Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

Comprehensive Challenges for the Well Being of Young Children: A Population-based Study of Publicly Monitored Risks in a Large Urban Center

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Child & Youth Care Forum Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This population-based study investigated the unique and cumulative relations between risks that are monitored by public surveillance systems and academic and behavioral outcomes for an entire cohort of third graders in a large, urban public school system. Using integrated, administrative records from child welfare, public health, housing, and education for a population of over 10,000 students, this study documented the disproportionate prevalence of early risks that included low birth weight or preterm birth, inadequate prenatal care, teen mother, high lead exposure, low maternal education, child maltreatment, and homelessness. Multiple logistic regression analyses demonstrated that low maternal education (i.e., mothers without a high school degree) had the strongest association with third grade reading and math achievement, attendance, and school suspensions, controlling for child demographics, poverty, and all other risks. Classroom behavior was significantly influenced by familial and social risks (i.e., teen mother, low maternal education, homelessness, and maltreatment), but not biological risks (i.e., preterm or low birth weight and high lead). The cumulative number of risk experiences was significantly related to both academic and behavioral outcomes and was most strongly associated with school attendance problems. Implications of the study for national child welfare and educational policy are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
€32.70 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price includes VAT (Finland)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aarnoudse-Moens, C. S., Smidts, D. P., Oosterlaan, J., Duivenvoorden, H. J., & Weisglas-Kuperus, N. (2009). Executive function in very preterm children at early school age. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 37, 981–993. doi:10.1007/s10802-009-9327-z.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Appleyard, K., Egeland, B., van Dulmen, M. H. M., & Sroufe, L. A. (2005). When more is not better: The role of cumulative risk in child behavior outcomes. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 46, 235–245.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ayoub, C. C., O’Connor, E., Rappolt-Schlichtmann, G., Fischer, K. W., Rogosch, F. A., Toth, S. L., et al. (2006). Cognitive and emotional differences in young maltreated children: A translational application of dynamic skill theory. Development and Psychopathology, 18, 679–706.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, A. A., & Bacharach, V. R. (1996). A critical analysis of the infant health and development program. Intelligence, 23, 79–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bellinger, D., & Dietrich, K. N. (1994). Low-level lead exposure and cognitive function in children. Pediatric Annals, 23, 600–605.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Better Homes Fund. (1999). America’s homeless children: New outcasts. Newton Centre, MA: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhutta, A., Cleves, M., Casey, P., Cradock, M., & Anand, K. (2002). Cognitive and behavioral outcomes of school-aged children who were born preterm. Journal of the American Medical Association, 288, 728–737.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bier, V. (2006). Hurricane Katrina as a Bureaucratic Nightmare. In R. Daniels, Kettl, D., & Kunreuther, H. (Eds.), On Risk and Disaster: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.

  • Bronfenbrenner, U. (2005). Making human beings human: Bioecological perspectives on human development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buka, S. L., & Lipsitt, L. P. (1994). Toward a developmental epidemiology. In S. L. Freidman & H. C. Haywood (Eds.), Developmental follow-up: Concepts, domains, and methods (pp. 331–350). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burchinal, M. R., Roberts, J. E., Hooper, S., & Zeisel, S. A. (2000). Cumulative risk and early cognitive development: A comparison of statistical risk models. Developmental Psychology, 36, 793–807.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, K. M. (2004). Rule your data with the Link King: A SAS/AF application for record linkage and unduplication. Technical monograph downloaded on January 12, 2009 from. http://www2.sas.com/proceedings/sugi30/020-30.pdf .

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2007). Youth risk behavior surveillance—United States. Surveillance Summaries, 57.

  • Chiodo, L. M., Covington, C., Sokol, R. J., Hannigan, J. H., Jannise, J., Ager, J., et al. (2007). Blood lead levels and specific attention effects in young children. Neurotoxology and Teratology, 29, 538–546.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cicchetti, D. (2004). An odyssey of discovery: lessons learned through three decades of research on child maltreatment. American Psychologist, 59, 731–741.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. L. (2005). Child maltreatment. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 1, 409–438.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Costello, J. E., Foley, D. L., & Angold, A. (2006). 10-year research update review: The epidemiology of child and adolescent psychiatric disorders: II. Developmental epidemiology. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 45, 8–25.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Coulton, C. J., Korbin, J. E., Su, M., & Chow, J. (1995). Community level factors and child maltreatment rates. Child Development, 66, 1262–1276.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • CTB/McGraw-Hill. (2006). Pennsylvania grade 3 assessment mathematics and reading. Technical Report, Spring 2006 operational test.

