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Source: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Resulting in 32 citations.
1. Bae, Junghee
Cumulative Inequality in Teen Parents and Job Achievements: Mediation Effect of Educational Achievement
Presented: Washington DC, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2018
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Adolescent Fertility; Age at First Birth; Educational Attainment; Income; Labor Force Participation; Modeling, Growth Curve/Latent Trajectory Analysis; Parenthood

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

The aim of this study is to explore cumulative disparities in educational and job achievements of teen parents during their early adulthood. Furthermore, this study identifies the role of educational level on the job achievements.
Bibliography Citation
Bae, Junghee. "Cumulative Inequality in Teen Parents and Job Achievements: Mediation Effect of Educational Achievement." Presented: Washington DC, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2018.
2. Bares, Cristina
Andrade, Fernando
A Longitudinal Analysis of Late Adolescent Co-Morbidity Between Cigarette Use and Mental Health Problems Using the NLSY
Presented: Tampa FL, Society for Social Work and Research 15th Annual Conference, January 2011
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): CESD (Depression Scale); Cigarette Use (see Smoking); Health, Mental/Psychological; Smoking (see Cigarette Use)

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Background and Purpose: The prevalence of cigarette use and symptoms of depression and anxiety show high rates of co-morbidity, both undergo rapid onset during adolescence, and both work on the same brain receptors. Because studies both suggest that smoking increases the likelihood of developing depression/anxiety problems and depressed-anxious adolescents are at greater risk for smoking, this study examined the longitudinal progression of the co-occurrence of cigarette use and depression/anxiety problems. The purpose of the study is to understand the stability between and within these problems over time in U.S. adolescents. Because existing research suggests that female adolescents may be at increased risk of becoming heavy smokers, we were also interested in whether co-morbidities differed by gender.

Methods: We used the NLSY97 longitudinal study containing a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents. The NLSY assesses adolescents' development in several areas; educational, labor market experiences, mental health, alcohol and other drug use, among other factors. NLSY measures of depression/anxiety are available only in waves 4, 6 and 8. Thus the analyses included data from these three waves. A total of 8,544 adolescents (Mean age at wave 4 = 17.9, SD=1.44, 49% female) were included in the analyses. To investigate the co-morbidity between depression/anxiety and cigarette use, latent factors of depression/anxiety and cigarette consumption were constructed at each wave. The depression/anxiety latent factors were based on five items measuring how often participants felt down, depressed, nervous, calm and happy. The cigarette use latent factors were based on two items measuring, in the previous month, the number of days they had smoked and the number of cigarettes smoked per day. Finally, we estimated a three wave Bivariate Autoregressive Cross-Lagged Effect Model to test the conjoint trajectory of depression/anxiety and smoking. The fit of the final model was very good (CFI = 0.948, TLI=0.970 and RMSEA=0.059). Results: Prior depression/anxiety status influenced future depression/anxiety status between waves (0.685, p<0.001; 0.794, p<0.001) and previous cigarette use was a strong predictor of future cigarette use across waves (.925, p<0.001; 912, p<0.001). The model also suggested cross-lagged effects between waves 4 and 6. The greater depression/anxiety problems at wave 4, the more likely adolescents were to use cigarettes in the future (.268, p<0.01).The more cigarette use at wave 4 the more depression/anxiety at wave 6 (0.009, p<0.001). Separate models were tested by gender revealing same patterns between males and females.

Conclusions and Implications: The findings of this study showed that, both mental health and cigarette consumption influence each other during late adolescence. These findings could be explained by two hypotheses. First, adolescents with more depression/anxiety problems would use nicotine to treat their symptoms (self medication hypothesis). Second, common genetic factors may account for both the addiction to nicotine and vulnerability to depression/anxiety problems. Further research is needed to explore in more detail the mechanics of the co-morbidity of depression/anxiety and nicotine addiction. Major implications for prevention and treatment programs include considering both nicotine dependence and depressive-anxious disorders as two factors that jointly affect each other.

Bibliography Citation
Bares, Cristina and Fernando Andrade. "A Longitudinal Analysis of Late Adolescent Co-Morbidity Between Cigarette Use and Mental Health Problems Using the NLSY." Presented: Tampa FL, Society for Social Work and Research 15th Annual Conference, January 2011.
3. Berzin, Stephanie Cosner
Rhodes, Alison M.
Curtis, Marah A.
Understanding the Housing Experience of Former Foster Youth During the Transition to Adulthood
Presented: Tampa FL, Society for Social Work and Research 15th Annual Conference, January 2011
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Foster Care; Mobility, Residential; Residence; Transition, Adulthood

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Background and Purpose: While evidence has mounted that former foster youth face multiple challenges as they transition to adulthood, research has been less explicit in examining how they fare in particular domains. Some research has suggested that former foster youth fare similarly to comparison youth, while other research has suggested their disparity to matched youth or youth in the general population. One domain that seems particular salient for investigation is housing, as former foster youth often face multiple moves during childhood, may have limited familial support, and/or may face an institutionally-forced move during emancipation from care. The present study explores housing outcomes and stability for former foster youth during the transition to adulthood in comparison to other youth.

Methods: Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, this study compared the housing experiences of former foster youth (n=126), matched youth (n=126), and non-matched youth in the general population (n=8194). The matched sample was created using propensity scoring to model the likelihood to be in foster care based on a set of pre-existing characteristics. Propensity scores were created using nearest neighbor 1 to 1 matching with caliper .25σ. Bivariate analysis explored housing experiences related to homelessness, housing stability, housing independence, and living situation during the transition to adulthood. Multivariate analysis was used to examine factors associated with particular housing patterns.

Results: Analysis revealed that housing experiences were similar for former foster youth and youth in the matched sample with some differences to youth in the general population. With regard to homelessness, former foster youth experienced higher rates than youth in the general population, but similar rates to comparison youth. Considering housing stability, the number of moves and the expectation to move within the next year was similar for youth in all three groups. Examining housing independence, experiences were similar across the three groups with regard to living on one's own, the year the youth first moved out, moving back in with parents or guardians, and rates of home ownership. Considering living situation, some differences were noted for former foster youth and youth in the general population, mainly with regard to cohabitation and living in a dormitory. Multivariate analysis suggests housing experiences were tied to income, education level, and other transition experiences rather than foster care history.

Conclusions and Implications: Study findings suggest some areas of promise for former foster youth, mainly their ability to secure stable, independent housing at similar rates and ages to other youth. While these findings suggest success, rates of homelessness are well-above youth in the general population during this transition period. Additionally, their high rates of cohabitation and low rates of dormitory living are likely tied to other transition outcomes around securing adult relationships and obtaining higher levels of education. These factors may set youth up for negative trajectories and have implications for policy and service delivery. Findings from this study are used to provide policy and practice recommendations with regard to housing and transition services for former foster youth.

Bibliography Citation
Berzin, Stephanie Cosner, Alison M. Rhodes and Marah A. Curtis. "Understanding the Housing Experience of Former Foster Youth During the Transition to Adulthood." Presented: Tampa FL, Society for Social Work and Research 15th Annual Conference, January 2011.
4. Bilaver, Lucy
The Causal Effect of Family Income on Childhood Obesity
Presented: San Francisco, CA, Society for Social Work and Research 14th Annual Conference, January 2010.
Also: http://sswr.confex.com/sswr/2010/webprogram/Paper13098.html
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Body Mass Index (BMI); Child Health; Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC); Family Income; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Modeling, Fixed Effects; Obesity; Variables, Instrumental; Weight

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Background and Purpose: The prevalence of childhood obesity has increased significantly in recent decades, and is regarded by many as a major public health concern. There are long-term consequences of childhood obesity including an increased risk for coronary heart disease, adult obesity, and other adult co-morbidities. Recent evidence revealed negative income gradients in childhood obesity. While the association between family income and childhood obesity suggests that income transfers to the poor may lower obesity prevalence, there is no empirical evidence that the relationship is causal. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether family income has a causal effect on childhood obesity in a large sample of children measured every other year between 1986-2006.

