Income Dynamics Child Development Supplement Research Articles

Single Mothers’ Time Preference, Smoking, and Enriching Childcare: Evidence from Time Diaries

Previous research has shown that time preference affects individuals’ market time allocation and own human capital investments. This paper uses data from the Current Population Survey-Tobacco Use Supplements, the American Time Use Survey, and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics-Child Development Supplement to examine how time preference, as measured by smoking behavior, affects mothers’ time investments in their children under age 13 and children's future test scores. The results indicate that single mothers who smoke spend significantly less time with their children in educational activities, such as reading and homework, and sharing meals with their children than non-smokers. Their children also have lower reading test scores.

Physical Activity and BMI: Evidence From the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development Supplement

This study assessed the association between amount of physical activity and body mass index (BMI) percentile among middle and high school children. Total daily physical activity needs to include both in and out of school physical activity. A secondary data analysis was performed on 1306 children drawn from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development Supplement (CDS III, 2007). The dependent variable in this study was BMI percentile, while the independent variable was physical activity. The multinomial logistic regression model was used to assess the associations between physical activity and BMI percentile controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, parental income, and neighborhood safety. Children who engaged in low daily physical activity levels had 1.8 times the odds of being obese versus normal weight than those who engaged in moderate levels [odds ratio (OR) = 1.80, confidence interval (CI) = 1.31, 2.48]. African-American children had 1.6 times the odds of being obese than normal weight (OR = 1.55, CI = 0.99, 2.43) and Hispanic children had approximately 1.8 times the odds of being obese than normal weight in comparison to non-Hispanic white children (OR = 1.79, CI = 1.00, 3.21). Females had about 1.5 times the odds of being overweight than normal weight than males (OR = 1.49, CI = 1.04, 2.13). This study suggests that the accumulation of 30 minutes or more of daily physical activity may be effective in decreasing obesity prevalence among middle and high school-aged children.

Sleep and Student Achievement

We explore the relationship between sleep and student performance on standardized tests. We model test scores as a nonlinear function of sleep, which allows us to compute the hours of sleep associated with maximum test scores. We refer to this as “optimal” hours of sleep. We also evaluate how the sleep and student performance relationship changes with age. We use the Panel Study of Income Dynamics-Child Development Supplement, which includes excellent control variables that are not usually available in sleep studies. We find a statistically significant relationship between sleep and test scores. We also find that optimal hours of sleep decline with age.

Electronic Play, Study, Communication, and Adolescent Achievement, 2003–2008

Adolescents' time spent messaging, exploring websites, and studying on the computer increased between 2003 and 2008. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development Supplement, this study examines how such changes have influenced individual achievement and behavior from childhood to adolescence. Greater communications and Internet web time proved detrimental to vocabulary and reading whereas the increased use of computer games was associated with increased reading and problem-solving scores, particularly for girls and minority children. Increased use of the computer for studying was associated with increased test scores for girls but not boys. The consequences are more benign than many feared. Groups that have traditionally used the computer less (girls, minority children) appear to benefit from greater use.

Adolescent summer care arrangements and risk for obesity the following school year

This longitudinal study identified common summer care arrangements for adolescents and examined whether those arrangements predicted risk for obesity (Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥ 85th percentile for age and gender) the following school year. Participants were a nationally representative sample of 1766 adolescents ages 10–18 from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics–Child Development Supplement. Results showed that, beyond measures of BMI taken before the summer and several demographic aspects known to predict obesity, youth whose summer arrangements involved regular participation in organized activities (e.g., sports) showed significantly lower risk for obesity than other youth. This was most evident during early adolescence. Youth whose regular summer arrangement was predominated by parent care without organized activity participation showed the greatest risk for obesity.

Adolescent Adjustment and Patterns of Parents' Behaviors in Early and Middle Adolescence

In this study, we identified unique clusters of parenting behaviors based on parents' school involvement, community involvement, rule‐setting, and cognitive stimulation with data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics—Child Development Supplement. In early (n=668) and middle adolescence (n=634), parents who provided high cognitive stimulation (i.e., cognitive enrichment parents) or engaged in all parenting behaviors (i.e., engaged parents) had the highest family income, parent education, and percentage of European Americans. Adolescents of cognitive enrichment or engaged parents often evidenced the highest academic and social adjustment. Adolescents whose parents set a large number of rules (i.e., “Rule setters”) or were also heavily involved in the community (i.e., the “Managers” cluster) had the lowest adjustment.

Associations of Various Family Characteristics and Time Use With Children's Body Mass Index

This study used multiple regression models to estimate associations of various family characteristics and time use with the body mass index (BMI) z-scores of 734 boys and 725 girls aged 5–18y from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development Supplement 2003. The strongest relationship in the data was between the BMI of the head of household and a child's BMI z-score (p < 0.001). Time spent sleeping, performing sedentary behaviors, and participating in physical activities was not associated with a child's BMI z-score. This suggests that a family-oriented approach to prevent and treat childhood and adolescent overweight is required.