  • Deater-Deckard, K., Dodge, K.A., Bates, J.E., & Pettit, G.S. (1998). Multiple risk factors in the development of externalizing behavior problems: Group and individual differences. Development and Psychopathology, 10, 469–493.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dietrich, K. N., Ris, M. D., Succop, P. A., Berger, O. G., & Bornschein, R. L. (2001). Early exposure to lead and juvenile delinquency. Neorotoxology and Teratology, 23, 511–518.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duran, F., Wilson, S., & Carroll, D. (2005). Putting administrative data to work: A toolkit for state agencies on advancing data integration and data sharing efforts to support sound policy and program development. Farmington, CT: Early Childhood DataCONNections, Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut.

    Google Scholar 

  • Englund, M. M., & Collins, W. A. (2007). Interpersonal and individual proceses linking maternal education and young adult attainment. In G. S. Petit (Chair), From social address to dynamic process: Longitudinal perspectives on cross-generational links in educational attainment. Symposium conducted at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Boston, MA.

  • Evans, G. W. (2004). The environment of childhood poverty. American Psychologist, 59(2), 77–92.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fantuzzo, J., & Perlman, S. (2007). The unique impact of out-of-home placement and the mediating effects of child maltreatment and homelessness on early school success. Children and Youth Services Review, 29, 941–960.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fantuzzo, J., Culhane, D., Rouse, H. R., Bloom, R., & Roig, A. (2006). The Kids integrated data system (KIDS). Invited presentation for the assistant secretary of planning and evaluation, Department of Education. Washington, DC: US Department of Education.

  • Fantuzzo, J., Rouse, H. L., McDermott, P. A., Sekino, Y., Childs, S., & Weiss, A. (2005). Early childhood experiences and kindergarten success: A population-based study of a large urban setting. School Psychology Review, 34, 571–588.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flouri, E. (2008). Contextual risk and child psychopathology. Child Abuse and Neglect, 32, 913–917.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Garbarino, J. (1992). Children and families in the social environment (2nd ed.). New York: Aldine de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garcia Coll, C. T., Lamberty, G., Jenkins, R., McAdoo, H. P., Crnic, K., Wasik, B. H., et al. (1996). An integrative model for the study of developmental competencies in minority children. Child Development, 67, 1891–1914.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gerard, J.M. & Buehler, C. (2004). Cumulative environmental risk and youth problem behavior. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66, 702–720.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham, J. C., English, D. J., Litrownik, A. J., Thompson, R., Briggs, E. C., & Bangdiwala, S. I. (2010). Maltreatment chronicity defined with reference to development: Extension of the social adaptation outcomes findings to peer relations. Journal of Family Violence, 25, 311–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hack, M., Flannery, D., Schluchter, M., Cartar, L., Borawski, E., & Klein, N. (2002). Outcomes in young adulthood for very-low-birth-weight infants. New England Journal of Medicine, 346, 149–157.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Haworth, C. M. A., Wright, M. J., Luciano, M., Martin, N. G., deGeus, E. J. C., Beijsterveldt, C. E. M. van, Bartels, M., Posthuma, D., Boomsma, D. I., Davis, O. S. P., Kovas, Y., Corley, R. P., DeFries, J. C., Hewitt, J. K., Olson, R. K., Rhea, S. -A., Wadsworty, S. J., Iacona, W. G., McGue, M., Thompson, L. A., Hart, S. A., Petrill, S. A., Lubinski, D., & Plomin, R. (2010). The heritability of general cognitive ability increases linearly from childhood to young adulthood. Molecular Psychiatry, 15, 1112–1120. doi:10.1038/mp.2009.55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hibbett, A., & Fogelman, K. (1990). Future lives of truants: Family formation and health-related behavior. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 60, 171–179.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hibbett, A., Fogelman, K., & Manor, O. (1990). Occupational outcomes of truancy. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 60, 23–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hubbs-Tait, L., Nation, J. R., Krebs, N. F., & Bellinger, D. C. (2005). Neurotoxicants, micronutrients, and social environments: Individual and combined effects on children’s development. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 6, 57–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huston, A. C., & Bentley, A. C. (2010). Human development in societal context. Annual Review of Psychology, 61, 411–437.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jaffee, S., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T., & Taylor, A. (2004). Physical maltreatment victim to antisocial child: evidence of an environmentally mediated process. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 113, 44–55.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kann, L., Brener, N.D., & Weschler, H. (2007). Overview and summary: School Health Policies and Programs Study 2006. Journal of School Health, 77, 385–397.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kogan, S.M., Luo, Z., Murry, V.M., & Brody, G.H. (2005). Risk and protective factors for substance use among African American high school dropouts. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 19, 382–391.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luster, T., & McAdoo, H.P. (2002). Family and child influences on educational attainment: A secondary analysis of the high/scope Perry Preschool data. In H.P. McAdoo (Ed.), Black Children: Social, educational, and parental environments (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

