Income Children Research Articles

Selected social impact indicators influenced by materials for green energy technologies

The social risks of green energy transition are underexplored. One of the important questions is which materials used in green energy technologies offer the greatest social benefits, such as ensuring decent living conditions, and which pose the most social risks. To address this issue, we develop a dynamic material-energy flow model integrating system dynamics, social life cycle assessment, and geometallurgical approaches. The analysis focuses on critical materials: Rare Earth Elements, Nickel, Silicon, Graphite, Magnesium, Gallium, Germanium, Indium, Aluminum, Cobalt, Lithium, Zinc, and Tellurium used in wind turbines, electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and solar photovoltaic panels. We assess their social impact on work safety, gender equality, informal employment, labor income share, employment rate, and child labor—key issues addressed by Sustainable Development Goals 1, 5, and 8. Here we show that Aluminum production for electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar photovoltaic panels generates the most jobs and income opportunities, while extraction of Cobalt, Lithium, Silicon, and Zinc carry the highest social risks.

Childhood socioeconomic differences in type 2 diabetes: longitudinal results of The Maastricht study

Abstract Background Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a common chronic disease that disproportionally affects disadvantaged groups. People with a low socioeconomic position (SEP) have an increased risk of developing T2DM. Knowing the potential influence of early life on T2DM risk later in life, this study aims to examine longitudinal associations between childhood SEP and type 2 diabetes, independent of adult SEP. Methods Longitudinal data was used from 6,727 participants of The Maastricht Study without T2DM at baseline (participants with prediabetes were included in the study sample). T2DM status was determined by a standardized oral glucose test. Sample mean (SD) age was 58.7 (8.7) years and 55.2% was female. Childhood SEP was determined by the highest level of completed education for father and mother and a measurement for childhood income inadequacy. Adult SEP was determined by the highest completed level of education, equivalent household income and occupational position. Incident T2DM was self-reported yearly. Associations were studied annually over a 12-year period (median (IQR) 8.2 (4.9) years) with Cox regression analyses. Results A total of 247 participants (3.7%) without T2DM at baseline reported incident T2DM. Incident T2DM was more common in people with low childhood SEP versus high childhood SEP (4.5% vs. 2.7%, p = 0.008) and for people with low adult SEP versus high adult SEP (5.2% vs. 2.1%, p < 0.001). The impact of parental education on incident T2DM is mitigated by adult SEP. Childhood income inadequacy did predict T2DM independently of adult SEP, with a HR of 1.22 (1.01, 1.45). Conclusions Socioeconomic inequalities in childhood and adulthood are both predictive for incident T2DM. Experiencing income inadequacy in childhood increases the risk of developing T2DM in later life, independent of adulthood SEP. More attention is needed for deprivation in childhood and its impact on T2DM. Key messages • People who have experienced income inadequacy as a child have a higher risk of developing T2DM in later life, independent of their adult SEP. • More attention and research is needed for the impact of childhood poverty on developing T2DM in later life.

The Relationship Between Hair Zinc Levels, Feeding Patterns, and Infectious Diseases on The Incidence of Stunting in Children Aged 24-59 Months in The City of North Jakarta, Province of DKI Jakarta

Globally, stunting is a severe public health concern, especially in low- and middle-income nations like Indonesia. It is typified by stunted growth and development due to recurrent infections and chronic malnutrition. North Jakarta has a 19.8% stunting incidence, according to the 2023 Indonesian Health Survey. This indicates the critical need for additional research into the factors contributing to stunting, such as hair zinc levels, dietary habits, and infectious infections. This study employs an observational case-control design conducted in North Jakarta in March 2024. Stunting incidence and hair zinc levels are significantly correlated (p=0.000), affecting 87.5% of children with low hair zinc levels. Stunting is also correlated considerably (p=0.000) with incorrect feeding patterns; 75.7% of children who exhibit these patterns are stunted. On the other hand, there was no statistically significant correlation (p=0.806) between the incidence of stunting and a history of infectious illnesses. The mother's level of education, the child's age, gender, and family income did not significantly correlate with stunting.