Methods: We employ a fixed-effects instrumental variable design first used by Dahl and Lochner (2005). The approach controls for permanent unobserved heterogeneity via child-level fixed effects and transitory unobserved characteristics with an instrumental variable. Specifically, we use predicted after-tax/transfer family income as an instrument for current family income taking advantage of variation introduced by changes in the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

We apply this strategy to the data on the children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) 1979. The sample includes up to 11 interviews with all children born to women in the original NLSY 79 sample. This sample was representative of U.S. children ages 14-22 in 1979. The current analysis includes over 9,000 children with at least one measurement of height and weight over the age of 2. Over 50% of the children in the sample had 4 or more observations.

Results: Overall, the prevalence of obesity in this sample increased from approximately 9% in 1986 to over 20% in 2006. The instrument for pre-tax/transfer income is constructed by predicting income based on a set of exogenous mother characteristics including age, race, education at age 23, AFQT score, and characteristics of the mother's home life at age 14. The taxes and transfers associated with this income are found using the TAXSIM software program available on-line at the National Bureau for Economic Research. The sum of the two values is equal to the predicted after-tax/transfer income. This variable serves as the instrument. The t-statistic on predicted after-tax/transfer income is highly significant in a regression on actual after-tax/transfer income after accounting for fixed effects.

In the child-fixed effects regressions, there is no relationship between changes in pre-tax/transfer income and childhood obesity. With the instrumental variable, however, an increase in current income is shown to reduce the probability of obesity. Specifically, in linear probability models an increase of $1,000 implies a 1% reduction in the prevalence of obesity.

Conclusions: The preliminary evidence from this analysis shows that family income does have a causal effect on childhood obesity. The observed relationship of decreasing prevalence of obesity with increased family income withstands rigorous controls for time-constant and time-varying unobserved characteristics. The preliminary evidence supports the expectation of positive public health effects from policies such as the EITC.

Bibliography Citation
Bilaver, Lucy. "The Causal Effect of Family Income on Childhood Obesity." Presented: San Francisco, CA, Society for Social Work and Research 14th Annual Conference, January 2010.
5. Bilaver, Lucy
The Causal Effect of Family Income On Childhood Obesity
Presented: Washington DC, Society for Social Work and Research Conference, January 2012.
Also: http://sswr.confex.com/sswr/2012/webprogram/Paper16604.html
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Body Mass Index (BMI); Child Growth; Child Health; Children, Poverty; Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC); Family Income; Modeling, Fixed Effects; Obesity; Variables, Instrumental; Weight

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Background and Purpose: The prevalence and subsequent health impacts of childhood obesity are disproportionately concentrated among low-income and minority children. Many believe the correlation between income and childhood obesity is due to income's effect on some combination of the type of food people eat (or have access to) and whether they have the time and ability to engage in physical activity in safe, suitable environments. However, it is also possible that the correlation reflects the influence of unmeasured parental characteristics, also associated with family income, that directly influence childhood obesity and health. The purpose of this paper is to estimate a causal effect using a fixed-effects instrumental variable design that addresses the endogeneity of reported family income.

Methods: The instrumental variable approach leverages two sources of exogenous variation in family income to identify a causal effect: changing returns to maternal education at baseline and expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit. Both sources of variation are shown to have a significant effect on changes in family income and are assumed to be independent of childhood obesity. The fixed effects instrumental variable design is applied to data on the children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. Wald and two-stage least squares estimates are used relate family income to childhood obesity.

Results: This study finds that a $10,000 increase in family income implies a 4.5% decrease in the probability of being obese (≥95th body mass index percentile). Relative to the national childhood obesity prevalence of 17%, the results imply that income transfers could have a substantial effect on the prevalence of obesity in the United States.

Conclusions and Implications: The results of this analysis provide evidence of the protective effect of increased income. Although the research design used in this analysis improves upon existing estimates of the ef fect of family income, the assumptions upon which the causal effect is identified mean the results may not generalize to all policies that affect income including increasing minimum wages or non-labor market based cash-assistance programs (i.e. TANF, SSI).

Bibliography Citation
Bilaver, Lucy. "The Causal Effect of Family Income On Childhood Obesity." Presented: Washington DC, Society for Social Work and Research Conference, January 2012.
6. Chavez, Raul
A Psychosocial Development Approach to Understanding Youth Work Outcomes: An Exploratory Study Utilizing National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1997) Data
Presented: New Orleans LA, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2017
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Benefits, Fringe; Family Environment; Job Satisfaction; Occupational Choice; Peers/Peer influence/Peer relations; Schooling; Wages

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

The problem of youth unemployment has been traditionally understood through an economics lens and reduced to the simple binary outcome of employment status. Nonetheless, such a conceptualization ignores the psychological and social aspects of work, as well as the various dimensions of employment. The purpose of this exploratory study is to take a psychosocial development approach to understanding the problem of youth unemployment by testing for the relationship between psychosocial development factors and five dimensions of employment: occupation type, annual hours worked, average annual wage per hours worked, annual paid time off, and job satisfaction. The study leveraged Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development, which identifies four factors as the drivers of psychosocial development in the first five pre-adult stages: family (stages one to three), school experiences (stage four), peers and friends (stages four and five), and the ability to make work choices (stage five).
Bibliography Citation
Chavez, Raul. "A Psychosocial Development Approach to Understanding Youth Work Outcomes: An Exploratory Study Utilizing National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1997) Data." Presented: New Orleans LA, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2017.
7. Chiang, Chien-jen
Sun, Sicong
Hudson, Darrell L.
Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Association between Parental Wealth and Child Behavioral Problems
Presented: Phoenix AZ, Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Conference, January 2023.
Also: https://sswr.confex.com/sswr/2023/webprogram/Paper50674.html
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Debt/Borrowing; Depression (see also CESD); Ethnic Differences; Net Worth; Parental Influences; Racial Differences; Wealth

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Background/Purpose: Racial/ethnic wealth inequities are well documented and historically entrenched. Wealth plays a pivotal role in determining the social context in which children live as wealth provides access to neighborhoods with greater levels and quality of resources such as school quality indicators and perceptions of neighborhood safety. Whereas the existing literature is replete with studies that have examined the association between wealth and child development outcomes, the goal of this study is to examine the association between parental wealth and child behavior problems across race/ethnicity using longitudinal data.

Methods: Data for this study were drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (1979-2016). Three self-reported racial/ethnic groups were examined: Non-Hispanic White, Non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic. The final analytic sample was 8,773. The primary dependent variables were the child behavior problem index (BPI). We constructed a median-dichotomized standardized BPI measure in addition to using the antisocial subscale and depression/anxiety subscales. Parental wealth, defined as net worth, was a time-varying variable calculated as assets minus debt, adjusting for inflation. We further created net worth quartiles within each racial/ethnic groups. To account for the within-person and within-household clustering effects, three-level logistic regression was used. We first conducted the analyses using the whole sample, followed by subgroup analyses by race/ethnicity.

Results: Nearly 42% of the non-Hispanic black respondents were in debt or had zero net worth and had the lowest level of net worth compared to other racial/ethnic groups. Wealth was significantly, negatively associated with all of the BPI indicators. Compared to Non-Hispanic Whites, Hispanic children were less likely to have an above-median total BPI score (OR=.740, 95% CI .592-.925); Non-Hispanic Black children were more likely to have an above-median antisocial score (OR=1.533, 95% CI 1.311-1.792); Non-Hispanic black children were less likely to have an above-median anxiety/depression score (OR=.737, 95% CI .634-.857). For Non-Hispanic white children, greater wealth was significantly associated with lower odds of having poor behavior outcomes, compared to those in the lowest wealth quartile. For Non-Hispanic Black children, wealth was only protective against the three different behavioral problem indicators among those in the highest wealth quartile. There were no significant associations between parental wealth and child behavior problems for Hispanic children.