  • Macomber, J. (2006, January). An overview of selected data on children in vulnerable families. In O. Golden & Moore, K. A. (moderators), Trends and policies that affect low-income children: What are the next steps? Roundtable conducted by the Urban Institute and Child Trends, Washington, DC.

  • Masten, A. S., Heistad, D., Cutuli, J. J., Herbers, J. E., Obradović, J., Chan, C. -K. L., et al. (2008). School success in motion: Protective factors for academic achievement in homeless and highly mobile children in Minneapolis. CURA Reporter, 38(2), 3–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Masten, A. S., Sesma, A. Jr., Si-Asar, R., Lawrence, C., Miliotis, D., & Dionne, J. A. (1997). Educational risks for children experiencing homelessness. Journal of School Psychology, 35, 27–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDermott, P. A., Marson, S., & Stott, D. H. (1993). Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents (ASCA).

  • McGroder, S. M. (2000). Parenting among low-income, African American single mothers with preschool age children: Patterns, predictors, and developmental correlates. Child Development, 71, 752–771.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morales, J. R., & Guerra, N. G. (2006). Effects of multiple context and cumulative stress on urban children’s adjustment in elementary school. Child Development, 77(4), 907–923.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Murrell, N., Scherzer, T., Ryan, M., Frappier, N., Abrams, A., & Roberts, C. (2000). The aftercare project: An intervention for homeless childbearing families. Family and Community Health, 23(13), 17–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Coalition for the Homeless. (2006). Education of homeless children and youth. Washington, DC: Author NCH Fact Sheet #10.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council. (1993). Understanding child abuse and neglect. Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. (2000). From neurons to neighborhoods: The science of early childhood development. Committee on integrating the science of early childhood development. In J. P. Shonkoff & D. A. Phillips (Eds.), Board on children, youth, and families, Commission on behavioral and social sciences and education. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

  • Needleman, H. L., & Gatsonis, C. A. (1990). Low-level lead exposure and the IQ of children: A meta-analysis of modern studies. Journal of the American Medical Association, 263, 673–678.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Needleman, H. L., Riess, J. A., Tobin, M. J., Blesecker, G. D., & Greenhouse, J. B. (1996). Bone lead levels and delinquent behavior. JAMA, 275, 363–369.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nosarti, C., Al-Asady, M. H., Frangou, S., Steward, A. L., Rifkin, L., & Murray, R. M. (2002). Adolescents who were born very preterm have decreased brain volumes. Brain, 127, 1616–1623.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perlman, S., & Fantuzzo, J. (2010). Timing and influence of early experiences of child maltreatment and homelessness on children’s educational well-being. Children and Youth Services Review, (in press).

  • Perry, M. & Fantuzzo, J.W. (2010). A multivariate investigation of maternal risks and their relationship to low-income, preschool children’s competencies. Applied Developmental Science, 14, 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, B. S. (2003). Brain imaging studies of the anatomical and functional consequences of preterm birth for human brain development. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1008, 219–237.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Petterson, S.M., & Albers, A.B. (2001). Effects of poverty and maternal depression on early child development. Child Development, 72, 1794–1813.