Predicting Youth Out-of-School Time Participation: Multiple Risks and Developmental Differences

Youth out-of-school time (OST) programs and activities can provide developmental benefits for participating youth. Yet little research has examined the contextual predictors of youth OST participation. To address this issue, we examined a collection of child-, family-, school-, and neighborhood-level characteristics as predictors of OST participation using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics—Child Development Supplement. In summary, child and family characteristics were most useful in predicting participation such that children least likely to participate were those characterized by high levels of developmental (e.g., low achievement, behavior problems, poor health) and family (e.g., parent psychological distress and low emotional support) problems. These relations, however, emerged only during middle school and high school. For certain types of activities, namely athletics and lessons, problems measured across various contexts were more strongly associated with OST participation for higher-income

Is Television Viewing Associated With Social Isolation?

To estimate associations between children's peer integration and amount of time they spend (1) watching television, (2) watching violent television, and (3) co-viewing television with friends. Survey using nationally representative data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics-Child Development Supplement Wave 1. Nationwide survey of families with young children performed in 1997. Of 3562 children, 1356 had sufficient data for inclusion in analyses (563 children aged 6 to 8 years and 793 children aged 9 to 12 years). Total time viewing television, with and without friends present, and time viewing violent and nonviolent television content. Amount of time children spent with friends as reported in two 24-hour activity diaries. Viewing violent programs (but not nonviolent programs) was negatively related to time children spent with friends (aged 6-8 years, unstandardized regression coefficient [beta] = - 0.34, 95% confidence interval [CI], - 0.59 to - 0.08; aged 9-12 years, beta = - 0.41, 95% CI, - 0.65 to - 0.18). More time viewing television with friends was associated with more time engaging in other activities with friends (aged 6-8 years, beta = 0.98, 95% CI, 0.61 to 1.36; aged 9-12 years, beta = 1.03, 95% CI, 0.72 to 1.34). The more time that children spent viewing violent programs, the less time they spent with their friends. While this study cannot determine the direction of effects for this relationship, a cyclical process between violent media and peer integration best explains the findings. To optimize social development and mental health, children's access to violent media should be limited.

Community contributions to scholastic success

The authors examine the influence of neighborhood characteristics on the academic outcomes of children in middle childhood. Prior research has examined structural features of the community and has evaluated their associations with youth outcomes (Brooks-Gunn, Duncan, Klebanov, & Sealand, 1993; Kowaleski-Jones, 2000). Other research has related perceptions of community environment to youth development (Aneshensel & Sucoff, 1996). This work seeks to bridge these two streams of research by considering the influence of both objective and subjective measures of the community environment on school-aged children. Data are drawn from the 1990 Census and the 1997 Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development Supplement (PSID-CDS). Results indicate a negative influence of living in a community with low socioeconomic resources for academic achievement. In contrast, in some models, results suggest a positive role for living in a community rich in immigrant concentration for school-related behavioral adjustment and achievement outcomes. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Poverty, food programs, and childhood obesity

Sixteen percent of children 6-11 years of age were classified as overweight in 1999-2002, four times the percentage in 1965. Although poverty has traditionally been associated with underweight as a result of poor diet, researchers have recently pointed to a paradox in the U.S., which is that low income and obesity can coexist in the same population. This paper first examines whether income is linked to overweight in school-age children. Second, it explores whether food programs such as the Food Stamp Program, the National School Lunch Program, and the School Breakfast Program are associated with overweight among children in different income groups. The data come from the nationally representative 1997 Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development Supplement. No evidence either that poor children are more likely to be overweight or that food programs contribute to overweight among poor children was found.

Black-White Differences in Occupational Prestige

This article examines whether differences in parental occupational prestige mediate or moderate race differences in four indicators of child development—reading scores, math scores, Behavior Problems Index, and health status—using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development Supplement. The authors find that although for behavioral problems there is no impact of parental occupational prestige, for reading, math, and health there are significant academic returns to parental occupational prestige, but only for White families. The authors hypothesize that this racially distinct dynamic may be a result of ongoing discrimination in the labor market, thereby reducing the association between ability (job and parenting) and prestige; or it may be a result of the difficulty of Blacks to translate occupational prestige gains into other benefits as a result of discrimination outside the labor market; or finally, it may be the result of a generational lag between occupational status and parenting practices.