Families at a Loss: The Asymmetric Relationship Between Income Changes and Child Human Capital

Families at a Loss: The Asymmetric Relationship Between Income Changes and Child Human Capital

Factors Associated with Caregivers' Decisions to Pursue a Diagnostic Evaluation After a Positive Autism Screen in Primary Care.

We sought to understand whether a child's sex, age, race, ethnicity, caregiver education, family income, and/or number of endorsed autism signs are associated with a caregiver's decision to pursue an autism diagnostic evaluation after their child received a positive autism screen. 129 children, 17-30 months, received a positive autism screen on the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers-Revised with Follow-Up, and all caregivers were offered ready access to a diagnostic evaluation by a trained professional in English or Spanish at no cost. 88 children received an evaluation and 41 did not. The likelihood of receiving an evaluation was associated with the child's race. Only 58.1% of Black children were evaluated, compared to 80% of Hispanic/Latino and 88.5% of White children. Children of Spanish-speaking caregivers showed high rates of evaluation completion (85.7%). Children who were evaluated versus were not evaluated did not significantly differ in terms of child's sex, number of autism signs endorsed by the caregiver, caregiver's education and preferred language (English versus Spanish), or household income. Even though the present study removed many common barriers to receiving a timely diagnostic evaluation, caregivers of Black children were less likely to pursue an autism diagnostic evaluation for their child. Future research is needed to understand the needs and perspectives of Black families to promote engagement in clinical care and reduce disparities in receiving a timely autism diagnosis which is important for accessing supports and services that can improve children's outcomes.

The importance of timing of socioeconomic disadvantage throughout development for depressive symptoms and brain structure

Prior studies have reported associations between socioeconomic disadvantage, brain structure and mental health outcomes, but the timing of these relations is not well understood. Using prospective longitudinal data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), this preregistered study examined whether socioeconomic disadvantage related differentially to depressive symptoms (n=3012–3530) and cortical and subcortical structures (n=460–733) in emerging adults, depending on the timing of exposure to socioeconomic disadvantage. Family income in early childhood and own income measured concurrently were both significantly related to depressive symptoms in emerging adulthood. Similar results were observed for perceived financial strain. In contrast, only family income in early childhood was associated with brain structure in emerging adulthood, with positive associations with intracranial volume and total and regional cortical surface area. The findings suggest that both objective and subjective aspects of one’s financial standing throughout development relate to depressive symptoms in adulthood, but that specifically early life family income is related to brain structural features in emerging adulthood. This suggests that associations between socioeconomic disadvantage and brain structure originate early in neurodevelopment, highlighting the role of timing of socioeconomic disadvantage.

Early life socioeconomic inequalities and type 2 diabetes incidence: Longitudinal analyses in the Maastricht study

AimType 2 diabetes (T2D) is a common chronic disease that disproportionally affects groups with a low socioeconomic position (SEP). This study aimed to examine associations between childhood SEP and incident T2D, independent of adult SEP. MethodsLongitudinal data from The Maastricht Study were used (N=6,727, 55.2 % female, mean (SD) age 58.7(8.7) years). Childhood SEP was determined by asking for the highest completed educational level for the father and mother and childhood income inadequacy. Adult SEP was determined by highest completed educational level, equivalent household income, and occupational position. Incident T2D was self-reported yearly (up to 12 years of follow-up). Associations were studied with Cox regression analyses. ResultsIn participants without T2D at baseline, 3.7% reported incident T2D over 8.2 (median) years of follow-up. Incident T2D was most common in people with low childhood and adult SEP and lowest in those with high childhood and adult SEP (1.7 vs. 7.5 per 1,000 person years). The association between childhood SEP and incident T2D was mainly explained by adult SEP, except for childhood income inadequacy which was independently associated with incident T2D. ConclusionSocioeconomic inequalities in childhood and adulthood are risk factors for incident T2D. More attention is needed to reduce childhood poverty and improve adult SEP to reduce the T2D risk.

