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Living Arrangements and Children’s Development in Low‐Income White, Black, and Latino Families
Author(s) -
Foster E. Michael,
Kalil Ariel
Publication year - 2007
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/j.1467-8624.2007.01091.x
Subject(s) - psychology , developmental psychology , white (mutation) , child development , cognitive development , diversity (politics) , ethnic group , family income , cognition , economic growth , sociology , biochemistry , chemistry , neuroscience , anthropology , economics , gene
This article uses longitudinal data from approximately 2,000 low‐income families participating in the national evaluation of the Comprehensive Child Development Program to examine the associations between preschool children’s living arrangements and their cognitive achievement and emotional adjustment. The analysis distinguishes families in which children live only with their mothers from children who live in biological father, blended, and multigenerational households. Linkages are examined separately for White, Black, and Latino children. Fixed effects regression techniques reveal few significant associations between living arrangements and child development. These findings suggest that substantial diversity exists in the developmental contexts among children living in the same family structure. Policies seeking to change the living arrangements of low‐income children may do little to improve child well‐being.