The family life project : an epidemiological and developmental study of young children living in poor rural communities

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Title:

Author:

Vernon-Feagans, Lynne.

ISBN:

9781118863633

Publication Information:

Boston, Mass. : Wiley, 2013.

Physical Description:

viii, 150 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm.

Series:

Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, serial no. 310, vol. 78, no. 5, 2013

Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development; v. 78, no. 5.

Contents:

[1.] Poverty, rurality, parenting, and risk : an introduction / Lynne Vernon-Feagans and Martha Cox -- [2.] Recruitment of the family life project sample / Michael Willoughby, Margaret Burchinal, Patricia Garrett-Peters, Roger Mills-Koonce, Lynne Vernon-Feagans, and Martha Cox -- [3.] The description of the families and children / Patricia Garrett-Peters and Roger Mills-Koonce -- [4.] Poverty and associated social risks : toward a cumulative risk framework / Margaret Burchinal and Michael Willoughby -- [5.] Cumulative risk and its relation to parenting and child outcomes at 36 months / FLP Key Investigators -- [6.] Discussion and implications for children living in rural poverty / FLP Key Investigators -- Commentary: rural children at risk / Rand D. Conger.

Abstract:

This volume reports the findings of a project that recruited a representative sample of every baby born to a mother who lived in one of six poor rural counties (3 in Pennsylvania and 3 in North Carolina) over a one year period, oversampling for poverty in both regions and African American in North Carolina. This project examines these children and uses a cumulative risk model to examine the relation between social risk and children's executive functioning, language development, and behavioral competence at 36 months. Using both the Family Process Model of development and the Family Investment Model of development, observed parenting was examined over time in relation to child functioning at 36 months. Different aspects of observed parenting were examined as mediators/moderators of risk in predicting child outcomes. Results suggested that cumulative risk was important in predicting all three major domains of child outcomes and that positive and negative parenting and maternal language complexity were mediators of these relations. Maternal positive parenting was found to be a buffer for the most risky families in predicting behavioral competence. In a final model using both family process and investment measures, there was evidence of mediation but with little evidence of the specificity of parenting for particular outcomes. Discussion focused on the importance of cumulative risk and parenting in understanding child competence in rural poverty and the implications for possible intervention strategies that might be effective in maximizing the early development of these children.

Subject Term:

Child development -- Economic aspects -- United States.

Poverty -- Children -- United States.

Geographic Term:

United States -- Rural conditions -- Children.

Added Author:

Vernon-Feagans, Lynne.

Cox, Martha J.

Conger, Rand.

Copies:

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Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Copy	Status
Searching... 1:IIEMSA	1:GEN-BOOK	33168025750338	305.231086742 V539F 2013	1	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

About 20% of children in the United States live in rural communities, with child poverty rates higher and geographic isolation from resources greater than in urban communities. Yet, there have been surprisingly few studies of children living in rural communities, especially poor rural communities. The Family Life Project helped fill this gap by using an epidemiological design to recruit and study a representative sample of every baby born to a mother who resided in one of six poor rural counties over a one year period, oversampling for poverty and African American. 1,292 children were followed from birth to 36 months of age. This study used a cumulative risk framework to examine the relation between social risk and children's executive functioning, language development, and behavioral competence at 36 months. Using both the Family Process Model of development and the Family Investment Model of development, observed parenting was examined as a mediator and/or moderator of this relationship. Results suggested that cumulative risk predicted all three major domains of child outcomes and that positive and negative parenting and maternal language complexity were mediators of these relations. Maternal positive parenting was found to be a buffer for the most risky families in predicting behavioral competence. In a final model using both family process and investment measures, there was evidence of mediation but with little evidence of the specificity of parenting for particular outcomes. Discussion focused the implications for possible intervention strategies that might be effective in maximizing the early development of these children.