Can digital financial inclusion facilitate intergenerational income mobility? Evidence from China

We present an empirical study on the impact of digital finance development on intergenerational income mobility. Combining nationally representative Chinese household survey data with indices for digital financial inclusion (DFI), we find that the development of digital finance leads to a lower correlation between children's income and their fathers’ income, significantly enhancing intergenerational mobility. Specifically, a one standard deviation increase in the DFI index is associated with a decrease in intergenerational income elasticity by 0.04–0.05. The effect is particularly pronounced in rural and inland regions. Furthermore, we find that digital finance development stimulates household entrepreneurial activities, which in turn enhance the role of digital finance in reducing intergenerational income correlation.

Mothers with low incomes view both individual and structural interventions as potentially helpful for supporting early child development

Many developmental psychologists aspire to conduct research that informs interventions and policies to prevent income-related disparities in child development. Among growing researcher discussion about the value of interventions that target “structural” and resource-related correlates of income inequality and child development (e.g., housing, food, material goods, cash), rather than individual, person-centered correlates (e.g., parenting behaviors), the perspectives of mothers with low incomes may provide important context. 281 mothers with young children and low incomes rated various structural and individual interventions, framed as having minimal costs and entry barriers, for their perceived helpfulness. Analyses were pre-registered. Overall, mothers rated all interventions very highly, though they rated structural interventions as slightly more helpful than individual interventions. Mothers rated interventions they used in the past as less helpful than those they hadn’t previously used. An exploratory qualitative analysis revealed mothers’ desires for supports in other intervention domains beyond those addressed in our survey. Together, mothers’ responses indicated that they did not see individual interventions as inherently unhelpful due to a focus on individual states, knowledge, and skills. Implications for developmental psychology and intervention science are discussed.

Longitudinal Use Patterns of Technology Subtypes During the Transition Into Early Adolescence: Results From the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study

PurposeAdolescents encounter a complex digital environment, yet existing data on youth technology use rarely differentiates technology subtypes. This study maps the evolution and intricacies of youth engagement with technology subtypes. MethodsN = 11,868 participants in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study followed from ages ∼9/10 to ∼13/14. We examined youths' self-reported hours per day (hr/day) of technology subtypes: TV/Movies, video games, YouTube, social media, video chat, and texting. We used descriptive statistics and multilevel logistic regression to assess cross-sectional and longitudinal use patterns of technology subtypes, agreement between child and parent reports on the child's technology use, and associations between each technology subtype and sociodemographics (child's biological sex, parent education, income, and marital status). ResultsAt age 9/10, ∼75% of youth reported minimal (<30 min/day) social technology use (social media, video chat, texting) and up to ∼1.5 hr/day of TV, video games, and YouTube. By age 13/14, TV trajectories were converging to >2 hr/day, but social technology trajectories “fanned out” into a wide range of usage rates. Child and parent reports were weakly correlated (rs range: 0.13–0.29). Using child-reported hours of technology use, increases in the subject-specific odds of using a technology >2 hr/day ranged from 25% (YouTube; 95% CI: 1.16–1.35) to 234% (social media; 95% CI: 3.14–3.55). Compared with males, females had ∼100–200% greater odds of >2 hr/day of social technologies, but ∼40–80% reduced odds of >2 hr/day of video games and YouTube. Higher parent education and income predicted significantly lower odds of >2 hr/day of use – regardless of technology subtype. DiscussionDistributions of youths' self-reported technology engagement are highly contingent on technology subtype, age, and biological sex. Future research on youth development and technology may benefit from considering youths' varied digital experiences.

