Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Social Challenges And Policy Innovations By Social Workers In Australia, Manohar Pawar

Center for Social Development Research

By summarizing the social challenges in the contemporary Australian context, this article aims to discuss policy innovations by Australian social workers. Acknowledging that the concept of policy innovation is broad and sometimes ambiguous, it looks at four examples by social workers. Drawing on secondary data analysis, it discusses how social workers played an important role in introducing legislative changes/amendments to protect children in difficult circumstances, resisted a refugee policy that incarcerates innocent children, challenged and changed procedures and policies within an organization, and influenced policymakers to revert budgetary decisions to enhance access to services. These examples show the social workers’ …

Research Summary: Testing Universal College Savings Accounts At Birth: Early Research From Seed For Oklahoma Kids, Sondra G. Beverly, Margaret M. Clancy, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

SEED for Oklahoma Kids is a large-scale policy test of automatic and progressive Child Development Accounts (CDAs), and it is the first truly universal model in the United States. The SEED OK CDA is universal in that it opens an Oklahoma 529 College Savings Plan (OK 529) account on behalf of every infant in the treatment group. This report summarizes key findings and conclusions from SEED for Oklahoma Kids research. Even at this early stage, SEED OK research is informing policy and the design of college savings plans at the state level. Amore recent summary of SEED OK research is …

Seed For Oklahoma Kids: Experimental Test Of A Policy Innovation In A Full Population, Lisa Reyes Mason, Yunju Nam, Margaret Clancy, Michael Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

The Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis has implemented an ambitious policy demonstration: SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK). This initiative uses multiple research methods, including a scientific experiment in a full population, to test a policy innovation. The innovation is providing a Child Development Account (CDA) to all children at birth. In SEED OK, randomly selected newborn children in Oklahoma received a college savings account “seeded” with a $1,000 initial deposit, plus additional components of the SEED OK intervention. This case study describes the multiyear process of designing and implementing SEED OK and sheds light …

Youth And Their Health In Ghana, Gina Chowa, Rainier Masa, Isaac Osei-Akoto

Center for Social Development Research

Youth and Their Health in Ghana

Children, Violence, Community And The Physical Environment: Foreword To The Special Issue, Kevin Lalor

Articles

No abstract provided.

Interviews With Mothers Of Young Children In The Seed For Oklahoma Kids College Savings Experiment, Karen Gray, Margaret Clancy, Margaret S. Sherraden, Kristen Wagner, Julie Miller-Cribbs

Center for Social Development Research

Interviews With Mothers of Young Children in the SEED for Oklahoma Kids College Savings Experiment

Assets, Economic Opportunity, And Toxic Stress: A Framework For Understanding Child And Educational Outcomes, Trina R. Williams Shanks, Christine Robinson

Center for Social Development Research

Child health, educational attainment, and family socioeconomic status are inextricably linked. We introduce a model that ties together research drawn from the fields of economics, education, psychology, sociology, medicine, epidemiology, neuroscience, public health and biostatistics. Organized around an integrated conceptual paradigm of environmental, economic, familial and psychosocial pathways, we demonstrate various ways SES alters the performance of biological systems, thereby affecting family interaction, stress, school success, and child outcomes.

Lessons From Seed: A National Demonstration Of Child Development Accounts, Michael Sherraden, Julia Stevens, Deborah Adams, Ray Boshara, Margaret Clancy, Reid Cramer, Bob Friedman, Rochelle Howard, Karol Krotki, Ellen Marks, Lisa Mensah, Bryan Rhodes, Carl Rist, Edward Scanlon, Trina Williams Shanks, Michael Sherraden, Julia Stevens, Leigh Tivol, Robert Zager

Center for Social Development Research

Lessons From SEED: A National Demonstration of Child Development Accounts

Does Household Food Insecurity Affect Parental Characteristics And Child Behavior?: Evidence From The Panel Study Of Income Dynamics (Psid), Jin Huang, Karen M. Matta Oshima, Youngmi Kim

Center for Social Development Research

This study examines the link between household food insecurity and child behavior problems mediated through parental characteristics (parenting stress, parental warmth, psychological distress, and parent’s self-esteem) using two waves of data from the Child Development Supplement in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Analyses of fixedeffects models are conducted on a low-income sample of 416 children from 249 households. This study finds that the effects of food insecurity on child behavior problems are mediated by parenting stress. However, two robustness tests show different results from those of the fixed-effects models. This inconsistency suggests that the complicated relationship between household food …

