Poster #53 - Caregiver Sensitivity and Child Mental Health: Examining the Role of Economic Strain

• In Event: Poster Session 09

Abstract

Substantive evidence suggests that exposure to poverty and economic disadvantage during children’s early development is associated with an elevated risk for behavioral problems (Evans & De France, 2022). For example, children who experience persistent economic disadvantage from birth display significantly higher rates of hyperactivity and oppositional behavior in adolescence (Mazza et al., 2017). Conversely, positive parenting practices, such as caregiver sensitivity, have demonstrated positive effects on children’s mental health. Caregiver sensitivity has been implicated as a protective factor against child mental health difficulties and is associated with higher executive functioning (Cooke et al., 2022). Thus, sensitive caregiving behavior may be particularly important among families in which economic strain is high. In this context, children may benefit from highly sensitive caregiving practices and interactions to promote better behavioral outcomes. Taken together, economic strain and caregiver sensitivity have potent influences on child development and appear to exert unique effects over and above the other (Dozier et al., 2017; Leininger & Kalil, 2014). To test this, the present study examined the main and interactive effects of economic strain and caregiver sensitivity on child behavioral symptoms.
Participants included 1120 child-caregiver dyads who were recruited for a larger longitudinal study examining early development and adjustment in rural areas within the United States. When children were 35 months old, caregivers completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997) to assess children’s behavioral symptoms, as well as indicated the degree to which they experienced six sources of financial and resource-related strain: difficulty paying monthly bills, making ends meet at the end of the month, housing affordability, and money for clothing, food, and medical care. Caregiver sensitivity was assessed using behavioral observations of parent-child interactions during a puzzle activity.
Multiple regression analyses were performed to assess whether caregiver sensitivity was associated with child psychosocial problems and whether economic strain moderated this association. Regression analyses controlled for gender and state of residence. Results indicated that caregiver sensitivity (B = -1.71, SE = 0.17, p < 0.001) and economic strain (B = 0.34, SE = 0.04, p < 0.001), but not their interaction (B = -0.003, SE = 0.04, p = 0.934) significantly predicted children’s psychosocial problems.
The present study provides evidence that economic strain places children at risk for psychosocial problems in early childhood. Additionally, caregiver sensitivity exerted unique effects on children’s psychosocial problems over and above economic strain. Likewise, results indicate that economic strain affects children’s behavioral symptoms over and above caregiver sensitivity, thus elucidating the importance of clarifying other psychological mechanisms by which economic hardship may undermine child development. Finally, these findings highlight the importance of child-caregiver interactions and suggest that interventions aimed at improving caregiver sensitivity may be a fruitful approach to ameliorating adverse effects.

Authors

• Rachel Renee Middleton, State University of New York at Albany (SUNY Albany)
  Presenting Author

• Amanda M. Flagg, State University of New York at Albany (SUNY Albany)

• Betty Lin, State University of New York at Albany (SUNY Albany)