Parental Investments and Stress as Mediating Pathways between Socioeconomic Status and Early Development in Colombia

• In Event: Understanding the Link Between Socioeconomic Status and Children’s Developmental Outcomes Across Diverse Sociocultural Contexts

Abstract

Extensive research shows positive links between family socioeconomic status (SES) and young children’s development (Diemer, Marchand, & Mistry, 2019; Duncan, Ziol-Guest, & Kalil, 2010). Multiple theoretical frameworks argue that SES can affect children’s developmental trajectories through a variety of pathways (Conger, Conger, & Martin, 2010; Duncan, Magnuson, & Votruba-Drzal, 2015). Specifically, the family investment model (FIM) focuses on parental investments in time and resources to support children’s development, whereas the family stress model (FSM) typically links SES to parental psychological distress and, in turn, to harsh parental practices. Yet, relatively few studies have empirically tested the collective contribution of these two frameworks, with some exceptions in the U.S. (Coley, et al. 2020; Iruka, LaForett, & Odom, 2012). Moreover, no study has tested both models simultaneously using samples outside of the U.S.

In the present article, we test a comprehensive model that incorporates the FIM and the FSM simultaneously to examine key mechanisms through which family SES might predict early childhood development in Colombia. In particular, we examine the direct and indirect relations between SES and children’s development via learning materials, home-based stimulation, maternal distress, and harsh parental practices. We consider different components of SES (e.g., household wealth, maternal education) and different developmental outcomes (i.e., cognitive, language, motor, and behavior, see Figure 1).

The sample for this study included 1,395 children (50% female) and their mothers (M = 26.3 years) living in low-income households in Colombia. Data were collected through household surveys and direct assessments as part of a randomized controlled trial. The first round of data collection (T1) was conducted when children were 9 to 26 months old, and the second round (T2) when children were 27 to 46 months old.

A series of structural equation models (SEM) were estimated using Mplus 8.2. Children’s cognitive, language, and motor development scores (Bayley-III) and children’s fussy-difficult behavior (Bates, Freeland, & Lounsbury, 1979) were included in the model as outcomes. Mother-reported learning resources, home-based stimulation, and maternal depression were included as latent mediating variables and harsh parental practices as an observed mediating variable. A model including direct and indirect pathways between SES and child development via all mediators had the best fit relative to simpler models (e.g., those excluding direct paths between SES and child development) and also demonstrated adequate overall fit: 2(804) = 1931.55, p <. 001; RMSEA = .03; CFI = .87; SRMR = .05. Results indicate that the FIM pathway comprised of learning resources and home-based stimulation significantly mediated the relation between SES and cognitive development (β = 0.06, p < .10), language development (β = 0.11, p < .001), and fussy-difficult behavior (β = -0.10, p < .01), whereas the FSM pathway comprised of maternal depression and harsh parental practices significantly mediated the relation between SES and children’s fussy-difficult behavior (β = 0.08, p < .01; Figure 2). The implications of these findings for developmental science and policy will be discussed with a focus on the value of assessing links between SES and child development in diverse sociocultural contexts.

Authors

• Catalina Rey-Guerra, Boston College
  Presenting Author

• Dana Charles McCoy, Harvard University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jorge Cuartas, Harvard University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Rebekah Levine Coley, Boston College
  Non-Presenting Author