Has The Marital Time Cost Of Parenting Changed Over Time?, Jeffrey P. Dew

Faculty Publications

Qualitative and quantitative research has suggested that married couples handle the increasing demands of intensive parenting norms and work expectations by reducing spousal time (e.g., the time that spouses spend alone with each other). Using nationally representative time-diary data, this study examined whether married individuals with children at home lost more spousal time in the years 1975–2003 than individuals without children at home. The analyses showed that on average married individuals have reduced their spousal time by 50 minutes a day. Contrary to expectations, however, individuals with minor children at home had lower time declines than individuals without children. The …

The Seed For Oklahoma Kids Experiment: Comparison Of Treatment And Control Groups, Youngmi Kim, Yunju Nam

Center for Social Development Research

The SEED for Oklahoma Kids Experiment: Comparison of Treatment and Control Groups

Young Children's Perceptions Of College And Saving: Potential Role Of Child Development Accounts, William Elliott Iii, Margaret Sherrard Sherraden, Lissa Johnson, Baorong Guo

Center for Social Development Research

This paper explores young children's perceptions and expectations about attending college, and the potential influence of a savings program on shaping children's perceptions about paying for college. As part of a four-year study of a school-based college savings program called “I Can Save”, this paper uses qualitative evidence from interviews conducted in second and fourth grades with a diverse group of 51 children. Findings suggest that most of the children in the study have a general understanding of college and have begun a process of considering higher education. Further, children in “I Can Save” are more likely than a comparison …

Financial Capability In Children: Effects Of Participation In A School-Based Financial Education And Savings Program, Margaret S. Sherraden, Lissa Johnson, Baorong Guo, William Elliott

Center for Social Development Research

A groundswell of interest in young people’s ability to understand and handle financial decisions has generated keen interest in financial knowledge and effectiveness of financial education. This study examines an innovative four-year school-based financial education and savings program, called “I Can Save” (ICS). Using a quasi-experimental design, the study examines quantitative and qualitative data to analyze program effects on financial knowledge. Children who participated in ICS scored significantly higher on a financial literacy test than comparison group students in the same school, regardless of parent education and income. Results suggest that children increase financial capability when they have access to …

Assets And Child Well-Being In Developing Countries: A Research Review, Gina A. N. Chowa, David Ansong, Rainier Masa

Center for Social Development Research

The impact of assets on child well-being in developing countries has received considerable attention in the last decade. Increased recognition of the critical role played by assets in enhancing children’s well-being has spurred efforts to study the relationship between assets and a range of outcomes for children. This chapter reviews current studies (i.e., conducted within the past 10 years) that explore the relationship of asset ownership and a range of outcomes. The studies we have included in this review illustrate the impact that assets can have on children’s outcomes in the area of health, education, and child labor. Overall, the …

Parental Assets And Children's Educational Outcomes, Vernon Loke, Paul Sacco

Center for Social Development Research

Several countries, including Canada, Singapore and the United Kingdom, have enacted asset-based policies for children in recent years. The premise underlying these policies is that increases in assets lead to improvement in various child outcomes over time. But little existing research examines this premise from a dynamic perspective. Using data from the NLSY79 mother and child datasets, two parallel process latent growth curve models are estimated to examine the effects of parental asset accumulation on changes in children’s math and reading achievement over six years during middle childhood. Results indicate that the initial level of assets is positively associated with …

College Expectations Among Young Children: The Potential Role Of Savings, William Elliott Iii, Margaret Sherrard Sherraden, Lissa Johnson, Suzanne Johnson, Signe Peterson

Center for Social Development Research

For many young people, especially minority and low-income children, attending college is a genuinely desired but elusive goal. This paper explores young children’s perceptions and expectations about attending college and potential influences on their formation. Conducted as part of a four-year study of a school-based saving for college program, this paper uses qualitative evidence from interviews with 60 children in second grade, and surveys with their parents. Findings suggest most of the young children in the study have a general understanding of college and have begun the process of choosing higher education. Further, the perception that saving is a way …

Academic Capabilities And Disadvantaged Students: The Role Of Institutions, William Elliott Iii, Margaret Sherrard Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Notwithstanding the far reaching intellectual and practical contributions of Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy, researchers have suggested that it may not adequately address the role of institutions. This paper suggests that traditional measures of self-efficacy underemphasize institutional factors. This may have important implications, especially for considering the circumstances of disadvantaged groups. It may be productive to think of self-efficacy as a multidimensional construct that includes personal and institutional dimensions. Using an interdisciplinary approach, we examine how self-efficacy theory can be expanded to account for the social and economic realities of disadvantaged groups and lead to empirical work that can inform policy …

From Financial Literacy To Financial Capability Among Youth, Elizabeth Johnson, Margaret S. Sherraden

Center for Social Development Research

Youth in the United States are facing an increasingly complex and perilous financial world. Economically disadvantaged youth, in particular, lack financial knowledge and access to mainstream financial institutions. Despite growing interest in youth financial literacy, we have not seen comparable efforts to improve institutional access to financial institutions and services. Instead of aiming for financial literacy, we suggest aiming for financial capability, a concept that builds on the writing of Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum. The paper proposes that financial capability results when individuals develop financial knowledge and skills, but also gain access to financial instruments and institutions. The paper …

Economic Empowerment As A Health Care Intervention Among Orphaned Children In Rural Uganda, Fred M. Ssewamala, Stacey Alicea, William M. Bannon Jr., Leyla Ismayilova

Center for Social Development Research

This study evaluated an economic empowerment intervention to reduce HIV risks among orphaned children in Uganda. Children (n=97) were randomly assigned to receive an economic intervention or to a control arm. Data obtained at baseline and 12-month follow-up revealed differences on HIV prevention attitudes, educational plans, and child-caregiver relationship for intervention arm children relative to control children. Findings lend support to use of economic empowerment interventions for HIV risk reduction among orphaned children.

No Buts! - Researching Children's Consumption, An Exploration Of Conversation And Discourse Analytic Techniques, Olivia Freeman

Conference papers

Contemporary discussion of social research with children revolves around three trends (i) an emphasis on researching children’s ‘experiences’ rather than their ‘perspectives’, (ii) an emphasis on researching ‘with’ children rather than ‘on’ children or ‘for’ children and (iii) a conceptualisation of children as ‘social beings’ not ‘social becomings’. This paper poses questions about how qualitative data is analysed and posits a two-pronged CA/DA (conversation analysis/ discourse analysis) approach as a potential means to enhance richness in qualitative research in the area of children’s consumption phenomena. Drawing on a number of illustrations from an ongoing research project this paper seeks to …

The Family As A Context For Religious And Spiritual Development In Children And Youth, Chris J. Boyatzis, David C. Dollahite, Loren D. Marks

Faculty Publications

Our chapter addresses how the family promotes or hinders transcendence of the self in children, that is, how the family is a context in which spiritual development occurs. Due to space limitations, our emphasis is on socialization and interaction processes within the family and not on other issues such as psychodynamic processes (e.g., Rizzuto, 1979) or faith development (e.g., Fowler, 1981). There are many motivations to explore family socialization of religious and spiritual development. One, family spirituality and religiosity are linked with many desirable outcomes and inversely with negative outcomes in children and youth. (Other chapters in this volume examine …

Saving And Asset Accumulation Among Low-Income Families With Children In Idas, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Kristen Wagner, Fred M. Ssewamala

Center for Social Development Research

Research indicates that low-income families with children have many motives to save, however, the costs of raising children, low wage employment, means tested programs, and the need for child care make it difficult for them to save. Using data from the American Dream Demonstration (n=1,801), this study examines saving performances of low-income families with children in a matched savings program – Individual Development Accounts (IDAs). The results indicate that households with children in IDAs can save when they are provided structured opportunities. In addition, this study finds that institutional factors, not merely individual characteristics, are highly associated with IDA saving …

Social Withdrawal, Observed Peer Acceptance, And The Development Of Self-Perceptions In Children Ages 4 To 7 Years, Larry J. Nelson, Kenneth H. Rubin, Nathan A. Fox

Faculty Publications

Children who think poorly about themselves are considered at-risk for a myriad of negative outcomes. Thus, it is important to explore possible origins of such cognitions, particularly in young children. The purpose of this study was to examine the relations between various nonsocial behaviors (i.e., reticence and social withdrawal), observed peer acceptance at ages 4 and 7 years, and self-perceptions at age 7 years in both boys and girls, respectively.

