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Modeling Family Economic Conditions and Young Children’s Development in Rural United States: Implications for Poverty Research

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Abstract

In this study we examined the additive and multiplicative relations between poverty status, material hardship, liquid assets, non-liquid assets, and children’s cognitive skills and social problems at 36 months. The data were from a representative sample of 1,292 children in six rural counties in the United States. Findings indicated that income, material hardship, and non-liquid assets explained unique variation in young children’s development. Material hardship was associated with more social problems for children. Poverty status was associated with lower cognitive skills, and non-liquid assets were associated with higher cognitive skills at 36 months. We concluded that models that estimate the relation between poverty and child outcomes without including measures of hardship and assets could be underspecified.

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Acknowledgments

Support for this research was provided by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Grants R01 HD51502 and P01 HD39667, with co-funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Strategic Education Research Partnership, 1101 14th St. NW Ste. 300, Washington, DC, 20005, USA

    Kirsten Kainz

  2. Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campus Box 8185, 521 South Greensboro Street, Carrboro, NC, 27510, USA

    Michael T. Willoughby, Lynne Vernon-Feagans & Margaret R. Burchinal

  3. School of Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Peabody Hall Campus Box 3500, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA

    Lynne Vernon-Feagans

Authors
  1. Kirsten Kainz
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  2. Michael T. Willoughby
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  3. Lynne Vernon-Feagans
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  4. Margaret R. Burchinal
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Family Life Project Investigators

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Correspondence to Kirsten Kainz.

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The Family Life Project (FLP) Phase I Key Investigators include: Lynne Vernon-Feagans, The University of North Carolina; Martha Cox, The University of North Carolina; Clancy Blair, The Pennsylvania State University; Peg Burchinal, The University of North Carolina; Linda Burton, Duke University; Keith Crnic, The Arizona State University; Ann Crouter, The Pennsylvania State University; Patricia Garrett-Peters, The University of North Carolina; Mark Greenberg, The Pennsylvania State University; Stephanie Lanza, The Pennsylvania State University; Roger Mills-Koonce, The University of North Carolina; Debra Skinner, The University of North Carolina; Emily Werner, The Pennsylvania State University and Michael Willoughby, The University of North Carolina.

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Kainz, K., Willoughby, M.T., Vernon-Feagans, L. et al. Modeling Family Economic Conditions and Young Children’s Development in Rural United States: Implications for Poverty Research. J Fam Econ Iss 33, 410–420 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-012-9287-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-012-9287-2

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