal diet were taken into account. The findings favour the view that prolonged exposure to cigarette smoke predisposes infants to develop lower respiratory symptoms when they contract a respiratory infection.