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Income and Social Rank Influence UK Children's Behavioral Problems: A Longitudinal Analysis
Author(s) -
Garratt Elisabeth A.,
Chandola Tarani,
Purdam Kingsley,
Wood Alex M.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/cdev.12649
Subject(s) - socioeconomic status , psychology , household income , absolute (philosophy) , cohort , demographic economics , longitudinal study , demography , socioeconomics , economics , population , medicine , geography , sociology , philosophy , archaeology , epistemology , pathology
Children living in low‐income households face elevated risks of behavioral problems, but the impact of absolute and relative income to this risk remains unexplored. Using the U.K. Millennium Cohort Study data, longitudinal associations between Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire scores and absolute household income, distance from the regional median and mean income, and regional income rank were examined in 3‐ to 12‐year‐olds ( n = 16,532). Higher absolute household incomes were associated with lower behavioral problems, while higher income rank was associated with lower behavioral problems only at the highest absolute incomes. Higher absolute household incomes were associated with lower behavioral problems among children in working households, indicating compounding effects of income and socioeconomic advantages. Both absolute and relative incomes therefore appear to influence behavioral problems.