Abstract
Parent characteristics at childbirth influence children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors, which are critical determinants of broader socioemotional outcomes. The current study employed a longitudinal, person-centered, latent class analytic (LCA) approach to examine subgroup differences among key parent characteristics and associations with children’s distal internalizing and externalizing behavior outcomes. The study sample (n = 2460) was drawn from baseline and Year 9 waves of the nationally representative Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Project. LCA results supported a 3-class solution to the data, comprising a married, well-educated, wealthy, English-speaking, U.S.-born subgroup; an unmarried, English-speaking, U.S.-born subgroup with low SES and educational attainment levels; and an immigrant, Spanish-preferred, low-SES, low educational attainment subgroup with moderate marriage probability. Children of the wealthy subgroup demonstrated the lowest internalizing and externalizing behavior scores, followed by the low-SES, Spanish-preferred subgroup. Children of the low-SES, English-speaking subgroup had the highest internalizing and externalizing scores. Results suggest a protective effect for children of the immigrant, Spanish-preferred subgroup despite low parental SES and educational attainment levels.
Highlights
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Latent class analysis uncovered subgroup heterogeneity and facilitated nuanced exploration of parent predictors of child behavior outcomes.
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Predictors for maladaptive child behavior outcomes (e.g., parent’s social and financial stressors) may differ across sociocultural groups.
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Results suggest a protective effect for children of Spanish-preferred immigrants despite low parental SES and educational attainment levels.
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Acknowledgements
Research reported in this publication was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) of the National Institutes of Health under award numbers R01HD036916, R01HD039135, and R01HD040421, as well as a consortium of private foundations. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. Finally, portions of this manuscript have been presented at the preliminary and semi-final rounds of the 8th Annual Rebel Grad Slam: 3-Minute Thesis Competition in Las Vegas, NV, USA. Please refer to parent study for consent and IRB approval information.
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A.C.R. conceived the study, participated in its design, and drafted the manuscript; N.B. participated in the design of the manuscript, conducted statistical analyses, and contributed to drafting the manuscript; K.E.M. contributed to drafting the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Corral Rodríguez, A., Barr, N. & Marçal, K.E. Language, Immigration, and Socioeconomic Status: A Latent Class Analytic Approach to Parental Predictors of Child Behavior Outcomes. J Child Fam Stud 32, 3625–3634 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-023-02636-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-023-02636-7