Participants included 163 children (89 females, 74 males) who were seen at age 4 and then again at age 7 years. For girls, results revealed that nonsocial behavior (both reticence …

Disentangling The Dynamics Of Family Poverty And Child Disability: Does Disability Come First?, Shirley L. Porterfield, Colleen Tracey

Center for Social Development Research

Disentangling the Dynamics of Family Poverty and Child Disability: Does Disability Come First?

Kinship Care In Massachusetts, Jan Mutchler, Alison S. Gottlieb, Lona Choi, Ellen A. Bruce

Gerontology Institute Publications

The population of kinship care families in the Commonwealth is diverse in its characteristics, resources, and needs. The often-referenced stereotype of the elderly single grandmother caring for a number of grandchildren holds for only a portion of the kinship care families. Many children are cared for by married couples; many of the grandparents are not elderly; and many of the caregivers are not grandparents, but rather aunts, uncles, grown siblings, or other relatives. Although the duration of the caregiving relationship is unknown for non-grandparental care, most of the grandparent caregivers are involved in long-term caregiving. As such, their needs are …

Maternal Psychological Control And Preschool Children’S Behavioral Outcomes In China, Russia, And The United States, Susanne Frost Olsen, Chongming Yang, Craig H. Hart, Clyde C. Robinson, Peixia Wu, David A. Nelson, Larry J. Nelson, Shenghua Jin, Jianzhong Wo

Faculty Publications

A growing body of Western literature has demonstrated the importance of three domains of socialization—connection with significant others, regulation of behavior, and the facilitation of psychological autonomy—in predicting outcomes in adolescents and children (Barber, 1997a, 1997b; Gray & Steinberg, 1999; Hart, Newell, & Olsen, in press; Nelson, 1997; Steinberg, Dornbusch, & Brown, 1992). Psychological control—parenting that does not allow children psychological autonomy, as has been defined elsewhere in this volume, has received increased attention in the past decade (for a discussion of definitions and research, see chapter 2, this volume).

Assets, Health, And Well Being: Neighborhoods, Families, Children And Youth, Deborah Page-Adams, Edward Scanlon, Sondra Beverly, Tom Mcdonald

Center for Social Development Research

Assets, Health, and Well Being: Neighborhoods, Families, Children and Youth

Non-Social Play As A Risk Factor In Social And Emotional Development, Charissa S. L. Cheah, Larry J. Nelson, Kenneth H. Rubin

Faculty Publications

Children spend much of their youthful energy engaged in play. Indeed, play, in its various forms, represents a serious business – not only for the active participations, but also for students of the phenomenon. To many researchers, play is viewed as a generative fore in children's social, emotional, and cognitive development (see Rubin, Fein, & Vandenberg, 1983; Saracho & Spodek, 1998; Fromberg & Bergen, 1998). The extent to which children engage in play with others is of added developmental significance. In light of the complexity and developmental significance of children's play and especially play with peers, it seems important to …

Peer Contact Patterns, Parenting Practices, And Preschoolers’ Social Competence In China, Russia, And The United States, Craig H. Hart, Chongming Yang, David A. Nelson, Shenghua Jin, Nina Bazarskaya, Larry Nelson, Xinzi Wu, Peixia Wu

Faculty Publications

Research over the past decade has focused on ways that parents enhance or constrain the quantity and quality of their children's interactions with peers outside of the immediate family context (e.g., Ladd and Hart 1992; Mize et al. 1995; profiles and Ladd 1994; Russell and Finnie 1990). Much of this work indicates that parenting works in concert with a host of personality, familial, and extra familial variables in ways that facilitate or diminish children's socially competent behavior with peers (Hart et al. 1997). This line of research is important given evidence suggesting that the quality of peer relations stemming from …

Creating Informal Play Opportunities: Are Parents' And Preschoolers' Initiations Related To Children's Competence With Peers?, Gary W. Ladd, Craig H. Hart

Faculty Publications

Preschoolers' social competence may depend on the frequency with which informal play activities are initiated by parents', children, and playmates. In this study, measures ofchildren's peer relations in informal and school contexts and the frequency of parents', children's, and peers' play initiations were obtained with 83 preschool children and their families on 2 occasions. Frequent parent initiations were associated with higher levels of prosocial behavior, lower levels of nonsocial behavior and, among boys, greater peer acceptance in preschool. Children who were more initiating of informal peer contacts displayed less anxious behavior in school and were better liked by their classmates. …