Open AccessCan Breastfeeding Solve Inequality? The Relative Moderating Impact of Breastfeeding on Poverty Gaps in Canadian Child Cognitive Skills
Author(s) -
Phyllis L. F. Rippeyoung
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
canadian journal of sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.357
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1710-1123
pISSN - 0318-6431
DOI - 10.29173/cjs11628
Subject(s) - breastfeeding , poverty , cognitive skill , psychology , moderation , cognition , inequality , developmental psychology , social psychology , economic growth , medicine , economics , pediatrics , mathematical analysis , mathematics , neuroscience
Research has clearly shown that poverty has a negative impact on children’s cognitive skills. Much evidence points to the importance of family environment as an important moderator of this gap. One factor within the family environment, however, that has received comparatively little attention within Sociology is breastfeeding, despite the fact that a large body of literature has shown that breastfeeding is positively correlated with child cognitive skills and negatively correlated with poverty. Nonetheless, based on these correlations, many breastfeeding promotional materials and some public health research studies assume and argue that breastfeeding can remedy cognitive skills inequalities; although, these assumptions have never been empirically addressed. Thus, in this paper, I assess whether breastfeeding can address poverty gaps in cognitive skills in Canada using cycles 6 through 8 of the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth.