Family employment and child socioemotional behaviour: longitudinal findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study

Background Levels of paid employment in two parent and lone parent families have increased in the UK but evidence of its impact on child socioemotional behaviour is limited and inconsistent. Methods We conducted a longitudinal analysis using the first four sweeps of the Millennium Cohort Study (9 months, 3 years, 5 years and 7 years) to investigate the influence of family employment trajectories in the early years on socioemotional behaviour at 7 years, unadjusted and adjusted for covariates. In addition, mothers’ employment was investigated separately. Results Children from families where no parent was employed for one or more sweeps were at a greater risk of socioemotional problem behaviour compared with those where a parent was continuously employed, even after adjustment for covariates. Children of mothers who were non-employed for one or more sweeps were at greater risk of problem behaviour compared with mothers who were employed at all sweeps. Adjustment for covariates fully attenuated the excess risk for children whose mothers had moved into employment by the time they were 7 years. In contrast, the elevated risk associated with continuous non-employment and a single transition out of employment was attenuated after adjustment for early covariates, fathers’ employment, household income and mothers’ psychological distress at 7 years, but remained significant. Conclusions Family and mothers’ employment were associated with a lower risk of problem behaviour for children in middle childhood, in part explained by sociodemographic characteristics of families and the apparent psychological and socioeconomic benefits of employment. Results for mothers’ transitions in or out of the labour market suggest that child problem behaviour is influenced by current status, over and above diverse earlier experiences of employment and non-employment

Children at Risk of Poor Educational Outcomes: In Search of a Transdisciplinary Theoretical Framework

In most western countries, the number of \u27children at risk\u27 for poor educational outcomes seems to have been increased in recent years. Nearly 20 % of the students in those countries meanwhile fail to acquire the levels of literacy, mathematics and science achievement that are required to effectively participate in today\u27s knowledge-based society. Thus, there is a strong need to extend research focusing on the identification of risk factors associated with these undesired educational outcomes in children. Although attempts have been made to conceptualize the issue of \u27children at risk\u27 for poor educational outcomes from the perspective of different scientific disciplines, the interplay of multiple risk factors located on the different levels focused by different disciplines has been rarely addressed. Thus, we advocate for more transdisciplinary activities integrating multiple scientific perspectives on the concept of \u27children at risk\u27 for poor educational outcomes. These activities should include at least three dimensions affecting developmental trajectories being important for children\u27s individual academic outcomes: (1) individual characteristics including both biological as well as psychological features, (2) contextual factors, as well as dynamics defined by (3) time changes and interactions between individual and contextual categories of risk factors. (DIPF/Orig.