More than Money: The Roles of Wealth, Income and Other Economic Circumstances in Child Development

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Rising wealth and income inequality as well as greater income volatility over the last decades pose a serious threat to the wellbeing of children and families. A large literature has focused on effects of income on child and family well-being, but few studies consider the implications of other dimensions of family economic circumstances, including assets, debts, income, and income volatility. This symposium brings together three studies that consider how multiple dimensions of family economic circumstances relate to child and family wellbeing.

The first paper by Gennetian and colleagues focuses on the effects of income and net worth poverty on children’s cognitive and behavioral functioning using data from Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). They find that children’s net worth poverty is related to worse cognitive and behavioral development, with effects that are most pronounced for children over 6. The second paper by Eickmeyer, and colleagues use two waves of data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to explore relations among household debt and material hardship. They discover that higher levels of debt relate to elevations in material hardship. The third paper by Podvysotska and colleagues examines how multiple aspects of family economic circumstances, including wealth, income, and income volatility, interface to shape children behavior and academic skills. They show a buffering role of wealth against economic disadvantage and income volatility for behavior problems in early and middle childhood that dissipates in adolescence.

Sub Unit

• Family Context & Processes

Chair

• Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal, University of Pittsburgh

Individual Presentations

• Net Worth, Poverty and Child Development: The Importance of Wealth - Presenting Author: Lisa Gennetian, Duke University; Non-Presenting Author: Christina Gibson-Davis, Duke Univeristy; Non-Presenting Author: Lisa Keister, Duke University; Non-Presenting Author: Santiago Deambrosi, Duke University

• Parental Debt and Children’s Material Hardship - Non-Presenting Author: Kasey Eickmeyer, Center for Policing Equity; Presenting Author: Lenna Nepomnyaschy, Rutgers University - New Brunswick; Non-Presenting Author: Daniel Miller, Boston University; Non-Presenting Author: Maureen Waller, Cornell University

• How Multiple Dimensions of Family Wealth Interface with Income to Shape Children’s Academic and Behavioral Outcomes - Presenting Author: Tamara Podvysotska, University of Pittsburgh; Non-Presenting Author: Portia Miller, University of Pittsburgh; Non-Presenting Author: Laura Betancur, Iowa State University; Non-Presenting Author: Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal, University of Pittsburgh