Do Benefits of U.S. Food Assistance Programs for Children Spillover to Older Children in the Same Household?

The Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program targets low-income individuals in nutritionally vulnerable groups in the U.S. The food benefits individuals receive could be shared with other family members or may free a portion of the family budget. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data are used to examine whether children who are age-ineligible for WIC (age 5–17), that live in WIC-participating families have healthier diets than similar children in nonparticipating families. Results show children in WIC-participating families score higher on the Healthy Eating Index than children in non participating families. This association is stronger for children in families with two or more WIC participants compared with children living with only one or no WIC participants.     

Younger Siblings Can Be Good for Your Health: An Examination of Spillover Benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a food assistance program designed to help pregnant (or postpartum) women and young children consume a nutritious diet. With WIC’s emphasis on providing healthy foods, and food being (generally) a communal commodity, age-ineligible children may benefit from living with a WIC participant. This paper used data from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to examine whether age-ineligible children who lived in WIC households were in better health than similar children who lived in households that did not participate in the program. Results suggested that older males received a health benefit as a result of living in a WIC household; however, no similar effect was found for younger males or for female children.     

Determining risk for child physical harm through the classification of economic insecurity

Children in economically insecure families are more likely to experience physical harm compared with children in economically secure families. It is unclear, however, if particular combinations of economic insecurity are more or less predictive of child physical harm. This study aimed to 1) identify and describe the prevalence of distinct combinations, or classes, of economic insecurity (public and private income transfers, bill-paying, housing, food, and medical hardships), 2) and to associate these classes with child physical harm (spanking, hitting, slapping, shaking, pinching). We employed latent class analysis with age 5 data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study (N = 4133), finding that four latent classes of economic insecurity differentially predict the prevalence and chronicity of physical harm behaviors. Mothers who reported hardship perpetrated more child physical harm than mothers who received income transfers but reported no hardship. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.     

Neighborhood poverty and children's food insecurity

Food insecurity among children and their families negatively affects children's health and well-being. While the link between household resources and food insecurity is well-established, family income alone does not explain food insecurity; neighborhood disadvantage, shown to affect other areas of children's development, may also play a role in food insecurity. This study examines associations between neighborhood poverty and children's food insecurity, and whether family characteristics account for identified associations. We merge data on kindergarten-age children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten 2010–11 Cohort (ECLS-K:2011) with data on poverty rates from the American Community Survey (ACS) and on food access from the USDA's Food Environment Atlas using children's residential census tracts (N = 12.550 children in 3750 tracts). Using a series of multilevel models, we test for associations between neighborhood poverty, household economic, demographic, and parenting characteristics, and food insecurity at the child, adult, and household levels. Children living in higher-poverty neighborhoods are more likely to experience food insecurity than those in lower-poverty neighborhoods. Associations between neighborhood poverty and household- and adult-level food insecurity disappear when household characteristics are controlled. However, living in a very high poverty neighborhood remains predictive of child-level food insecurity, which may be an indicator of severe hardship. Findings indicate that neighborhood poverty may be a useful proxy to identify vulnerable children.     

Childhood morbidities among income- and categorically-eligible WIC program participants and non-participants

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is the largest supplemental food assistance program in the United States. WIC benefits include food and infant formula, nutrition counseling, health screenings, and health-care referrals to low-income, nutritionally at-risk pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and children up to age five. This research explored the associations between childhood morbidities among income- and categorically-eligible WIC participant and non-participant groups in a diverse, nationally representative sample of children. Results indicate significant differences in the maternal sociodemographic profiles of eligible child WIC participants and non-participants. After propensity score-matching methods were used to create more appropriate comparison groups among child WIC participants and non-participants, complete covariate balance was obtained for all sociodemographic characteristics. Further, no significant differences in child asthma, respiratory illness, severe gastrointestinal illness, or ear infection diagnosis, or with mothers rating their health as poor, were noted between child WIC participants and non-participants, once the matched pairs were compared. Government regulators formulating future policies around WIC would benefit from understanding the characteristics of eligible non-participants in order to offer appropriate food, health, and educational assistance beneficial to child health.     

The impact of parent and child media use on early parent–infant attachment

With the rise in affordability of digital media and mobile devices, children under age 2 on average spend significantly more time with digital media than is recommended. Although concerns have been expressed about how parent and child media use might negatively impact parent–child attachment, there continues to be a scarcity of research on the topic. The current study assessed both the amount and the way in which children (11–26 months) and their parents engage with digital media and the impact on early attachment after controlling for temperament, parent income, parent age, marital status, and access to support. The study utilizes data from a diverse sample: 248 parents of infants completed an attachment q-sort and surveys assessing the amount of media use, parental absorption in media, types of parental mediation, temperament, and demographics. Results showed that for both parent and child, time using digital media and co-viewing was not predictive of attachment insecurity. Parental absorption in media was found to significantly predict attachment insecurity. Greater child TV media use was associated with poorer attachment security when there was limited to no parental active mediation. Active mediation served as a protective factor for attachment while parental absorption in media serves as a risk factor for attachment.     

Comparing children's experiences of schools-based bullying across countries

We make use of a newly-available international data set from a survey of children aged 8 to 12 years old across 16 diverse countries to explore variations in rates of schools-based bullying of children and the associations between experiences of being bullied and child subjective well-being, both within and between countries. The analysis is consistent with previous international studies in showing very substantial variation in rates of bullying at the country level. There are also between-country variations in the rates of different types of bullying. In terms of individual variations, we find significant variations in the likelihood of being bullied according to age, gender and deprivation, although the influence of these factors varies by country. There was no apparent link at a country-level between rates of bullying and mean life satisfaction scores. On the other hand, in almost all countries, children who had been bullied had significantly lower subjective well-being than children who had not. However there were substantial differences in the strength of association across countries. We find some tentative evidence to suggest that being bullied may make a greater contribution to explaining variations in child subjective well-being in rich countries than in poor countries. The implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.     

Evaluating WIC

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) has enjoyed extraordinary bipartisan support stemming from the widespread belief that research studies have proven that WIC "works." Although some studies suggest real dietary and health improvements, the greatest benefits only apply to WIC's prenatal program (just a small part of the total program). Even here, weaknesses in the research render the findings highly uncertain. The three most significant weaknesses are (1) selection bias, (2) simultaneity bias, and (3) lack of generalizeability. The resulting uncertainty places WIC's possible impacts on infant mortality, prematurity, and birthweight on a range from zero to substantial. For infants, children, and postpartum and breastfeeding mothers, the only impacts seem to be small to modest effects on anemia and nutrient intake. This paper does not argue that WIC's weaknesses justify abandoning or even cutting the program. On the contrary, there should be a sustained effort to make the program more effective. This effort should start with a policy debate about WIC's role and impacts, coupled with a grant of greater flexibility to state and local WIC agencies to open the program to innovation and experimentation. To increase WIC's positive impacts, we propose a series of possible reforms, each to be thoroughly evaluated.     

Assessing the effect of changes in housing costs on food insecurity

In this paper, we examine whether changes in housing costs lead to changes in rates of food insecurity for economically vulnerable families. We use data on a national, longitudinal sample of young families with children merged with data on housing (rental) costs at the state, metropolitan statistical area, and county levels (2001–2003). Focusing on families near or at the poverty level and using household fixed effects, we demonstrate that increased housing costs over this time period have indeed increased rates of food insecurity. Our preferred results suggest that a $500 increase in yearly rental costs is associated with nearly a 3% increase in food-insecurity rates (10% relative increase). We show that our measure of rental costs seems to affect only the food insecurity of renters and not that of poor low-income home owners, suggesting the validity of our methods and robustness of the findings. We also look at selected subgroups (e.g., food stamp recipients, individuals receiving housing subsidies) and find few differences in the effects of housing cost increases on food insecurity.     

Evidence of the Effectiveness of Child Support and Visitation: Examining Food Insecurity among Children with Nonresident Fathers

Over six million children who reside with a single mother and have a father who lives elsewhere are food insecure. This study examines the effectiveness of two aspects of nonresident father involvement, in-person visitation and financial contributions, in reducing food acquisition problems using data from the National Survey of America’s Families. We find that frequent visits by nonresident fathers are related to a reduced likelihood that the resident mother’s household will experience indicators of food insecurity. The effects of child support receipt on reducing food acquisition problems, however, are less consistent. Our results support policies designed to recognize and encourage nonresidential parents to make both monetary and nonmonetary contributions to the lives of their children.

Parents' persistence and certification in a two-generation education and training program

Two-generation programs provide education and training services for parents while their children attend early childhood education programs. This study examines the rates of persistence and certification of parents in one of the only two-generation interventions in the country under study, CareerAdvance®, which offers training in the healthcare sector to parents while their children attend Head Start (n = 92). Results indicate that 16 months after enrolling in CareerAdvance®, 76% of participants attained at least one workforce-applicable certificate of the program and 59% were still in the program. The majority of parents who left the program during the 16 months had attained a certificate (68%). Parents with high levels of material hardship were more likely to attain a certificate and stay enrolled in the program, and parents with higher levels of psychological distress were less likely to attain a certificate in the same time period. Implications for future two-generation programming are discussed.     

Decreasing risk factors for later alcohol use and antisocial behaviors in children in foster care by increasing early promotive factors

Children in foster care are at high risk for poor psychosocial outcomes, including school failure, alcohol and other substance abuse, and criminal behaviors. Promoting healthy development by increasing broad-impact positive skills may help reduce some of the risk factors for longer-term negative outcomes. School readiness has been linked to a number of positive outcomes across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, and may also boost intermediary positive skills such as self-competence. This paper presents findings from a longitudinal study involving 192 children in foster care who were 5 years old at the start of the study. They participated in a randomized controlled trial of a school readiness program to prepare them for kindergarten. Outcomes were assessed at third grade (9 years old) on variables associated with risk for later involvement in substance use and delinquency. These included positive attitudes towards alcohol use, positive attitudes towards antisocial behaviors, and involvement with deviant peers. Results showed that the intervention decreased positive attitudes towards alcohol use and antisocial behaviors. Further, the mediating role of children's self-competence was tested. The intervention positively influenced children's third-grade self-competence, which in turn, decreased their involvement with deviant peers. Findings suggest that promoting school readiness in children in foster care can have far-reaching, positive effects and that increased self-competence may be a mechanism for reducing risk.     

The Effects of the Healthy Families America Home Visitation Program on Parenting Attitudes and Practices and Child Social and Emotional Competence

This study examined the effects of a Healthy Families America (HFA) credentialed home visitation program on the parenting attitudes and practices of a sample of at-risk parents. It also examined the social and emotional competence of children whose parents successfully completed the program. The HFA model is an intensive early intervention program that targets at-risk families through home visitation services. Successful completion of the program is a process that takes between 3 and 5 years. Results indicate that, relative to the baseline, parents who completed the program showed significant positive change in parenting attitudes and practices. In addition, relative to other children their age, the children of families who successfully completed the program exhibited significantly higher levels of performance on measures of social and emotional competence.     

A Decade of Change: Measuring the Extent,Depth and Severity of Food Insecurity

Rates of food insecurity in the US have been rising since 2000 spiking with the onset of the Great Recession in 2008, and have remained essentially unchanged since then despite improvements in the economy. The present study employed a series of indices adapted from the poverty literature to examine the depth and severity of food insecurity across the decade by race and ethnicity among low-income households with and without children. The most rapid increases in the depth and severity of food insecurity were found among low-income households without children. Non-Hispanic White households with and without children had lower prevalence rates but steeper increases in the depth and severity of food insecurity throughout the decade. Non-Hispanic Black households with and without children were at the most disadvantaged among low-income populations.     

The Interaction Between Child Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia and Early Sensitive Parenting in the Prediction of Children's Executive Functions

This study investigated the interaction between children's parasympathetic functioning and maternal sensitive parenting behaviors during infancy and toddlerhood in the prediction of children's executive functions (EF) at the age of 5 years. Participants included 137 children and their mothers who were followed from the age of 3 months to 5 years. Children's cardiac activity was recorded at rest at multiple times from ages 3 to 36 months, and estimates of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA; a measure of parasympathetic functioning) were calculated. Sensitive parenting was assessed during a mother–child play task at ages 6, 12, 24, and 36 months, and 5 years. Children completed age appropriate EF tasks at the age of 5 years. The link between sensitive parenting during toddlerhood (ages 24 and 36 months) and children's later EF was moderated by children's RSA such that this positive link was evident only among children who had low levels of baseline RSA, and not among those who had high levels of baseline RSA. These findings were obtained while controlling for concurrent sensitive parenting and maternal and child verbal abilities. Results from this study provide evidence for the significant role of biopsychosocial processes in early childhood in the development of EF.     