Evaluating the long-term effects of income assistance for material hardship among families with children

BackgroundAs a key aspect of poverty, material hardship describes day-to-day struggles in affording necessities. In explorations of policy initiatives that mitigate material hardship, evidence suggests direct income support can be effective in alleviating hardship. However, research investigating the long-term effects of income supports is limited, and it remains uncertain as to how benefit receipt may mitigate material hardship for families with children across time. MethodsTo explore the associations between income assistance and material hardship longitudinally, we utilised data from four waves of the Growing Up in New Zealand birth-cohort study (n = 5964), where family experiences were tracked between birth and adolescence. The variables of interest included mother-reported receipt of income benefits and material hardship from when the children were aged 9-months, 54-months, 8-years, and 12-years. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was employed to examine the associations between benefit receipt and material hardship in the short- and long-term. Interaction terms between benefit receipt and time were incorporated in the modelling to determine whether receiving benefits corresponded with significant changes in the likelihood of experiencing material hardship at specific time points. ResultsThe key results suggest that benefit receipt in early childhood reduced the likelihood of experiencing material hardship at subsequent time points at least until adolescence, when controlling for key sociodemographic characteristics. ConclusionThese findings provide insight into the associations between early childhood income supports and reductions in the likelihood of experiencing material hardship in the long-term, to emphasise the potential for such interventions to have longstanding effects. By elucidating the associations between benefit receipt and subsequent material hardship, this research gives direction for policy interventions and timely support for families.

Income inequality and income poverty in a cross-national perspective

Abstract This commentary—a reflection on the Bourquin, Brewer and Wernham article in this collection—draws on harmonized microdata from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) Database. It aims to place selected results from the UK in cross-national perspective. The comparator countries, all high-income, include one Nordic country, Norway; one continental European country, Germany; and three other Anglophone countries, Australia, Canada and the USA. The commentary assesses each of these key outcomes, both cross-nationally and over time: income inequality and redistribution, top-half and bottom-half income inequality, and child and elderly poverty. It closes with a brief discussion of policy lessons.

Willingness to pay for solar adoption: Economic, ideological, motivational, and demographic factors

Residential solar energy installations are a critical component of the energy transition. Nonetheless, just a small fraction of all eligible households have installed solar panels. We investigate household willingness to pay (WTP) for a residential rooftop solar system using a stated preference approach and including socio-demographic, ideological, economic, and psychological factors.We implemented an online survey of 580 households in New York State who had not previously adopted a residential solar system. Respondents were presented with hypothetical PV systems with varying upfront costs and monthly savings that allow us to understand discount rates and payoff preferences. This allowed us to explore not only WTP and how it varies across the factors described above, but also how those factors affect discount rates and attitudes towards uncertain future payoffs from the systems. We limit our analysis to New York to control for variation in solar adoption policies from state to state, but these results are broadly generalizable to other US States and, with caveats, to advanced industrialized democracies.We find an average WTP of $7388.5 for installing a residential rooftop solar system. Respondents' WTP is $11.66 in upfront costs for each additional $1 of average monthly savings. We also find substantial heterogeneity in WTP and in trade-offs between upfront costs versus savings. Age, children in households, income, education, motivation, and ideology are all independent factors associated with WTP. We discuss a range of implications for policy and marketing to further increase rates of adoption in the future.

The gap between parental knowledge and children practice of myopia control and challenge under COVID-19: a web-based survey in China.