Bibliography Citation
Chiang, Chien-jen, Sicong Sun and Darrell L. Hudson. "Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Association between Parental Wealth and Child Behavioral Problems." Presented: Phoenix AZ, Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Conference, January 2023.
8. Eamon, Mary Keegan
Hong, Jun Sung
Youths' Perceptions of Unsafe Schools: An Ecological Systems Analysis
Presented: San Francisco, CA, Society for Social Work and Research 14th Annual Conference, January 2010.
Also: http://sswr.confex.com/sswr/2010/webprogram/Paper11708.html
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Children, Well-Being; Handguns, carrying or using; Neighborhood Effects; Parenting Skills/Styles; School Characteristics/Rating/Safety

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Purpose: Although schools were once perceived as one of the safest places for children and youths, students today are more concerned about their school safety than ever. Unsafe schools have been linked to poorer educational outcomes, such as school dropout, and measures of well-being, such as increased stress. Developing and implementing effective school safety interventions and policies require an examination of the ecological factors that influence how youths perceive school safety. Despite this need, few studies have examined factors at multiple levels of the environment. The main purpose of this study is to use Urie Bronfenbrenner's ecological model as a framework to examine multiple factors that predict students' perceptions of their schools as unsafe.

Method: The study used a sample of 10- to 15-year-old youths (N=953) from the 2004 and 2006 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youths and the Mother-Child datasets. Four possible responses to the question "I don't feel safe at this school," were dichotomized to reflect some degree of feeling unsafe in school versus "not at all true." Groups of variables included youth characteristics (age, race/ethnicity, gender, behavior problems), maternal/family characteristics (marital status, mothers' education, poverty), school environment (ease of making friends, teacher's involvement, school rule enforcement, weapon carrying), neighborhood environment (neighborhood safety, area of residence), and parenting practices (discussions with youths, school involvement). Weighted descriptive statistics were computed, and models were estimated using multivariate logistic regression.

Results: Approximately 30% of the youths felt that their schools were unsafe to some degree. Of the youth characteristics, only age was statistically significantly related to feeling unsafe in school (OR=1.15), and none of the maternal/family characteristics were significant. Within the school environment, youths repor ting higher levels of ease in making friends at school (OR=.65), teachers being more involved in their school life (OR=.75), and the school enforces rules (OR=.67) were less likely to perceive their schools as unsafe. Youths observing someone carrying a weapon in school were 1.68 times more likely to perceive an unsafe school. Within the neighborhood environment, youths perceiving their neighborhoods as safe were less likely to feel unsafe in school (OR=.62), and those residing in a metropolitan area not in a central city, compared with youths living in a central city, were .68 times as likely to perceive their schools as unsafe. Finally, youths whose parents were more involved in their schools were less likely to feel unsafe in their schools (OR=.90).

Implications: These findings support the importance of examining interactions within multiple system levels and indicate that school and community environments and parents' involvement in the school have important influences on students' perceptions of an unsafe school. These results suggest that practitioners who assist schools in creating environments that are supportive, yet enforce rules, free of weapons, and involve parents will increase students' perceptions of a safe school. Advocating for community interventions, such as neighborhood watches, and social policies to decrease violence in communities also might increase youths' perceptions that their schools are safe.

Bibliography Citation
Eamon, Mary Keegan and Jun Sung Hong. "Youths' Perceptions of Unsafe Schools: An Ecological Systems Analysis." Presented: San Francisco, CA, Society for Social Work and Research 14th Annual Conference, January 2010.
9. Glassford, Tyler
Huang, Jin
The Associations Between Body Mass Index and Health Problems: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey Cohort 1979
Presented: New Orleans LA, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2017
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Body Mass Index (BMI); Educational Attainment; Health, Chronic Conditions; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Socioeconomic Factors

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Background/Purpose: Much research has been conducted to examine the relationships between body mass index (BMI) and health issues. For example, past research has shown that increasing BMI relates to increased prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus and dyslipidemia. However, research has not sought to parse out the dynamics among BMI, health problems, and other socioeconomic factors. This study replicates and extends Bays et al. (2007) to assess the role of BMI on health problems, while controlling for social factors.

Methods: The present research utilized data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79). The NLSY79 is a nationally representative survey collecting annual information from a cohort of 12,686 since 1979. The dependent variable was any of BMI-related health problems reported by respondents prior to 2006, for example high blood sugar, congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, and, myocardial infarctions. Those reporting at least one health condition were coded "1" on the dependent variable, and others were coded "0". The independent variable was individual's BMI calculated from self-reported information of height and weight in 2006. BMI was subsequently categorized into four groups with scores of less than 18.5 being underweight, between 18.5 and 24.9 as normal, 25 through 29.9 overweight, and scores greater than 29.9 being obese. Other control variables include individual demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, such as age, educational attainment, and wage. Logistic regression was conducted to assess the association between BMI and health problems.

Bibliography Citation
Glassford, Tyler and Jin Huang. "The Associations Between Body Mass Index and Health Problems: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey Cohort 1979." Presented: New Orleans LA, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2017.
10. Han, Wen-Jui
Fox, Liana E.
Children's Cognitive Trajectories in the Context of Parental Work Schedules
Presented: Tampa FL, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2011
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Children, Academic Development; Cognitive Ability; Cognitive Development; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Maternal Employment; Modeling, Multilevel; Parent Supervision/Monitoring; Parent-Child Interaction; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Shift Workers; Welfare; Work Hours/Schedule

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This paper investigates the relationship between parental work schedules (e.g., working evenings, nights, or early mornings) and children's cognitive trajectories from age 5 to age 14. This issue is important because a great number of parents work nonstandard shifts in order to share care responsibilities for their children. While many parents intentionally seek a nonstandard shift as a strategy to provide daytime or after-school care for their children, for many other parents, a nonstandard shift is not an option but a requirement of the job that can put pressure on work-family balance. Nonstandard schedules can facilitate or impede parent-child contact, which in turn has implications for children's well-being.
Bibliography Citation
Han, Wen-Jui and Liana E. Fox. "Children's Cognitive Trajectories in the Context of Parental Work Schedules." Presented: Tampa FL, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2011.
11. Houser, Linda
Vartanian, Thomas P.
Policy Matters: The Relationship Between Public Policy, Paid Family Leave, and Economic Security for U.S. Workers
Presented: San Diego CA, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2013
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Geocoded Data; Leave, Family or Maternity/Paternity; State-Level Data/Policy

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Methods: We analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 to 2009 Panel—a nationally representative sample of individuals no older than age 30 in 2009—linked to state identifiers. All results were drawn from logistic and linear regression analyses. Our analyses controlled for a variety of individual- and state-level factors. Depending upon the analysis and sample in question, sample sizes ranged from 258 to 1,355.

Results: Women in states with TDI or PFL programs are twice as likely to take paid leave following the birth of a child than are women in other states. The effect is even larger for low-income women—those who are least likely to have access to paid leave through an employer.

Bibliography Citation
Houser, Linda and Thomas P. Vartanian. "Policy Matters: The Relationship Between Public Policy, Paid Family Leave, and Economic Security for U.S. Workers." Presented: San Diego CA, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2013.
12. Jantz, Ian
Huffman-Gottschling, Kristen
Rolock, Nancy
Multi-Morbidity, Poverty, and Community Context: An Analysis of Factors Related to Medical Complexity At Midlife
Presented: San Diego CA, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2013
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Bayesian; Health, Chronic Conditions; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Neighborhood Effects; Poverty; Stress

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Method: We analyzed data from ten years of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Upon turning 40, female respondents (n=4,296) reported chronic health conditions ever experienced. A latent class analysis classified respondents based on these health conditions. We determined number of latent classes using Bayseian Information Criterion (BIC) and model interpretability. Respondent class membership became the dependent variable in a multinomial regression. Model predictors were indicators of adverse economic and social conditions. These predictors included measures of the number times in the ten previous annual waves of data collection that respondents lived in poverty or reported adverse community conditions. Adverse community conditions were measured with a series of questions about how frequently respondents felt crime, abandoned buildings, unemployment, police protection, public transit, poor parental supervision, and disrespect for laws were problems in the community. Additional covariates included race/ethnicity, education, weight, and substance use.
Bibliography Citation
Jantz, Ian, Kristen Huffman-Gottschling and Nancy Rolock. "Multi-Morbidity, Poverty, and Community Context: An Analysis of Factors Related to Medical Complexity At Midlife." Presented: San Diego CA, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2013.
13. Jiwatram, Tina
Sharma, Shilpi
Wang, Julia Shu-Huah
Oh, Hans Young
Impacts of Maternal Employment On Gender Attitudes and Work Behavior--an Analysis From National Longitudinal Survey 1979, 1987 & 2004
Presented: San Diego CA, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2013
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Attitudes; Gender Attitudes/Roles; Maternal Employment; Modeling, OLS

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This study utilizes data from the National Longitudinal Survey in 1979, 1987 and 2004, when respondents were in their adolescence, twenties and midlife, respectively. The dependent variable is measured using a gender attitude scale measuring respondents’ view of women in the workforce (0-12 scale, Cronbach’s alpha=0.84). Work behavior is measured by hours worked in the past calendar year. The main explanatory variable, maternal employment, is categorized as mothers who worked all year, part of the year or not at all in 1979. We treat data as pooled cross-sections since maternal employment was only captured in 1979. Ordinary least square (OLS) regression models are employed, controlling for major demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of respondents and parents. We interact year, gender, and type of maternal employment to delineate the cohort and gender trend across time.
Bibliography Citation
Jiwatram, Tina, Shilpi Sharma, Julia Shu-Huah Wang and Hans Young Oh. "Impacts of Maternal Employment On Gender Attitudes and Work Behavior--an Analysis From National Longitudinal Survey 1979, 1987 & 2004." Presented: San Diego CA, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2013.
14. Kim, Minseop
Nonstandard Work Schedules, Parental Involvement, and Children's Academic Achievement
Presented: New Orleans LA, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2017
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Parent-Child Interaction; Parent-School involvement; Parental Influences; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Work Hours/Schedule

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Background/Purpose: In an effort to improve academic achievement, researchers and policy makers have advanced social policies designed to promote parental involvement in children’s education. However, nonstandard work schedules (NWS; work schedules outside the typical daytime span) may serve as a barrier to parental involvement and thus a risk factor in children’s academic achievement. The present study investigates how and under what conditions various nonstandard work schedules affect the rate of parental involvement that in turn affects children's (age 13-14) academic achievement. Specifically, this study examines whether two types of parental involvement (at-home involvement and at-school involvement) serve as a mediator. This study also examines whether the effects of NWS on parental involvement and academic achievement vary depending on family structure, with a hypothesis that parental involvement and children's academic achievement will be more adversely affected by parental NWS in single-parent families.

Methods: Data were drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and its Child Supplement. The selected sample included 7,838 children who were followed from birth to age 13 or 14 in 1996-2010. Children's academic achievement was measured by the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT) reading and math scores. Parental NWS were measured by five categories: 1) standard (if the main job begins at 6 am or later and ends by 6 pm); 2) evening shift (between 2 pm and midnight); 3) night shift (between 9 pm and 6 am); 4) other (split-shift, rotating shift, and irregular hours); and 5) not working. At-school involvement was measured by a composite score of 4 related items (e.g., How often did either of parents attend a school meeting; Cronbach alpha= .60). At-home involvement was measured by a composite score of 6 related items (e.g., how often the child have discussed with their parents school activities, Cronbach alpha=.70). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to estimate the relationship among parental NWS, parental involvement, and children's reading and math scores.

Bibliography Citation
Kim, Minseop. "Nonstandard Work Schedules, Parental Involvement, and Children's Academic Achievement." Presented: New Orleans LA, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2017.
15. Kim, Minseop
Byrne, Thomas
Jung, Nahri
Family Wealth and College Attendance: Borrowing Constraints or Scholastic Ability?
Presented: Washington DC, Society for Social Work and Research Conference, January 2012:
Also: http://sswr.confex.com/sswr/2012/webprogram/Paper16868.html
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Assets; Cognitive Development; College Education; Debt/Borrowing; Family Income; Test Scores/Test theory/IRT; Wealth

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Background and Purpose: This study aims to examine how various forms of family wealth affect college attendance. Family wealth may have an effect on educational attainment over and above the effect of family income that may play a pivotal role in children's future socio-economic status. In light of this, a handful of studies have recently examined the extent to which various forms of wealth (e.g. liquid assets, illiquid assets, and debt) affects post-secondary educational outcomes including college attendance and completion. However, the underlying mechanism that accounts for the relationship still remains unclear. While the borrowing constraint hypothesis considers lack of economic resources to finance college education as a major barrier to college attendance, the ability hypothesis posits that family wealth affects college attendance as it is a crucial determinant of the ability of children to obtain post-secondary education. In other words, whereas the former focuses more on a direct financial effect, the latter emphasizes an indirect effect of family wealth through its impact on the scholastic ability of children. To test these two hypotheses, this study empirically examines a path model in which three forms of family wealth (liquid assets, illiquid assets, and debt) are assumed to have a direct effect on college attendance, and an indirect effect via SAT performance, which is one of the most important criteria in college admission.

Method: We utilize the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97), which is the only national dataset that provides detailed reliable information on family wealth, SAT score, and college attendance. The study sample drawn from the NLSY97 consists of children who reported that they had taken the SAT between 1996 and 2003 (N=3,216). We construct wealth variables measuring illiquid assets, liquid assets, and debt. For statistical analysis, we use structural equation modeling (SEM) with SAT scores (verbal and math) serving as indicators of scholastic ability. SEM enables us to simultaneously estimate both direct and indirect effects on college attendance. Results: The SEM results support the ability hypothesis rather than the borrowing constraints hypothesis. Although, as expected, the liquid and illiquid assets have a positive effect, the direct effects are not significant. On the other hand, a family wealth measure, liquid assets shows a meaningful, indirect effect on college attendance through SAT (Odds ratio: 1.014, p<.05). Finally, although it is not of primary interest, family income, a traditional way to measure economic resources, is found to have a direct effect on college attendance (Odds ratio: 1.074, p<.05).

Conclusions and implications: This study suggests that family wealth, especially liquid assets which are easily convertible, is important for children's cognitive development, which is a strong predictor of post-secondary education. This finding suggests that it is important to enhance programs designed to encourage poor families to accumulate assets to promote educational achievement of their children. It should also be noted that given the observed direct effect of family income on college attendance, this study does not contradict current policy which helps youth from lower income families finance post-secondary education through borrowing.

Bibliography Citation
Kim, Minseop, Thomas Byrne and Nahri Jung. "Family Wealth and College Attendance: Borrowing Constraints or Scholastic Ability?." Presented: Washington DC, Society for Social Work and Research Conference, January 2012:.
16. Kim, Minseop
Jung, Nahri
Parental Shift Works and Children's Cognitive Outcomes: A Sibling Fixed-Effects Regression Model
Presented: San Antonio TX, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2014
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Cognitive Development; Maternal Employment; Modeling, Fixed Effects; Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT); Shift Workers; Work Hours/Schedule

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Background: With the rise of a 24/7 economy, a growing body of research has examined the impacts of parental shift works, which are especially prevalent among welfare leavers and low-income families, on child development, including cognitive outcomes. Given that parents with shift works may represent distinct groups, it is important to deal with selection bias and/or omitted variable bias in estimating the effects of parental shift works. However, previous empirical studies have often relied on observational data and conventional linear regression, which is unable to control for unmeasured parental characteristics (e.g., parental intelligence). Hence, it is unclear whether their findings reflect causal effects or biased results. In order to address this limitation, we examined the association between parental shift works and children’s cognitive outcomes (under age 5), using a sibling fixed-effects regression (SFE), which helps us make a better causal inference.

Method: Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) and its Child Supplement (NLSY-CS), we pooled 7838 children born to the NLSY female sample. Parental shift work was measured by five categories: 1) day shifts (if the main job begins at 6 am or later and ends by 6 pm); 2) evening shifts (between 2 pm and midnight); 3) night shifts (between 9 pm and 6 am); 4) other shifts (i.e., split-shift, rotating shift, and irregular hours); and 5) not working. Children’s cognitive outcome was measured by the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test - Revised (PPVT-R). We conducted OLS regression followed by the SFE that regressed differences in sibling PPVT-R scores on differences in siblings’ exposure to parental shift work, differencing out any sibling-invariant characteristics associated with the family, including any unobserved heterogeneity that is constant across siblings within the family.

