Residential mobility in early childhood: Household and neighborhood characteristics of movers and non-movers

Understanding residential mobility in early childhood is important for contextualizing influences on child health and well-being

Racial/ethnic and gender differences in smoking in early middle adulthood

Research has documented important differences in smoking rates across race/ethnicity, gender, and age. Much of the research has either focused on smoking initiation among adolescents or cessation among adults, but little is known about racial/ethnic patterns in intermittent and daily smoking across young and early middle adulthood. We therefore use the life course perspective to identify how racial/ethnic and gender differences in smoking unfold across adulthood. Analyses investigate whether racial/ethnic and gender differences exist in the likelihood of daily smoking in early middle adulthood and whether these disparities persist after the inclusion of adolescent and early midlife sociodemographic characteristics and young adult smoking patterns. Descriptive statistics and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses employ recent data from a nationally representative sample of adults using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health; N = 8,506). We find evidence that life course patterns of smoking differ across race/ethnicity and gender subgroups. In early middle adulthood (ages 33&ndash;44), White women are more likely to smoke daily than Black or Hispanic women. In contrast, there are no significant differences between White and Black men, but White men are more likely to smoke daily than Hispanic men. These racial/ethnic differences are no longer significant for men when previous smoking is controlled, suggesting that early young adult smoking plays an important role in the development of smoking disparities across race/ethnicity. Further, we find that young adult intermittent smoking is associated with daily smoking in early midlife, and this relationship is stronger for Black, compared to White, men and women. Although Black women display lower odds of daily smoking in early midlife compared to White women, they exhibit a higher risk of transitioning from intermittent to daily smoking. These results highlight the importance of considering a greater diversity of life course patterns in smoking across race/ethnicity and gender in future research and policies. &nbsp;</p

Family Resources in Two Generations and School Readiness Among Children of Teen Parents

Overall, children born to teen parents experience disadvantaged cognitive achievement at school entry compared with children born to older parents. However, within this population, there is variation, with a significant fraction of teen parents’ children acquiring adequate preparation for school entry during early childhood. We ask whether the family background of teen parents explains this variation. We use data on children born to teen mothers from three waves of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (N ~ 700) to study the association of family background with children’s standardized reading and mathematics achievement scores at kindergarten entry. When neither maternal grandparent has completed high school, children’s scores on standardized assessments of math and reading achievement are one-quarter to one-third of a standard deviation lower compared with families where at least one grandparent finished high school. This association is net of teen mothers’ own socioeconomic status in the year prior to children’s school entry

Appendices to Fomby, Paula, Joshua A. Goode, Kim-Phuong Truong-Vu, and Stefanie Mollborn (2019). “Adolescent Technology, Sleep, and Physical Activity Time in Two U.S. Cohorts.” Youth & Society.

This document includes three tables and one figure provided as appendices to Fomby, Paula, Joshua A. Goode, Kim-Phuong Truong-Vu, and Stefanie Mollborn (2019). “Adolescent Technology, Sleep, and Physical Activity Time in Two U.S. Cohorts.” Youth & Society.The advent of Internet-enabled mobile digital devices has transformed U.S. adolescent technology use over the last decade, yet little is known about how these changes map onto other health-related behaviors. We provide a national profile of how contemporary technology use fits into adolescents’ daily health lifestyles compared with the previous generation, with particular attention to whether and for whom technology use displaces time spent in sleep or physical activity. Time diaries were collected from 11- to 17-year-olds in 2002-2003 (N = 1,139) and 2014-2016 (N = 527) through the U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics Child Development Supplement. Contemporary adolescents spent 40 minutes more per week in technology-focused activities, but their composition was more varied compared with the earlier cohort. Contemporary technology use was predictive of less time in physical activity, and adolescents who engaged in frequent video game play spent less time in physical activity compared with peers with other technology use profiles.National Science Foundation (NSF) grant SES 1729463; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P2C HD066613)Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/150195/1/fomby et al 2019 youth and society appendices.pdf137Description of fomby et al 2019 youth and society appendices.pdf : Main document (appendix to published article

Family Resources in Two Generations and School Readiness Among Children of Teen Parents

Overall, children born to teen parents experience disadvantaged cognitive achievement at school entry compared with children born to older parents. However, within this population, there is variation, with a significant fraction of teen parents’ children acquiring adequate preparation for school entry during early childhood. We ask whether the family background of teen parents explains this variation. We use data on children born to teen mothers from three waves of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (N ~ 700) to study the association of family background with children’s standardized reading and mathematics achievement scores at kindergarten entry. When neither maternal grandparent has completed high school, children’s scores on standardized assessments of math and reading achievement are one-quarter to one-third of a standard deviation lower compared with families where at least one grandparent finished high school. This association is net of teen mothers’ own socioeconomic status in the year prior to children’s school entry

How Resource Dynamics Explain Accumulating Developmental and Health Disparities for Teen Parents’ Children

This study examines the puzzle of disparities experienced by U.S. teen parents’ young children, whose health and development increasingly lag behind those of peers while their parents are simultaneously experiencing socioeconomic improvements. Using the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (2001–2007; N ≈ 8,600), we assess four dynamic patterns in socioeconomic resources that might account for these growing developmental and health disparities throughout early childhood and then test them in multilevel growth curve models. Persistently low socioeconomic resources constituted the strongest explanation, given that consistently low income, maternal education, and assets fully or partially account for growth in cognitive, behavioral, and health disparities experienced by teen parents’ children from infancy through kindergarten. That is, although teen parents gained socioeconomic resources over time, those resources remained relatively low, and the duration of exposure to limited resources explains observed growing disparities. Results suggest that policy interventions addressing the time dynamics of low socioeconomic resources in a household, in terms of both duration and developmental timing, are promising for reducing disparities experienced by teen parents’ children

When do socioeconomic resources matter most in early childhood?

Research has established the importance of early socioeconomic advantage and disadvantage for understanding later life outcomes, but less is known about change in the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and child development within the period of early childhood. Competing hypotheses drawn from the literature posited: (1) a stable SES-development relationship, (2) a stronger relationship in infancy than at older ages, and (3) a stronger relationship at school entry than at younger ages. Using the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (2001–2007), we followed 8600 children from infancy through kindergarten entry to model change over time in the relationship between socioeconomic status and cognitive and behavioral development. The unexpected main finding was that the relationships between three socioeconomic measures (household income, assets, and maternal educational attainment) strengthened from infancy through age 4 or 4½, then weakened slightly until the start of kindergarten. Indirect evidence suggested preschool education as one possible explanation. We argue for researchers to expand the school transition concept to include the now widespread prekindergarten year, as well as for attention to psychological and physiological developmental factors that may shape the relationship between SES and cognitive and behavioral development throughout early childhood

A longitudinal examination of US teen childbearing and smoking risk

Background: Teenage motherhood and smoking have important health implications for youth in the United States and globally, but the link between teen childbearing and subsequent smoking is inadequately understood. The selection of disadvantaged young women into early childbearing and smoking may explain higher smoking levels among teen mothers, but teen motherhood may also shape subsequent smoking through compromised maternal depression or socioeconomic status, and race/ethnicity may condition these processes. Objective: This study examines the relationship between US teen childbearing and subsequent daily smoking, accounting for prior smoking and selection processes related to social disadvantage. Analyses investigate whether socioeconomic status and depression in young adulthood explained any relationship between teen childbearing and daily smoking, as well as examining racial/ethnic heterogeneity in these processes. Methods: Multivariate binary logistic regression analyses employ the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health; N = 7,529). Results: The highest daily smoking prevalence occurred among non-Hispanic White teen mothers, with lower prevalence among Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black teen mothers. Compared to other women, teenage mothers are 2.5 times as likely to smoke daily in young adulthood. Their greater likelihood of daily smoking is due in part to selection and is also mediated by socioeconomic status in ways that differ by race/ethnicity. Conclusions: The findings suggest that preventing teen pregnancy or ameliorating its socioeconomic consequences may decrease daily smoking in this vulnerable population. Reducing teen smoking, especially during pregnancy, could improve teen, maternal, and infant health and thereby increase US health and longevity. Contribution: This study provides new, nationally representative information about selection, mediation, and heterogeneity processes in the relationship between teen childbearing and subsequent smoking

Residential mobility in early childhood: Household and neighborhood characteristics of movers and non-movers

<b>Background</b>: Understanding residential mobility in early childhood is important for contextualizing influences on child health and well-being. <b>Objective</b>: This study describes individual, household, and neighborhood characteristics associated with residential mobility for children aged 0-5. <b>Methods</b>: We examined longitudinal data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), a nationally representative sample of children born in 2001. Frequencies described the prevalence of characteristics for four waves of data and adjusted Wald tests compared means. <b>Results</b>: Moving was common for these families with young children, as nearly three-quarters of children moved at least once. Movers transitioned to neighborhoods with residents of higher socioeconomic status but experienced no improved household socioeconomic position relative to non-movers. <b>Conclusions</b>: Both the high prevalence and unique implications of early childhood residential mobility suggest the need for further research

Residential Mobility Across Early Childhood and Children’s Kindergarten Readiness

Understanding residential mobility in early childhood is important for contextualizing family, school, and neighborhood influences on child well-being. We examined the consequences of residential mobility for socioemotional and cognitive kindergarten readiness using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort, a nationally representative longitudinal survey that followed U.S. children born in 2001 from infancy to kindergarten. We described individual, household, and neighborhood characteristics associated with residential mobility for children aged 0–5. Our residential mobility indicators examined frequency of moves, nonlinearities in move frequency, quality of moves, comparisons between moving houses and moving neighborhoods, and heterogeneity in the consequences of residential mobility. Nearly three-quarters of children moved by kindergarten start. Mobility did not predict cognitive scores. More moves, particularly at relatively high frequencies, predicted lower kindergarten behavior scores. Moves from socioeconomically advantaged to disadvantaged neighborhoods were especially problematic, whereas moves within a ZIP code were not. The implications of moves were similar across socioeconomic status. The behavior findings largely support an instability perspective that highlights potential disruptions from frequent or problematic moves. Our study contributes to literature emphasizing the importance of contextualizing residential mobility. The high prevalence and distinct implications of early childhood moves support the need for further research