To evaluate parental knowledge of myopia control, investigate its association with children's practice and refractive status, and explore their change under the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. In this web-based survey, a self-administered questionnaire was made online available during the COVID-19 outbreak between February 1th, 2022 and August 31th, 2022 in China. Participants were recruited via social media by convenience and snowball sampling. Parents of both sexes whose children aged between 3 and 18 were eligible. The overall questionnaire was composed of four categories: demographic information, parental knowledge of myopia, children's myopia-related behaviors and their change after the COVID-19 pandemic, and children's refractive status. SPSS version 18.0 was applied to perform the statistics analysis and p < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. A total of 423 eligible families were included in our online survey. The average age of children was 11.37 ± 2.83y (male 46.1%; female 53.9%), with a myopia incidence of 83.9% (355/423). Both children's age (OR = -0.6; 95%CI = -1.12 to -0.07; p = 0.026) and family income (OR = 2.60; 95%CI = 1.13 to 4.07; p = 0.001) had independently significant impacts on parental knowledge. Unexpectedly, parental knowledge was negatively correlated with children's onset age of myopia (p = 0.002, r = -0.165) and positively correlated with spectacles wearing (p = 0.014, r = 0.131), and no correlation was found between parental knowledge and the occurrence of children myopia, current diopter, annual myopia progression and the diopter of the first glasses (all p > 0.05). We found discordance phenomenon between parents' knowledge and children's behaviors, with parental knowledge being irrelevant to children's sleeping time (p = 0.159, r = 0.069), the frequency of lying reading (p = 0.462, r = -0.036) and keeping nutrition diet (p = 0.142, r = 0.072), and positively correlated with daily homework time (p = 0.012, r = 0.123). After the outbreak of COVID-19, 77.8% (329/423) of parents admitted that their children's daily routine had been changed, with children spending more time on sleeping (p < 0.001) and electronic products (p < 0.001), and taking less time to do outdoor activities (p < 0.001). The ideal interaction mode that establishing positive impact between parental knowledge and children practice has not been reached in China, which might be the result of insufficient parents' cognition and discordance phenomenon between parental knowledge and children's behaviors. The pandemic of COVID-19 has obviously changed children's daily routine. More efforts should be made to narrow the gap between knowledge and behaviors of myopia control, and stay alert to the potential increased risk of myopia during COVID-19.

Does digital literacy reduce intergenerational income dependency?

Smoothing upward mobility channels and reducing intergenerational income dependence are important prerequisites for realizing the sustainable development of all humankind. Starting from the impact of digital economy on micro individuals, this paper explores the mechanisms of digital literacy on families' dependence on intergenerational income. The paper revealed the following findings: First, the improvement of children's digital literacy can significantly enhance the income flow between children and their parents, as well as reduce the former's income dependence on the latter. Specifically, for every 1 unit increase in children's digital literacy, children's income dependence on their parents decreases by 0.035. Among the sub-indicators of digital literacy, social skills and digital attitudes have the highest contribution to reducing intergenerational income dependence. Second, social networks, occupational mobility, and asset allocation capabilities play a moderating role in how digital literacy affects intergenerational income dependence. The more developed the social network, the greater the occupational mobility, and the stronger the asset allocation ability, the more significant the inhibition effect of digital literacy on intergenerational income dependence. Third, the effect of digital literacy on intergenerational income dependence, which is more pronounced in rural areas, inland areas, and male groups.

Long-term care insurance coverage and labor force participation of older people: Evidence from China

Many scholars attribute the slowdown of economic growth to population aging and its negative impact on the size of the labor force. Meanwhile, government programs targeting an aging society can generate work disincentives. This paper studies the unintended labor market effects of Long-term Care Insurance (LTCI) among people of older age by exploiting the launch of the LTCI program in China. We find that policy-covered older adults decreased labor market engagement, significantly increasing the probability of exiting the labor market completely or not working full-time. We also document more substantial effects among those with low income, poor health, advanced age, and few children. The forgone wages of older adults account for >0.25% of GDP. These findings have policy implications for countries “growing old before getting rich.”

Children dually involved with statutory child protection and juvenile justice in Australia: A developmental cascade framework