Results: Our OLS model suggested that paternal night shifts had a negative effect on children’s PPVT-R, while no maternal shift works had significant impacts. Specifically, the PPVT-R score of children with fathers working night shifts was on average about 7 points lower than that of their peers with fathers working standard day shifts (b=-7.36, p<.01), indicating that children with fathers working night shifts fell .35 standard deviation on the PPVT-R scale behind. However, in our SFE model, this negative effect of paternal night shifts dramatically decreased and was not statistically significant (b=-1.88, p>.05), indicating that there was essentially no difference in the PPVT-R between paternal night shifts and standard day shifts.

Implications: Unlike previous studies, our study does not provide empirical evidence that parental shift works have negative effects on children’s cognitive outcomes, suggesting that we should be cautious in making a causal claim from observational data. However, given that the SFE also has limitations, further research is needed to ascertain the causal nature of the intergenerational effects of parental shift works.

Bibliography Citation
Kim, Minseop and Nahri Jung. "Parental Shift Works and Children's Cognitive Outcomes: A Sibling Fixed-Effects Regression Model." Presented: San Antonio TX, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2014.
17. Lambert, Susan
Henly, Julia
Fugiel, Peter
The Prevalence of Precarious Work Schedules Among Early-Career Adults in the US
Presented: New Orleans LA, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2015
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Work Hours/Schedule

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This paper presents findings from national data on precarious scheduling practices in the US labor market. Studies in different nations and industries reveal how the scheduling practices today's employers use to contain outlays for labor often result in unstable and unpredictable work hours that undermine worker well-being and family economic security. Yet, national surveys in the US have not included items to gauge the prevalence of precarious scheduling practices, e.g., most surveys intentionally smooth variation by asking about "usual" hours. The papers' authors worked with the Bureau of Labor Statistics to develop measures of hour fluctuations and advance schedule notice that were included in the most recent round of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97). Combined with existing items on schedule input and nonstandard timing, the NLSY now offers a uniquely comprehensive picture of precarious scheduling practices among a nationally representative sample of early-career adults.
Bibliography Citation
Lambert, Susan, Julia Henly and Peter Fugiel. "The Prevalence of Precarious Work Schedules Among Early-Career Adults in the US." Presented: New Orleans LA, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2015.
18. Lee, Jaewon
Ortiz, Daniel Velez
The Intergenerational Effects of Maternal Depression on Their Young Adult Children's Depression
Presented: New Orleans LA, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2017
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Depression (see also CESD); Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Mothers, Health; Parental Influences

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Purpose: Depression affects females more than males. Maternal depression has been found to have adverse impacts on children's developmental outcomes. However, little research have been addressed on intergenerational effects on depression across three generations. The present study examined the effects of maternal depression in young adulthood and late adulthood on their children's depression. Specific questions include: 1) What are the individual and environmental determinants for maternal depression in young and late adulthood? 2) Does maternal depression in young and late adulthood affect their children's depression? 3) Does maternal depression in young adulthood influence depression in late adulthood?

Methods: The present study used the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 79 (NLSY 79) collected from 1979 to 2012 and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 79 for Children and Young Adults collected from 1986 to 2012. The two sets of data were merged, and children were matched with their mother. Approximately 4,000 pairs were selected for the study sample. The sample included 1937 White, 1319 Black, and 853 Hispanic children. Depression was measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale, which was used for both mothers and their children. Baseline variables (age, education, marital status, the Armed Forces Qualification Test, urban/rural region, poverty status, employment) were included. Ordinary linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the research questions.

Bibliography Citation
Lee, Jaewon and Daniel Velez Ortiz. "The Intergenerational Effects of Maternal Depression on Their Young Adult Children's Depression." Presented: New Orleans LA, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2017.
19. Lee, Jungup
Radey, Melissa
Tripodi, Stephen J.
Does Childhood Victimization Matter: A Longitudinal Study of Substance Use and Criminal Activity From Adolescence to Young Adulthood
Presented: San Antonio TX, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2014
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Alcohol Use; Bullying/Victimization; Childhood; Cigarette Use (see Smoking); Crime; Drug Use; Modeling, Multilevel; Substance Use

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Background and Purpose: Childhood victimization is a severe social problem that potentially results in long-lasting consequences for adolescents and young adults (Thomson et al., 2002). Previous research indicates that childhood victimization is associated with subsequent substance use problems and criminal behavior supporting the main propositions of both developmental theory (Moffitt, 1993) and social learning theory (Akers, 1998). The purpose of this study is to build on existing literature by using a multilevel growth approach to examine the effects of repeated bullying victimization (RBV) in childhood on substance use and criminal activity among adolescents over time. Additionally, the study investigates whether gender and race/ethnicity moderate the association between RBV in childhood and youth substance use and criminal activity.

Methods: This study used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY 97), a national representative survey of 8,984 U. S. youth. To examine behaviors from ages approximately 12-24, we utilized the longitudinal data from wave 1, 3, 5, and 7 of the NLSY97. The final sample included 5,301 adolescents at wave 1 and 15,491 in total observations. At wave 1, participants were 50% female and 20% Hispanic. The average age of participants was 14 with a range of 12 to 16. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to understand the influence of RBV in childhood on substance abuse and criminal activity. Our outcomes were measured as count data. Thus, the multilevel growth model with an overdispersed Poisson sampling distribution was used (Pires & Jenkins, 2007).

Results: The longitudinal analyses showed three important findings. First, the results of the unconditional growth model revealed that the event rate ratios (ERRs) of substance use (i.e., cigarette use, alcohol use, alcohol binges, and marijuana use) increased over time (ERR = 1.74, 1.92, 1.77, and 1.34; p < .001, respectively) whereas, the ERR of criminal activity decreased over time (ERR = .50, p < .001). RBV in childhood was positively associated with the ERRs of cigarette use, marijuana use, and criminal activity over time after controlling for other variables (ERR = 1.48, 1.35, and 1.48; p < .001, respectively). The conditional growth model with interacting covariates demonstrated that the positive effect of RBV in childhood on youth alcohol use was stronger for females than males and for Hispanics than non-Hispanic Whites.

Bibliography Citation
Lee, Jungup, Melissa Radey and Stephen J. Tripodi. "Does Childhood Victimization Matter: A Longitudinal Study of Substance Use and Criminal Activity From Adolescence to Young Adulthood." Presented: San Antonio TX, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2014.
20. Lee, Na Youn
Hong, Jun Sung
Grinnell-Davis, Claudette L.
The Impact of Child, Mother, and Neighborhood Factors On the Use of Corporal Punishment: A Longitudinal Repeated Measures Analysis
Presented: Washington DC, Society for Social Work and Research Meeting, January 2012.
Also: http://sswr.confex.com/sswr/2012/webprogram/Paper17093.html
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Behavior, Antisocial; Behavioral Problems; Bias Decomposition; Body Parts Recognition; Discipline; Family Income; Neighborhood Effects; Punishment, Corporal

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Purpose: Corporal punishment is a widespread form of child discipline. However, there is a fine line between corporal punishment and child maltreatment, and modern societies are becoming aware of this line as reports of child abuse increase rapidly. Surprisingly, in comparison to cross-sectional studies, there are few longitudinal studies on the predictors of corporal punishment. Thus, this study aims to describe the child, mother, and community factors that increase the use of corporal punishment over time, by conducting a longitudinal repeated measures analysis.

Method: The study used a sample of 4,287 children and youth, ages 0 to 14, from the five waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008). Dependent variable is the number of times mothers spanked their children in the past week. Independent variables in the model include the following: Children's scores from the Behavior Problems Index; family poverty; mother's health and marital status; community resources (afterschool daycare, recreational centers); and maternal perceptions of neighborhood safety. Covariates include child and mother demographics. Models were estimated using hierarchal linear modeling (HLM) in STATA 11SE to trace the patterns nested inside individual children over time.