    Google Scholar 

  • Proctor, L. J., Skriner, L. C., Roesch, S., & Litrownik, A. J. (2010). Trajectories of behavioral adjustment following early placement in foster care: Predicting stability and change over 8 years. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 49, 464–473.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rafferty, Y., Shinn, M., & Weitzman, B. C. (2004). Academic achievement among formerly homeless adolescents and their continuously housed peers. Journal of School Psychology, 42, 179–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raudenbush, S. W., & Bryk, A. S. (2002). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rouse, H.L., & Fantuzzo, J.W. (2009). Multiple risks and educational well being: A population-based investigation of threats to early school success. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 24, 1–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruffolo, M. C., Evans, M. E., & Lukens, E. P. (2003). Primary prevention programs for children in the social service system. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 23, 425–450.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sameroff, A. J., Seifer, R., Barocas, R., Zax, M., & Greenspan, S. (1987). Intelligence quotient scores of 4 year old children: Social-environmental risk factors. Pediatrics, 79, 343–350.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sameroff, A. J., Seifer, R., & McDonough, S. C. (2004). Contextual contributors to the assessment of infant mental health. In R. DelCarmen-Wiggins & A. Carter (Eds.), Handbook of infant, toddler, and preschool mental health assessment. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schoen, R., Landale, N. S., Daniels, K., & Cheng, Y. A. (2009). Social background differences in early family behavior. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71, 384–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sroufe, L. A., Coffino, B., & Carlson, E. A. (2010). Conceptualizing the role of early experience: Lessons from the Minnesota longitudinal study. Developmental Review, 30, 36–51.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sroufe, L. A., Egeland, B., Carlson, E., & Collins, W. A. (2005). The place of early attachment experiences in developmental context. In K. E. Grossmann, K. Grossmann, & E. Waters (Eds.), The power of longitudinal attachment research: From infancy and childhood to adulthood (pp. 48–70). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stott, D. H., McDermott, P. A., Green, L. F., & Francis, J. M. (1988). Study of children’s learning behaviors. San Antonio: The Psychological Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swick, K. J., & Williams, R. D. (2006). An analysis of Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological perspective for early childhood educators: Implications for working with families experiencing stress. Early Childhood Education Journal, 33(5), 371–378.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Briggs, R. D., McClowry, S. G., & Snow, D. L. (2009). Maternal control and sensitivity, child gender, and maternal education in relation to children’s behavioral outcomes in African-American families. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 30, 321–331.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thacker, A. A., Dickenson, E. R., & Koger, M. E. (2004). Relationships among the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) and other commonly administered assessments (HumRRO Report No. FR-04-33). Alexandria, VA: Human Resources Research Organization.

  • Tramontina, S., Martins, S., Michalowski, M.B., Ketzer, C.R., Eizirik, M., Biederman, J., & Rohde, L.A. (2001). School dropout and conduct disorder in Brazilian elementary school students. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 46, 941–947.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tremblay, R. E., Nagin, D. S., Seguin, J. R., et al. (2004). Physical aggression during early childhood: Trajectories and predictors. Pediatrics, 114, 43–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • US Congress. (2001). Public Law 107-110: No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Accessed March 3, 2009 from. http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/index.html.

  • US Congress. (2003). Public Law 108-36. Keeping Children and Families Safe Act of 2003. Accessed August 17, 2009 from. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/laws_policies/policy/im/2003/im0304a.pdf.

  • US Department of Health and Human Services. (2006). The 2006 HHS poverty guidelines. Federal Register, 71(15), 3848–3849.

    Google Scholar 

  • US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau. (2004). General Findings from the Federal Child and Family Service Reviews. Retrieved on July 18, 2009, from. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/cwmonitoring/results/genfindings04/genfindings04.pdf.

  • Veltman, M. W. M., & Browne, K. D. (2001). Three decades of child maltreatment research: Implications for the school years. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 2, 215–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ziesemer, C., Marcoux, L., & Marwell, B. E. (1994). Homeless children: Are they different from other low-income children? Social Work, 39, 658–668.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by grants from the Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, the William Penn Foundation, and the Stoneleigh Foundation. Data were provided through the Kids Integrated Data System, a partnership between the City of Philadelphia and the School District of Philadelphia. The findings and discussion presented in this manuscript, however, represent the views of the authors and do not reflect those of the City or the School District of Philadelphia.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Heather L. Rouse, John W. Fantuzzo & Whitney LeBoeuf

Authors
  1. Heather L. Rouse
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. John W. Fantuzzo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Whitney LeBoeuf
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Heather L. Rouse.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Rouse, H.L., Fantuzzo, J.W. & LeBoeuf, W. Comprehensive Challenges for the Well Being of Young Children: A Population-based Study of Publicly Monitored Risks in a Large Urban Center. Child Youth Care Forum 40, 281–302 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-010-9138-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-010-9138-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation