Health across early childhood and socioeconomic status: Examining the moderating effects of differential parenting

Dillon T. Browne and Jennifer M. Jenkins

Social Science & Medicine, 2012, vol. 74, issue 10, 1622-1629

Abstract: Variations in parenting within the family (i.e. differential parenting) are associated with various domains of child adjustment, whereby disfavoured siblings exhibit poorer social and emotional outcomes. To date there is no research examining the effects of differential parenting on children's general health, or the way in which differential parenting interacts with socioeconomic markers to predict general health over time. The present study assessed 501 Canadian families at 2 time points separated by 18 months. Differential maternal negativity predicted worse health 18 months later. Moreover, the association between maternal education and child health was strongest when children were also exposed to high levels of differential negativity. Findings indicate that multiple forms of social disadvantage (i.e. between families and between siblings) can operate independently or in a cumulative fashion to predict health across early childhood.

Keywords: Differential parenting; Differential treatment; Family; Inequality; Socioeconomic status; Parental negativity; Child health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:74:y:2012:i:10:p:1622-1629

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DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.01.017

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