Results: Child's age, race, and BPI scores were significantly associated with corporal punishment over time. Younger children, African American, and Hispanic children, and those with behavior problems received more spankings (p<0.001). Poor mothers also appeared to spank their children more (p<0.001); this was the only maternal factor to achieve significance in the model. As for neighborhood variables, the use of community resources did not significantly decrease the number of spankings children received over time. However, mothers who reported their neighborhood is safe for raising children spanked their children less (p<0.05). Lastly, the likelihood-ratio tests indicate that HLM adds more explanatory power to the model compared to OLS (p<0.001). This lends support for accounting for the random variations in the intercept by the individual child, capturing the story that each child starts from a different point

Bibliography Citation
Lee, Na Youn, Jun Sung Hong and Claudette L. Grinnell-Davis. "The Impact of Child, Mother, and Neighborhood Factors On the Use of Corporal Punishment: A Longitudinal Repeated Measures Analysis." Presented: Washington DC, Society for Social Work and Research Meeting, January 2012.
21. Lee, Wonik
The Effects of Maternal Welfare Participation On Children's Developmental Outcomes in the Welfare Reform Era
Presented: Tampa FL, Society for Social Work and Research 15th Annual Conference, January 2011.
Also: http://sswr.confex.com/sswr/2011/webprogram/Paper15060.html
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC); Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Maternal Employment; Parenting Skills/Styles; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT); State Welfare; State-Level Data/Policy; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); Welfare

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

To capture the complexities of pathways from welfare participation to children's outcomes, this study used structural equation modeling (SEM) in which mother's employment and parenting practices were considered as mediators. The study also integrated a multi-level SEM to examine the moderating effects of state welfare policies on children's outcomes through changes in parental practices.

The study analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth (NLSY), which included a sample of children born between 1990 and 2001. The NLSY provided various measures of child development and parenting practices.

This study found that welfare participation had indirect, negative effects on children's outcomes through parenting practices and mother's work, although it had no direct effect on children's outcomes.

Bibliography Citation
Lee, Wonik. "The Effects of Maternal Welfare Participation On Children's Developmental Outcomes in the Welfare Reform Era." Presented: Tampa FL, Society for Social Work and Research 15th Annual Conference, January 2011.
22. Lee, Wonik
Gezinski, Lindsay
Determinants of Welfare Leaving: The Significance of Educational Attainment
Presented: Tampa FL, Society for Social Work and Research 15th Annual Conference, January 2011
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Education; Educational Attainment; Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); Welfare

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Methods: Event history analysis, specifically Cox regression model, was employed to analyze the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97) to examine the determinants of welfare leaving. NLSY97 provides monthly information about welfare participations and various measures of educational achievement, which enables the authors to identify the effect of educational level on welfare leaving. Cox regression model was useful for this study, because it provides the estimates of the educational achievement on welfare duration after adjustment. Level of education, marital status, race, and number of children were explored among participants who had experienced at least one TANF spell.
Bibliography Citation
Lee, Wonik and Lindsay Gezinski. "Determinants of Welfare Leaving: The Significance of Educational Attainment." Presented: Tampa FL, Society for Social Work and Research 15th Annual Conference, January 2011.
23. Levine, Judith A.
Emery, Clifton R.
Pollack, Harold
The Well-Being of Children Born to Teen Mothers: Multiple Approaches to Assessing the Causal Links
Presented: Miami, FL, Society for Social Work Research 9th Annual Meeting, 2004
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Age at First Birth; Behavioral Problems; Childbearing, Adolescent; Childbearing, Premarital/Nonmarital; Grade Retention/Repeat Grade; Kinship; Modeling, Fixed Effects; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading); Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT); Pregnancy and Pregnancy Outcomes; School Progress; Sexual Activity; Substance Use; Truancy

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Children born to early-childbearers display high prevalence of problem behaviors and poor academic performance. Previous research indicates that many adverse outcomes stem from poverty or other risk-factors, not from early childbearing per se. This paper uses linked maternal-child data from the 1979-98 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to explore these questions in greater depth. Using the large sample size made possible through an expanded adolescent sample, we use three types of analyses to explore the causal impact of early-childbearing on subsequent child and adolescent outcomes. First, we run models using a variety of explicit controls for background factors. Second, we use a fixed-effect, cousin-comparison analysis to control for unobserved family characteristics that may influence child outcomes. Third, we examine outcomes among children born to women who had miscarriages during their teen years. Because teenagers who have miscarriages are in some ways similar to teens who carry infants to live birth, miscarriage data allows us to further scrutinize whether delayed childbearing is associated with improved outcomes.

In all analyses, we find that teen childbearing plays only a small, if any, causal role in children's performance on standardized tests, reported use of marijuana, or fighting. Pre-birth characteristics of teen mothers, birth order, and family size are more important factors in determining this set of outcomes. For other outcomes, namely grade repetition, early sexual initiation, and truancy, the fixed effects and miscarriage analyses produce differing results. Teen childbearing has no sizeable or statistically significant results for any of our outcomes in the miscarriage analysis. However, the fixed effects results suggest teen childbearing is associated with grade retention in school, school truancy, and possibly with early initiation of sexual activity. We interpret these differing results to suggest that teen mothers share more in common with other young women who conceive, but due to miscarriage, do not carry their pregnancies to term than they do with their own siblings who delay childbearing. It is these commonalities that appear to drive the zero-order association between early fertility and several negative behavioral consequences for off-spring.

Bibliography Citation
Levine, Judith A., Clifton R. Emery and Harold Pollack. "The Well-Being of Children Born to Teen Mothers: Multiple Approaches to Assessing the Causal Links." Presented: Miami, FL, Society for Social Work Research 9th Annual Meeting, 2004.
24. Loke, Vernon
Asset Trajectories and Child Outcomes: Implications for Asset-Based Policies
Presented: Tampa FL, Society for Social Work and Research 15th Annual Conference, January 2011
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Assets; Children, Well-Being; Educational Outcomes; Family Resources; Growth Curves; Modeling, Growth Curve/Latent Trajectory Analysis; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading)

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Purpose: Wealth is increasingly recognized as an important determinant in children's human capital trajectories, and a number of countries have proposed or implemented asset-building policies targeting children. Much of the research on assets, however, focused on the predictors of asset holding, and little is known about asset accumulation trajectories. This is especially so for families with young children. In addition, while studies have demonstrated the positive effects of assets on children's outcomes, few have examined the effects of different asset accumulation patterns and trajectories. This paper attempts to clarify and specify the asset effects theory from a dynamic perspective. In particular, it explores and describes the different asset accumulation trajectories of families with young children; tests the effects of different asset trajectories on children's educational outcomes; and examines the mediated pathways for the asset effects across the trajectory classes.

Methods: Longitudinal data on 1036 children from 991 households, drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youths 1979 Mother and Child datasets, was used in this study. The children were born in either 1986 or 1987, and were followed from around the time of their birth to the year 2006, when they were ages 19 to 20. To adjust for non-independence of observations for children belonging to the same household, the children were clustered by their mothers. This paper uses structural equation modeling techniques, including growth mixture models and path models, to explore the asset accumulation patterns of families with young children, and to examine the educational effects of the different asset accumulation trajectories.

Results and Implications: Using growth mixture modeling, four asset accumulation trajectory classes are identified, controlling for household income and other socio-demographic characteristics. The results indicate that around 78% of households belong to the Low Stable trajectory class that started with low initial net worth, and which experienced non-significant growth in assets over time, while only 4% of households with lower initial wealth levels experienced significant asset increases over the same period (Low Accumulator class). The reminding households belonged to trajectories where initial net-worth was significantly higher than 0, and where subsequent asset accumulation patterns were stable (12%) or increasing (6%) over time. Path model analyses further indicate that children from the Low Stable class have significantly poorer educational outcomes compared to children from the other asset trajectories. In addition, children from the Low Accumulator class have similar outcomes compared to children from households with higher initial net worth, regardless of subsequent growth trajectories. The effects of assets on children's educational outcomes appear to be fully mediated by the quality of home cognitive stimulation and the level of mothers' educational expectations for their children.

Bibliography Citation
Loke, Vernon. "Asset Trajectories and Child Outcomes: Implications for Asset-Based Policies." Presented: Tampa FL, Society for Social Work and Research 15th Annual Conference, January 2011.
25. Loke, Vernon
Kim, Youngmi
Changes in Parental Assets and Children's Educational Outcomes across Income Status
Presented: New Orleans, LA, The Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) annual meetings, January 17-20, 2008
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Assets; Child Development; Children, Well-Being; Educational Outcomes; Family Resources; Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Math); Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT- Reading)

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Purpose: Much of the research examining Sherraden's (1991) asset effects have focused on the experience of asset holding. Assets could also be experienced in terms of the process of asset accumulation or its consumption (Paxton, 2001). However, little empirical work has been done to examine the effects of the process of accumulation. Moreover, most studies do not differentiate the effects of assets on the different socioeconomic classes, nor do they discriminate between the different asset measures. This paper aims to fill this gap in the knowledgebase by examining the relationship between the process of asset accumulation as measured by the change in assets over time, with children's educational outcomes. In addition, we will examine if the effects are moderated by the level of family income. We hypothesize that the increase in assets over time will be associated with children's educational outcomes, in particular, that the different asset measures will have differential effects for the various income groups.

Methods: Data on 1342 children ages 7 to 14 in the year 2000 and on their mothers drawn from the NLSY79 and the NLSY79 Children and Young Adults datasets are used for this study. The outcome measures are children's PIAT standardized scores in math and reading in 2000. The process of asset accumulation is measured by whether there is an increase in net-worth, net-worth less home equity, and in liquid assets, from 1996 to 2000. Income is measured be averaging the total net family income over 1996 to 2000. Other variables include various mothers' socio-demographic data. A series of OLS regressions by the different income quartiles were conducted to examine the relationship between changes in assets and children's educational outcomes.

Results: The findings support our hypothesis that the different asset measures have differential effects for the various income groups. Increases in net worth significantly predict better math scores for children from the 2nd (b=4.04, t=2.19, p=0.03, N=173) and 4th income quartiles (b=4.70, t=2.08, p<0.04, N=171). Increases in net-worth less home equity is also significantly associated with better math outcomes for the 2nd income quartile (b=4.70, t=2.65, p=0.009, N=180) but lower math scores for children from the 3rd income quartile (b=-4.78, t=-2.21, p=0.03, N=165). Similarly, increases in liquid assets significantly predicts better math outcomes for children from the 2nd (b=3.63, t=2.19, p=0.03, N=201) and 4th (b=4.75, t=2.22, p=0.03, N=193) income quartiles, but lower math scores for the 3rd (b=-4.31, t=-2.03, p=0.04, N=181) income quartile. No significant associations are found for reading scores across the different asset measures. Race and mother's education are also found to significant predict children's math scores in the models reported above.

Implications: Our study calls for additional longitudinal research to further explicate the dynamic relationship between the process of asset accumulation across the different asset measures and children's outcomes for the different income groups. Diverse policy approaches would also need to be introduced to maximize the effects of parental assets on children's outcomes across income status.

Bibliography Citation
Loke, Vernon and Youngmi Kim. "Changes in Parental Assets and Children's Educational Outcomes across Income Status." Presented: New Orleans, LA, The Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) annual meetings, January 17-20, 2008.
26. Nam, Jaehyun
Ansong, David
Intergenerational Transmission of Economic Advantages and Disadvantages from the Asset Perspective
Presented: Washington DC, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2018
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Assets; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Mobility, Economic; Net Worth; Parental Influences

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Background: This study contributes to the understanding of the intergenerational transmission of economic status from the assets perspective by focusing on how parents' net worth affects their children's future net worth. In addition, we examine the racial differences in the intergenerational transmission of net worth.

Methods: This study uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, which contains information on net worth and assets of adult children and parents.

Results: Results from the simple unconditional means (UCM) model suggest that adult children's net worth increases as they age.

Conclusions and Implications: This study finds that parents' new worth is a strong indicator of children's future new worth, although racial heterogeneity in the wealth transmission exists.

Bibliography Citation
Nam, Jaehyun and David Ansong. "Intergenerational Transmission of Economic Advantages and Disadvantages from the Asset Perspective." Presented: Washington DC, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2018.
27. Nam, Jaehyun
Ansong, David
The Impact of Parents' Savings on Their Childrens' Future Education
Presented: New Orleans LA, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2015
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Educational Attainment; Net Worth; Parental Influences; Parental Investments; Savings

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Results from the regression adjusted propensity matched estimates show that parents' savings for their children's education are statistically significant for a two year post-secondary associate graduation (TE=.21, p<.001) and a four year college graduation (TE=.22, p<.001). The results indicate that, compared to what would happen if parents had no savings for their children's future education, children whose parents saved are 21% and 22% more likely to have associate and college degrees, respectively.
Bibliography Citation
Nam, Jaehyun and David Ansong. "The Impact of Parents' Savings on Their Childrens' Future Education." Presented: New Orleans LA, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2015.
28. Pace, Garrett T.
Shafer, Kevin M.
Divorce, Cohabitation and Remarriage: The Association of (Step)Children and Adult Depression
Presented: San Diego CA, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2013
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Cohabitation; Depression (see also CESD); Divorce; Remarriage; Stepfamilies

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Method: Data were from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79), a nationally representative sample of adults born between 1957 and 1965. Data were collected annually until 1994 and biannually since. Respondents (n = 1,561) had each divorced at T1 (age 27-37), and were continuously divorced (27%), cohabiting (12%), or remarried (61%) at T2 (age 40 or 50). Depressive symptoms were measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies - Depression Scale (CES-D) and dichotomized as “high depressive symptoms” and “low depressive symptoms.” Children were categorized as stepchild in household, biological child from previous relationship in household, or new child with partner. Data were analyzed using logistic regression with odds ratios.

Results: Respondents tended to experience less depressive symptoms during their new relationship than previously during divorce. Also, compared to the continuously divorced, cohabiting and remarried respondents had approximately 38% lower odds of high depressive symptoms (p < .05). Those who had a new child with their new partner while a stepchild was already present in the home were 4.614 times more likely to have high depressive symptoms than those without children (p < .01). Respondents who had a new child in the first year of their new relationship had a very low likelihood of depressive symptoms; however, the odds increased by 10.4% for each year they waited to have a new child together.

Bibliography Citation
Pace, Garrett T. and Kevin M. Shafer. "Divorce, Cohabitation and Remarriage: The Association of (Step)Children and Adult Depression." Presented: San Diego CA, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2013.
29. Smith, Raymond B.
The Influence of Parenting Style: Socially Deviant Behavior across Adolescence
Presented: Phoenix AZ, Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Conference, January 2023.
Also: https://sswr.confex.com/sswr/2023/webprogram/Paper49154.html
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Adolescent Behavior; Behavior, Antisocial; Parenting Skills/Styles

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Background: Research suggests that most adolescent youth (AY) will engage in socially deviant behavior (SDB) beginning at ages 10-14, peak in rate of participation at 16-17, and desist thereafter. Although most AY will participate in some form of SDB, research also suggests that parenting style will moderate how often participation in SDB occurs, as well as how harmful the behavior may be to self, others or a community. Specifically, authoritative parenting style has often been correlated to less frequent and harmful AY participation in SDB as compared to authoritarian, permissive or uninvolved parenting styles. Furthermore, research also suggests that the paternal and/or maternal parenting style uniquely influences AY participation in SDB. Because research suggests that AY will participate in SDB differently as a result of paternal and/or maternal parenting style, describing how and when parenting style influences participation in SDB throughout adolescence is important to understanding and limiting harm to self, others and the community.

Methods: A series of latent transition analyses were used to analyze data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997. The analytic sample included 3578 participants aged 12 & 13 when data collection began. Prior to conducting analyses, parenting styles were isolated by type and parent, while twelve indicators of SDB measured at four timepoints were used to conduct the study (t [age 12 & 13; Wave 1], t+1 [age 13-14 & 14-15; Wave 2 & 3], t+2 [age 15-16 & 16-17; Wave 4 & 5], and t+3 [age 17-18 & 18-19; Wave 6 & 7]).

