Longitudinal Patterns of Material Hardship among US Families

"Growing up under pressure": The family stress model and its role in psychological aggression and physical assault across early and late childhood

BACKGROUND

As economic pressures on families intensify, the pathways through which material hardship shapes parental behavior and child outcomes become increasingly critical to understand.

OBJECTIVE

Building upon the Family Stress Model (FSM), we examined the combined influence of material hardship, parental aggravation, and neighborhood efficacy on child maltreatment risks. We hypothesized that these pathways would differ in strength between early and late childhood.

METHODS

We conducted multiple linear regression analysis with RStudio using waves 3 and 6 of the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 3830) data.

RESULTS

Material hardship significantly predicted both psychological aggression (β = 0.20, p < .001) and physical assault (β = 0.22, p < .001) in early childhood, while its influence diminished in late childhood, remaining significant only for psychological aggression (β = 0.22, p < .001). Parental aggravation showed similar patterns, with stronger effects in early childhood for both outcomes (β = 0.18 and β = 0.15, respectively, p < .001) but maintaining significance only for psychological aggression in late childhood (β = 0.15, p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings extend the FSM by demonstrating that the transmission of family stress varies substantially across developmental stages, with early childhood emerging as a period of heightened vulnerability. The enduring impact of psychological aggression through adolescence, coupled with declining physical assault, exposes how different forms of maltreatment follow unique age-related patterns - a finding that challenges traditional 'one-size-fits-all' interventions approaches. Hence, we suggest developmentally tailored interventions that address both immediate material needs and parental stress management, particularly during early childhood when the impact of these stressors are strongest.

Understanding the Mediation Effect of Social Cohesion on the Relationship Between Material Hardship and Child Maltreatment by Poverty Spells

The purpose of this study is to explore the association between material hardship and child maltreatment, mediated by social cohesion. We used three waves (age three, age five, and age nine) from Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCW), a longitudinal cohort study of approximately 5000 families in 20 U.S. cities. The sample size was 2402. The independent variable was material hardship, and the dependent variable was child maltreatment (physical/psychological abuse and neglect). Using a multiple regression analysis, the current study found a positive association between material hardship and frequency of physical/psychological abuse. Social cohesion was found to mediate the relationship between material hardship and physical/psychological abuse among financially secure mothers in the Sobel test, which assesses the presence of indirect effects of the independent variable on the dependent variable. These findings suggest that material hardship mitigation and social cohesion enhancement are potential strategies to prevent physical/psychological abuse.

Evaluating the long-term effects of income assistance for material hardship among families with children

Background

As a key aspect of poverty, material hardship describes day-to-day struggles in affording necessities. In explorations of policy initiatives that mitigate material hardship, evidence suggests direct income support can be effective in alleviating hardship. However, research investigating the long-term effects of income supports is limited, and it remains uncertain as to how benefit receipt may mitigate material hardship for families with children across time.

Methods

To explore the associations between income assistance and material hardship longitudinally, we utilised data from four waves of the Growing Up in New Zealand birth-cohort study (n = 5964), where family experiences were tracked between birth and adolescence. The variables of interest included mother-reported receipt of income benefits and material hardship from when the children were aged 9-months, 54-months, 8-years, and 12-years. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was employed to examine the associations between benefit receipt and material hardship in the short- and long-term. Interaction terms between benefit receipt and time were incorporated in the modelling to determine whether receiving benefits corresponded with significant changes in the likelihood of experiencing material hardship at specific time points.

Results

The key results suggest that benefit receipt in early childhood reduced the likelihood of experiencing material hardship at subsequent time points at least until adolescence, when controlling for key sociodemographic characteristics.

Conclusion

These findings provide insight into the associations between early childhood income supports and reductions in the likelihood of experiencing material hardship in the long-term, to emphasise the potential for such interventions to have longstanding effects. By elucidating the associations between benefit receipt and subsequent material hardship, this research gives direction for policy interventions and timely support for families.

Latent classes and longitudinal patterns of material hardship as predictors of child well-being

This study examined the associations of multifaceted material hardship measured cross-sectionally and longitudinally with children's wellbeing in the United States. Results from linear regression and child fixed effects models indicated that more intense material hardship had consistent, detrimental associations with child health status and internalizing and externalizing behaviors. More intense longitudinal patterns of material hardship were consistently associated with behaviors only. These findings examine new, multifaceted measures of material hardship and suggest associations between child wellbeing, particularly behavior challenges, and exposure both to multiple forms of material hardship and to more intense long-term patterns of hardship.

Material Hardship Predicts Response Bias in Loss-Averse Decisions: The Roles of Anxiety and Cognitive Control

Income poverty is associated with an enhanced tendency to avoid losses in economic decisions, which can be driven by a response bias (risk avoidance) and a valuation bias (loss aversion). However, the impact of non-income dimensions of poverty on these biases remains unclear. The current study tested the impact of material hardship on these biases, and the mediating effects of anxiety, depression, and cognitive control in these associations. Healthy adults (N = 188) completed questionnaire and behavioral measures of the variables. Results of regression-based analyses showed that participants who reported higher material hardship exhibited greater response bias, but not valuation bias. This effect was mediated by anxiety. Although material hardship predicted lower cognitive control, cognitive control did not mediate the association between material hardship and either type of bias. These findings suggest that material hardship may lead to economic decision-making biases because it impacts emotional states rather than cognitive control.

