One in six newborns were born poor over the past 40 years, and nearly half remained poor half their childhoods. These persistently poor children are nearly 90 percent more likely than never-poor children to enter their 20s without completing high school and are four times more likely to give birth outside of marriage during their teenage years. Children whose parents did not complete high school are less likely to complete high school themselves. This paper examines the magnitude of child poverty, family characteristics related to childhood poverty persistence, and childhood poverty's lasting…
Nearly half of children born to poor parents remained poor half their childhoods. Black children are especially disadvantaged: two-thirds of poor black newborns are persistently poor. Children who are poor early in life (age 0-2) are 30 percent less likely to complete high school than those first poor later in childhood, even after controlling for poverty duration and other factors. Reaching vulnerable children at birth is vital, as a childs early environment can affect brain development. This factsheet summarizes the report Child Poverty and Its Lasting Consequence". (Author abstract)
Brief
This publication offers information for parents and caregivers on adolescent physical development and offers tips for social service agents and parents on how to encourage healthy development.
This publication offers information for parents and caregivers on adolescent cognitive development and offers tips for social service agents and parents on how to encourage healthy cognitive development.
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Journal Article Although fathers are increasingly a focus of attention in research, there is a dearth of research on depressive symptoms among fathers, especially young fathers with toddlers. This study used longitudinal data to examine what risk factors, including the age status of fathers (e.g., late adolescence, emerging adulthood, and adulthood), may be associated with depressive symptoms of fathers when their children were 3 and 5 years of age. A subsample of families for which complete data were available on all variables was used in the analyses ( n = 1,403). About 46% of study sample was African…
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Journal Article We examined the activities that low-income, ethnically diverse fathers of sons versus daughters engage in with their children in the preschool years. African American, Latino, and White fathers ( N = 426) from research sites across the United States, were interviewed about their caregiving, play, literacy, and visiting activities when their children were 2 years, 3 years, and preschool age. Fathers of boys engaged more frequently in physical play than fathers of girls, whereas fathers of girls engaged more frequently in literacy activities. Moreover, gendered patterns of father engagement…
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Journal Article Purpose: The primary objective of this study was to report on the occurrence of mental health difficulties for a large national sample of Australian fathers of children aged 0-5 years ( n = 3,471). Secondary objectives were to compare fathers' mental health against normative data for the general male adult population, and to examine the course of mental health problems for fathers across the early childhood period. Methods: Secondary analysis of data from the infant cohort of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children at three waves when children were 0-12 months, 2-3 and 4-5 years.…
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Journal Article Interpersonal relationships constitute the foundation on which human society is based. The infant?caregiver bond is the earliest and most influential of these relationships. Driven by evolutionary pressure for survival, parents feel compelled to provide care to their biological offspring. However, compassion for non-kin is also ubiquitous in human societies, motivating individuals to suppress their own self-interests to promote the well-being of non-kin members of the society. We argue that the process of early kinship-selective parental care provides the foundation for non-exclusive altruism…
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Journal Article This article develops an account of the emotional dimension of minimally decent parenting, with reference to the capability approach to thinking about need. It outlines social interests at stake in ensuring children's healthy emotional development, and evaluates public policy implications of its account of children's emotional needs. Proposals to license parents are rejected in favor of increased public education around the needs of children and the demands of parenting, increased public recognition of the need for social supports for parenting, and more diffused social responsibility for…
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Journal Article This article develops an account of the emotional dimension of minimally decent parenting, with reference to the capability approach to thinking about need. It outlines social interests at stake in ensuring children's healthy emotional development, and evaluates public policy implications of its account of children's emotional needs. Proposals to license parents are rejected in favor of increased public education around the needs of children and the demands of parenting, increased public recognition of the need for social supports for parenting, and more diffused social responsibility for…