Results: Results suggests four latent statuses of SDB manifest during adolescent development period: Minimal SDB, Primarily Status Offense SDB, Moderate SDB, and Severe SBD, where members of Moderate and Severe statuses are most likely to participate in behaviors that victimize others and the community. Overall, results indicated AY with either or both parents practicing authoritative parenting were more likely to be in Minimal SDB Status, as compared to all other parenting styles, while AY with one or both authoritarian parents were more likely to be in Moderate SDB or Severe SBD statuses. With the exception of female AY, AY were most likely to escalate SDB participation by harm and frequency from t to t+1, and then gradually desist despite parenting style. Female AY participation in Moderate SDB continued to increase across adolescence when fathers practiced authoritative parenting, whereas in all other styles Female AY participation in harmful SDB decreased after t+1. Male AY participation in Moderate SDB and Severe SBD occurred in the highest proportions when one or both parents were uninvolved or authoritarian.

Bibliography Citation
Smith, Raymond B. "The Influence of Parenting Style: Socially Deviant Behavior across Adolescence." Presented: Phoenix AZ, Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Conference, January 2023.
30. Smith, Raymond B.
Youth Peer Interactions and Socially Deviant Behavior: A Study of Adolescence
Presented: Phoenix AZ, Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Conference, January 2023.
Also: https://sswr.confex.com/sswr/2023/webprogram/Paper49156.html
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Adolescent Behavior; Deviance; Peers/Peer influence/Peer relations

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Background: Research suggests that most adolescent youth (AY) will engage in socially deviant behavior (SDB) beginning at ages 10-14, peak in rate of participation at 16-17, and desist thereafter. Although most AY will participate in some form of SDB, research also suggests that AY interaction with peers often predicts how youth participate in SDB. Some AY will choose to associate with peers specifically because of perceived SDB participation and these types of interactions are more often associated with life-course persistent offenders. Other AY will emulate peer SDB because of perceived independence from adult function and oversight, and these types of interactions are often associated with adolescent limited offenders. Because research suggests that AY will participate in SDB differently as a result of interactions with peers, describing how and when peer interaction influences participation in SDB throughout adolescence is important to understanding and limiting harm to self, others and the community.

Methods: A series of latent transition analyses were used to analyze data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997. The analytic sample included 3578 participants aged 12 & 13 when data collection began. Prior to conducting analyses, peer interaction was categorized as no SDB, Status only SDB & Serious SDB, while twelve indicators of SDB measured at four timepoints were used to conduct the study (t [age 12 & 13; Wave 1], t+1 [age 13-14 & 14-15; Wave 2&3], t+2 [age 15-16 & 16-17; Wave 4&5], and t+3 [age 17-18 & 18-19; Wave 6&7]).

Results: Results suggest four latent statuses of SDB manifest during adolescent development period: Minimal SDB, Primarily Status Offense SDB, Moderate SDB, and Severe SBD, where members of Moderate and Severe statuses are most likely to participate in behaviors that victimize others and the community. Additionally, AY peer interaction with No SDB peers were more likely to be in the Minimal SDB Status as compared to all other statuses, while AY with Serious SDB peers were more likely to be in Moderate SDB or Severe SBD statuses. AY with No SDB and Status SDB peers were very unlikely to transition to the Severe SDB status during any point of adolescence, while AY with Serious SDB peers participated in harmful SDB primarily during ages 12-15. Overall, AY were most likely to escalate SDB participation by harm and frequency from t to t+1, and then gradually desist despite peer interactions. Female interactions with Serious SDB peers were associated with higher probabilities of attacking others as compared to males, while males had higher probabilities of selling drugs as compared to females when interacting with Serious SDB peers.

Bibliography Citation
Smith, Raymond B. "Youth Peer Interactions and Socially Deviant Behavior: A Study of Adolescence." Presented: Phoenix AZ, Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) Conference, January 2023.
31. Waithaka, Eric
An Examination of the Latent Structure of Family Capital Estimated Using Family Resources and Processes Measures
Presented: Washington DC, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2018
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Family Background and Culture; Family Process Measures; Family Resources; Net Worth; Transition, Adulthood

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

The achievement of the traditional milestones associated with adulthood within the current cohort of young adults appears to differ by social class backgrounds, and these differences may be growing due to the differential support of natal families. Family background matter but the ways in which it matters and what attributes in the family of origin are most salient is a subject that has not been comprehensively interrogated. Extant research does not examine the multi-dimensional aspects of family resources (capital) and how this capital is deployed during transitions to adulthood. Building on the work of Pierre Bourdieu (1986) on forms of family capital and Annette Lareau's (2000; 2003) work on family processes, this paper explores the latent structure of family capital when estimated using distinct family background resources and processes measures.
Bibliography Citation
Waithaka, Eric. "An Examination of the Latent Structure of Family Capital Estimated Using Family Resources and Processes Measures." Presented: Washington DC, Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, January 2018.
32. Wikoff, Nora
Reconsidering Poverty and Race as Criminogenic Influences Among American Youth
Presented: Tampa FL, Society for Social Work and Research 15th Annual Conference, January 2011
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR)
Keyword(s): Crime; Delinquency/Gang Activity; Family Influences; Peers/Peer influence/Peer relations; Poverty; Racial Differences

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Purpose: Social disorganization and anomie theory assume that minorities and low-income individuals commit crimes at greater rates, based upon official crime data. Studies using self-report data offer conflicting evidence, suggesting that there are no significant differences across race or class in reported criminal behavior. Little research has examined the role that household economic resources, in the form of household asset ownership, may have on the onset of criminal engagement among youth. This study examined the extent to which household asset ownership was associated with onset of crime among youth.

Methods: OLS regression was used to measure the association between income-poverty, household net worth, racial status, and level of youth's criminal and delinquent behavior. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97), 1,218 American adolescents (26.6% African American, 21.1% Hispanic, and 52.3% White) between 14 to 18 years old completed computer-based modules on criminal and delinquent behaviors at each of the first four waves of the study (1997-2000). Youth reported whether they had run away from home, carried a handgun, joined a gang, stolen items worth more than $50.00, assaulted someone, or sold illicit drugs. Youths' criminal involvement was coded from 0 and 10 for each wave, with higher numbers indicating higher levels of criminal and delinquent activity. Scores for each wave were summed to create an overall scale measuring level of criminal involvement among youth during late adolescence. First wave baseline characteristics were collected, with the dependent variable measuring youth's criminal and delinquent activity over the first four study waves. Control variables measured demographic characteristics, youth's behavioral and emotional problems (using Achenback Youth Self-Report questions), past experience of bullying victimization, family functioning, maternal awareness of youth activities, neighborhood risk factors, and percentage peer involvement in gangs.

Results: The results found no significant association between youth's household net worth, income-poverty, racial status and level of criminal involvement. Mean level of criminal involvement was 18.57% higher among those who had been bullied by age 12, b=.19, t=3.79, p<.001. Mean level of criminal involvement was 35.79% higher for youth who perceived that nearly all peers were involved in gangs than among youth who perceived that none of their peers were involved in gangs, b=.36, t=4.27, p<.001. Mean criminal involvement was also 35.18% higher for youth reporting high levels of substance use than among youth who reported the lowest level of substance abuse, b=.35, t=18.14, p<.001.

Implications: These results suggest a tenuous connection between crime and poverty among older adolescents. By contrast, youth characteristics, family dynamics, and peer influences significantly predicted level of criminal activity. These findings suggest that self-control and social control theories, which emphasize the role of parental influences on the development of criminal propensity, better explain criminal offending than social disorganization or strain/anomie theories, which emphasize poverty and dysfunctional cultural norms. Further research is needed among youths to determine whether the findings in this analysis apply to all youth at risk of engaging in criminal behavior.

Bibliography Citation
Wikoff, Nora. "Reconsidering Poverty and Race as Criminogenic Influences Among American Youth." Presented: Tampa FL, Society for Social Work and Research 15th Annual Conference, January 2011.