Children who experience dual involvement by child protection and juvenile justice statutory systems have poorer life outcomes attributable to higher levels of disadvantage and more complex needs compared to single system involved children. Literature regarding dual involved children in high income, western, and democratic nations are largely based on US studies. Whilst child protection and juvenile justice systems across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia have somewhat similar legislative systems, cohort outcomes and relationships between risk factors and offending trajectories for dual involved children are influenced by differing legislative, geographic, and demographic contexts. Compared to international literature, significant gaps exist regarding the Australian context. Further, within Australia, there are no evaluated specific responses and/or strategies directed towards supporting this highly vulnerable cohort towards increased long-term positive outcomes. This is the first comprehensive review of Australian studies that examines the characteristics of children who have had dual involvement with juvenile justice and child protection agencies within Australia. Using a thematic analysis twenty-five studies with dual involved samples were analysed, examining the individual, familial, environmental, and systemic factors that contribute to the likelihood of children becoming involved in both child protection and juvenile justice systems within Australia. Six thematic factors emerged that characterised the trajectories of dual involved children: cumulative and destabilising adversity; maltreatment timing and type; offending onset and context; educational disadvantage and disengagement; co-occurring challenges; and First Nations overrepresentation. Our findings are applied to Developmental Systems Theory, extending on previous literature to depict an Australian first developmental cascade framework illustrating the context specific pathways of dual involved children and opportunities for intervention in Australia. The discussion highlights and compares differences between Australian and international contexts with the intention of emphasising key areas for future research, and policy and practice reform. This is important because of the nuanced differences between dual involved characteristics across different legislative and geographic contexts, with particular relevance to the experiences of First Nations children and families. Future research, policy and practice would benefit from continued reforms that focus resources on co-ordinated system responses and cohort specific services; namely, culturally appropriate diversion strategies that promote behavioural de-escalation and educational engagement.

Refundable Credits by Race/Hispanic Ethnicity, Income, and Filing Status

Using the US Department of the Treasury's tax model with an updated race and Hispanic ethnicity (RH) imputation, we find that Hispanic and Black families are not more likely than White families to benefit from the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or Child Tax Credit (CTC) within strata defined by income, RH, filing status, and the presence of children. Average EITC and CTC benefits are still generally higher for Hispanic families, but average CTC benefits are generally lower for Asian and Hispanic families who are married with children.

From climatic to international shocks: Where does the evidence stand on income changes and child labor

AbstractChildren in developing countries are vulnerable to shocks and adversities and child labor is often seen as a direct consequence of poverty and economic downturns. While such univocal causality may appear obvious, its empirical basis has not been systematically evaluated. To understand the linkages between shocks, changes in the economic situation of families and child labor, we therefore conduct a systematic literature review on the impact of income‐related shocks on child labor. We evaluate empirical studies of weather events and natural disasters, agricultural shocks such as crop failures, family shocks like parental illness, price shocks and transnational shocks through trade, migration, and remittances. Focusing on the literature that identifies causal effects, we find that the relationship between shocks and child labor is far from univocal. While in most cases adverse shocks increase child labor, we find that favorable shocks that improve earning opportunities may also cause more child labor. Policies to tackle child labor should therefore develop safety nets that minimize the probability of children being used as buffers in adverse economic downturns, but also consider the risk that positive economic shocks may attract children into labor due to changes to the value of children's time spent working.

A comparison of caregiver-reported snoring and objective snoring in children from urban neighborhoods

ObjectiveSleep Disordered Breathing (SDB) is both prevalent and under-recognized in pediatric minority populations. Recognition of SDB is often triggered by symptoms of caregiver-reported snoring. However, the validity and utility of caregiver reports likely vary across populations. Our objective is to assess the association between caregiver-reported snoring and objectively recorded snoring in a low-income urban community and explore factors associated with agreement between objective and subjective snoring. Methods169 6 to 12 year old participants underwent at-home sleep studies with a WatchPAT device as part of the Environmental Assessment of Sleep in Youth (EASY) cohort study. Differences in subjective snoring, objective snoring, and concordance between subjective and objective snoring based on socioeconomic and clinical characteristics were assessed. ResultsThe sample had a high proportion of non-white (78.9 %) and low income (39.6 %) children. Caregivers reported snoring for 20.7 % of the children and snoring was measured objectively for 21.9 %. Of those with objective snoring, only 29.7 % were identified as snorers by caregiver report (sensitivity: 0.30; specificity: 0.82). Primary Spanish language and co-sleeping were associated with increased caregiver reported snoring, and allergy was associated with increased objective snoring. Older child age and normal range BMI percentile were associated with higher concordance between caregiver and objective snoring. ConclusionsAmong a community-based, predominantly minority sample, caregiver-reported snoring resulted in under-estimation of prevalence of objectively assessed snoring. Reliance on caregiver report may poorly identify children with snoring or SDB in clinical practice.