Family Facts: Social Science Research on Family, Society & Religion
Top Ten Findings
Early Childhood Outcomes
July 2007
1. Infants in married families are more likely to exhibit positive behavior than those whose mothers are single or cohabiting. Infants of married mothers behaved more positively during structured interaction than infants of cohabiting and single mothers, with no difference between infants in cohabiting and single families.
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2. Children in cognitively stimulating home environments are less likely to exhibit hyperactive or antisocial behavior. Decreased cognitive stimulation in the home, as measured by amount of maternal involvement, presence of learning materials, and variety of cognitive stimulation was a significant predictor of later hyperactivity and antisocial behavior development in African American and European American children ages 3-5 years.
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3. Three-year-olds who are less securely attached to their mothers are more likely to exhibit behavioral problems. Children’s insecure attachments to their mothers at 36 months significantly predicted mothers’ and caregivers’ ratings of internalizing behaviors for boys and girls, and externalizing behaviors for boys.
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4. Children who received more sensitive care from their mothers as preschoolers tend to have stronger social skills as first graders. Maternal sensitivity in mother-child interactions from infancy through the pre-school years was the strongest and most consistent predictor of children's social skills and behaviors throughout childhood. The more sensitive a mother was, the better the outcomes. All other predictors including family environment, socioeconomic status, maternal education, and child care quality, amount and type were less consistent predictors.
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5. Six-year-old boys who experience conflict in the home are more likely to engage in disruptive behaviors. Conflict within the family was associated with an increase in the likelihood of boys' disruptive behavior at age six and a slower rate of behavioral improvement over time.
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6. First graders and kindergartners whose parents attend religious services exhibit higher levels of self-control. Compared to children whose parents did not attend church at all, those whose parents attended church services, whether frequently or sporadically, tended to have a higher level of self-control while under parental supervision in their homes, according to parents’ reports.
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7. First graders and kindergartners whose parents attend religious services are less likely to experience anxiety, loneliness, low self-esteem and sadness Children were less likely to have internalizing behavior problems (in terms of anxiety, loneliness, low self-esteem, and sadness) if either of their parents attended church services and/or if both parents attended with the same frequency (i.e. either sporadically or frequently.)
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8. Maternal employment in the first year is associated with lower levels of cognitive development at ages three through eight In this study, having a mother who was employed during the first year of life had a negative effect on the cognitive development of white children, and the longer hours a mother work, the greater this negative effect was.
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9. Children who spend more time in daycare in early childhood are more likely to exhibit behavioral problems, even through the sixth grade. Children who spent more time in daycare centers in early childhood were more likely to exhibit behavioral problems, even through the sixth grade.
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10. Among five-year-olds in child care, those who received more sensitive and stimulating care in the first three years exhibit, on average, higher cognitive ability 4 and 1/2-year old children in child care who had received higher quality (sensitive & stimulating) caregiving from 6-36 months had higher cognitive ability scores in letter-word identification, applied problem-solving, language comprehension, and short-term memory, regardless of concurrent caregiving.
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Resources
Events:Religious Practice and Civic Life: What the Research Says October 4, 2007 |