Preschool child care and risk of overweight in 6- to 12-year-old children

To determine if there is a relationship between center-based child care attendance from ages 3 to 5 y and future overweight at ages 6-12 y. Longitudinal, observational study of child experience and future body mass index. A total of 1244 US children aged 6-12 y included in the 1997 Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development Supplement. Parent-reported child care attendance from ages 3 to 5 y, trichotomized as 'none', 'limited' (>0 but <15 h/week), and 'extensive' (> or =15 h/week). Overweight defined as a body mass index > or =95th percentile for age and gender. Candidate covariates (selected a priori): gender, race, age, poverty status, birth weight, hours of television per day, Behavior Problems Index score >90th percentile, and Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment-Short Form (HOME-SF) cognitive stimulation score. Of the potential confounding variables, race, HOME-SF cognitive stimulation score, and age significantly altered the relationship between child care attendance and overweight in the multiple logistic regression model. With these covariates in the final model, limited center-based child care attendance from ages 3 to 5 y was independently associated with a decreased risk of overweight at ages 6-12 y (adjusted odds ratio=0.56, 95% confidence interval 0.34, 0.93) relative to no child care attendance. Extensive center-based child care attendance was not associated with future overweight. Limited center-based child care attendance during the preschool years was independently associated with a decreased risk of future overweight relative to no child care attendance. Additional studies are needed to clarify these findings.

The Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) in Middle Childhood: A Study of Three Large-Scale Data Sets

Objective. Conceptually sound subscales for the Middle-Childhood Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (MC-HOME) were created and evaluated utilizing 3 large-scale data sets including children ages 6 to 9 years: the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN), Panel Study of Income Dynamics-Child Development Supplement (PSID-CDS), and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-Child Supplement (NLSY-CS). Design. Sample sizes were 459 children in the PHDCN, 152 children in the PSID-CDS, and 6,961 children in the NLSY-CS. We grouped items into subscales based on conceptual coherence and evaluated the reliability of the proposed subscales by examining individual item-to-scale correlations and Cronbach's alphas. We tested predictive validity by calculating correlations with cognitive and behavioral outcomes in each data set. Results. Results suggest 7 out of 9 conceptually based MC-HOME subscales are associated with children's cognitive status, even after adjustment for key demographic characteristics. In contrast, mixed results were found for children's behavioral outcomes. The Parental Warmth and Parental Lack of Hostility subscales are the most predictive of behavior problems. Conclusions. Conceptually meaningful subscales are promising to examine children's cognitive and behavioral outcomes, although more and finer-grained analyses of the ways these conceptually meaningful HOME subscales relate to children's later outcomes are needed to further validate the approach established here.

The Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory: The Derivation of Conceptually Designed Subscales

Objective. Our goals for this Special Issue are threefold. First, we report on the development of conceptually meaningful subscales that assess specific domains of the home environment for the 3 youngest age versions of the HOME Inventory (infants/toddlers, early childhood, and middle childhood). Second, we address the problems inherent to the items relying on caregiver (typically maternal) self-report. Third, we assess the predictive validity of the newly developed subscales. Design. To address our objectives, we drew data from 6 large, national data sets. These include the Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP), the National Longitudinal Study of Youth-Child Supplement (NLSY-CS), the NICHD Study of Early Child Care (NICHD-SECC), the Panel Study of Income Dynamics-Child Development Supplement (PSID-CDS), the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN), and the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (EHS). Exact sample sizes vary by age version of the HOME Inventory used. Results. We assessed the predictive validity of our proposed HOME subscales by correlating them with selected cognitive and behavioral outcomes in each data set. Conclusions. Results from each article are discussed with respect to the validity of the newly derived subscales.

When do neighborhoods matter? The role of race and neighborhood peers

This study explores racial differences in the effect of neighborhood income on children’s test scores, self-esteem, and behavior, using data from both the Census and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development Supplement. This study finds that as neighborhood income increases, test scores and behavior improve significantly for white children but not for black children. Increased neighborhood income affects only black children when there is a high-proportion of blacks in the neighborhood. For white children, an increase in the number of neighborhood peers known by name increases the effects of neighbors’ income. In addition, neighborhood effects are strongest for children who have lived in their neighborhoods for three or more years. This study makes progress toward explaining the mechanisms by which neighborhoods affect children and how these mechanisms differ by race.

Achievement and Behavior Among Children of Welfare Recipients, Welfare Leavers, and Low‐Income Single Mothers

This article examines the behavior and achievement of children infemale‐headed families that were on welfare, that left welfare, and that were not on welfare in the3 years preceding the study. Data come from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development Supplement, a nationally representative sample of children under age 13 collected in 1997. The results suggest that there are both positive and negative outcomes of welfare transitions. Based upon our results, children whose mothers are able to leave and remain off welfare score consistently better on cognitive tests of their development. The transition period, however, is a difficult one. Children's emotional well‐being may suffer during the parental transition from cash assistance to self‐sufficiency.