Changes in parenting practices during Parent Management Training Oregon model with parents of children in foster care

This study examined changes in parenting practices among parents receiving Parent Management Training Oregon model (PMTO). These parents had children in foster care with serious emotional disturbance and were randomized to receive in-home PMTO for up to six months. Using data from the Parent Child Checklist, an observation-based measure administered by therapists after each parent-child session, latent growth curve modeling was conducted with a sample of 318 parents of children, aged 3–16 years old, in foster care. Results showed that overall parenting effectiveness improved and that the change trajectory was best fit by a cubic model (two changes in trajectory). Parenting effectiveness initially increased but was found to turn downward temporarily, then rebounded toward additional improvements. Similarly, three of the six subscales – skill encouragement, positive involvement, and communication/monitoring – demonstrated significant change and a cubic trajectory. In contrast, problem solving and effective discipline subscales showed significant improvement but the trajectory was best fit by a quadratic model, indicating that these parenting practices improved and then leveled off near the end of treatment. The ineffective discipline subscale did not demonstrate significant change. Additionally, parents with high initial scores experienced lower rates of improvement and higher rates of deceleration. However, parents who started with relatively high rates of change were better able to maintain improvements over time. Overall, the results suggested PMTO was associated with increased effective parenting but the trajectory for positive change included both gains and setbacks. Future research is needed to determine whether gains in parenting practices are sustained beyond the treatment period.     

FOOD ASSISTANCE THROUGH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM

Numerous public and private initiatives in the United States work to mitigate food insecurity and its unwelcome repercussions for children's health and well-being. An increasingly popular program, the Food For Kids program originated by the Arkansas Rice Depot, seeks to reduce hunger among school-aged children by distributing ready-to-eat food in backpacks for participating students to take home for evening and weekend meals. This study assesses reasons for participation in the program and its impact on school-level indicators of student behavior and academic performance. Sample statistics from unique surveys made available by the Arkansas Rice Depot, a faith-based food bank, indicate that some parents cannot or do not properly feed their children due to insufficient economic means, illness, drug addiction, or a lack of willingness. The analysis also finds improvements in participating students’ self-esteem and behavior at school. Additional results from fixed effects regressions using school report-card data indicate a positive and significant program impact on eighth-grade standardized test scores in math and literacy.     

WITHIN‐MOTHER ESTIMATES OF THE EFFECTS OF WIC ON BIRTH OUTCOMES IN NEW YORK CITY

There is a large literature suggesting that “WIC works” to improve birth outcomes. However, methodological limitations related to selection into the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program have left room for doubt about this conclusion. This article uses birth records from New York City to address some limitations of the previous literature. We estimate models with mother fixed effects to control for fixed characteristics of mothers and we directly investigate the way that time‐varying characteristics of mothers affect selection into the WIC program. We find that WIC is associated with reductions in low birth weight, even among full‐term infants, and with reductions in the probability that a child is “small for dates.” These improvements are associated with a reduction in the probability that the mother gained too little weight during pregnancy. Improvements tend to be largest for first born children. We also find that women on WIC are more likely to be diagnosed with chronic conditions, and receive more intensive medical services, a finding that may reflect improved access to medical care. (JEL I12, H42)     

The effectiveness of a parenting education program based on respected parents & respected children for mothers of preschool-aged children

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Respected Parents & Respected Children (RPRC) parenting education program for mothers of preschool-aged children in South Korea. A total of 99 mothers were assigned to an intervention group (n = 54) or a control group (n = 45). Mothers in the intervention group received 16 weekly sessions of the parenting education program and then were compared with mothers who did not take part in the program. Questionnaires were used to assess parenting characteristics (i.e., maternal depression and anger, parenting behavior, co-parenting, parenting efficacy, and parenting stress) at baseline (pre-test), immediately after the termination of the program (post-test), and 8 months after the end of the program (follow-up test). Maternal rejection/restrictions, dissatisfaction, and parental distress of the intervention group decreased and efficacy as parents improved after taking part in the program, and these effects were sustained at follow-up. Our findings support the effectiveness of the RPRC parenting education program in changing parenting strategies and satisfaction and emphasize the need for preventive interventions for parents with young children.     

Prenatal risk and physical aggression during the first years of life: The gender‐specific role of inhibitory control

Prenatal risk and a lack of inhibitory control have consistently been related to the development of physical aggression in older children. This study examined whether inhibitory control mediated the relation between prenatal risk and aggression in infants and toddlers. The role of gender in this mediation model was also examined. The sample consisted of 161 mother–child dyads (83 boys). A prenatal cumulative risk score was created from a number of well‐established risk factors including maternal psychopathology, substance use, and social and socioeconomic disadvantages. At 12 months, children performed an inhibitory control task. Physical aggression was assessed through maternal reports at 12 and 20 months of age. Results showed that higher prenatal risk was associated with more physical aggression. Inhibitory control mediated this association at both 12 and 20 months: higher prenatal risk was related to lower inhibitory control, which in turn led to higher aggression. At 20 months, gender moderated the mediation effect: the mediating role of inhibitory control was only found for girls. These results suggest that even before 2 years of age, inhibitory control is an important construct involved in the relation between prenatal risk and physical aggression.