Patterns and predictors of material hardship among poor families with children

Experiences of material hardship vary across poor families, but little is understood about this variability. The present study aimed to distinguish subtypes of material hardship as well as which characteristics predict subtypes. Latent class analysis with data from a large, longitudinal study of families with youth children investigated subtypes of material hardship as well as predictors of subtypes. Multinomial logistic regression then predicted class membership used on known housing risk factors maternal IPV victimization, depression, and substance use. Analyses identified three distinct subtypes of material hardship: "Housing Insecure," "Food Insecure," and "Cost-Burdened but Managing." Maternal IPV victimization and depression reduced likelihood of membership in the "Managing" class, but no predictors distinguished families who become food versus housing insecure. Findings suggest widespread financial stress and complex tradeoffs for low-income families, who struggle to afford basic needs. Maternal safety and mental health prove crucial to families' coping abilities. Increased systemic supports targeting specific circumstances may promote stability and prevent more severe hardship.

Prevalence and factors associated with multidimensional child deprivation: Findings from the Future of Families and Child Well-Being Study

Despite the growing importance of the multidimensional methods of assessing child poverty, few studies in the U.S. have applied a rights-based approach to examining child deprivation. This study examines multidimensional child deprivation using eight dimensions and twelve indicators based on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Using a sample of children at age nine from the fifth wave of the Future of Families and Child Well-being Study, this study applied the multiple overlapping deprivation analysis (MODA), a comprehensive analytic method to assess the multidimensionality of child deprivation and to provide a detailed picture of material and social forms of deprivation among the U.S. children. This study found that the overall child deprivation rate was 8.89%; environmental safety (20.36%), information (15.94%), and housing security (14.23%) dimensions contributed the highest to the overall child deprivation; the overlap between deprivation and income poverty was 12.83%. Results suggest that understanding multifaceted and interrelated contexts of child deprivation is crucial to promote child rights.

How do low-income single-mothers get by when unemployment strikes: Patterns of multiple program participation after transition from employment to unemployment

Little is known about longitudinal patterns of welfare program participation among single mothers after they transition from employment to unemployment. To better understand how utilization patterns of these welfare programs may change during the 12 months after a job loss, we used the 2008 Survey of Income and Program Participation to examine the patterns of participation in Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and unemployment insurance among 342 single mothers who transitioned from employment to unemployment during the Great Recession. Using sequence analysis and cluster analysis, this paper identified four distinct patterns of program participation: (a) constantly receiving in-kind benefits; (b) primarily but not solely receiving food stamps; (c) inconsistent unemployment insurance or Medicaid-based benefits; and (d) limited or no benefits. Almost two-fifths of our sample of single mothers received inconsistent, limited, or no benefits. Results of the multinomial regression revealed that race, work disability, poverty, homeownership, and region of residence were significant factors that influenced whether study subjects participated in or had access to social safety net programs. Our findings illustrate the heterogeneity in patterns of multiple program participation among single mothers transitioning from employment to unemployment. Better understanding these varied patterns may inform decisions that increase the accessibility of US social safety net programs for single mothers during periods of personal economic hardship.

What kind of "poverty" predicts CPS contact: Income, material hardship, and differences among racialized groups

•Differences in income explain some racial inequities in child welfare contact. •Differences in hardship do not explain racial inequities in child welfare contact. •Material hardship predicts child welfare contact across racialized groups.

Background and Purpose

Child protective services (CPS) contact is consistently linked with poverty in the US, and empirical evidence is mounting to indicate that disparate exposure to income poverty explains a substantial portion of racial inequities in CPS involvement. Evidence about the different distributions of income poverty and material hardship also suggests that income poverty may not sufficiently capture economic wellbeing among families. This paper assessed whether differences in exposure to income poverty and/or material hardship explain racial inequities in CPS contact and further examined whether income poverty and material hardship predict CPS contact differently within racialized groups.

Methods

We used data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), an urban cohort representative of births in large US cities in 1998–2000. The FFCWS data are ideal for this study in capturing each of the key constructs: racialized group membership, income, material hardship, and CPS contact. We measured income poverty and material hardship when children were age 1 and measured any CPS contact by age five. Our final sample included 3,517 families, including 1,848 Black, 614 white, and 1,055 Latinx families. We employed logistic regression to assess the associations between income poverty and material hardship, independently and jointly, and CPS contact. We conducted analyses in our full analytic sample and among subsamples of the Black, white, and Latinx families.

Results

We found that differences in income-to-poverty ratio account for differences in CPS contact between Black and white families. Differences in CPS contact between Black and Latinx families were not explained by economic wellbeing measures alone but were ameliorated when differences in income poverty, material hardship, and a full set of family characteristics were considered. Additionally, we found that material hardship was a consistent predictor of CPS contact in the full sample and within each of the Black, white, and Latinx subsamples, even accounting for differences in income and other family characteristics.

Conclusions

The clear role of income poverty in explaining inequities in CPS contact between Black and white families and the consistent importance of material hardship in predicting CPS contact across all families underscore the critical importance of reducing income poverty and hardship and of distinguishing material need from maltreatment in the context of CPS. Our findings offer clear implications for policy intervention to reduce income poverty and material hardship. Such interventions might include extending the temporarily expanded Child Tax Credit and expanded food and housing assistance benefits, toward the ends of supporting child and family wellbeing and reducing economic and racial inequities in CPS contact.