New People
What causes the word gap? Financial concerns may systematically suppress child-directed speech
Monica Ellwood-Lowe, Ruthe Foushee & Mahesh Srinivasan
Developmental Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Parents with fewer educational and economic resources (low socioeconomic-status, SES) tend to speak less to their children, with consequences for children's later life outcomes. Despite this well-established and highly popularized link, less research addresses why the SES "word gap" exists. Moreover, while research has assessed individual-level contributors to the word gap -- like differences in parenting knowledge -- we know little about how structural constraints that vary according to SES might affect caregivers' speech. In two pre-registered studies, we test whether experiencing financial scarcity can suppress caregivers' speech to their children. Study 1 suggests that higher-SES caregivers who are prompted to reflect on scarcity -- particularly those who reflect on financial scarcity -- speak less to their 3-year-olds in a subsequent play session, relative to a control group. Study 2 suggests that mid- to higher-SES caregivers engage in fewer back-and-forth exchanges with their children at the end of the month -- when they are more likely to be experiencing financial hardship -- than the rest of the month. These studies provide preliminary evidence that -- above and beyond caregivers' individual characteristics -- structural constraints may affect how much parents speak to their children.
The Children of the Missed Pill
Tomás Rau, Miguel Sarzosa & Sergio Urzúa
Journal of Health Economics, forthcoming
Abstract:
We assess the impact of exogenous variation in oral contraceptives prices -- a year-long decline followed by a sharp increase due to a documented collusion case -- on fertility decisions and newborns' outcomes. Our empirical strategy follows an interrupted time-series design, which is implemented using multiple sources of administrative information. As prices skyrocketed (45% within few weeks), the Pill's consumption plunged, and weekly conceptions increased (3.2% after a few months). We show large effects on the number of children born to unmarried mothers, to mothers in their early twenties, and to primiparae women. The incidence of low birth weight and fetal/infant deaths increased (declined) as the cost of birth control pills rose (fell). In addition, we document a disproportional increase in the weekly miscarriage and stillbirth rates. As children reached school age, we find lower school enrollment rates and higher participation in special education programs. Our evidence suggests these "extra" conceptions were more likely to face adverse conditions during critical periods of development.
Parental math input is not uniformly beneficial for young children: The moderating role of inhibitory control
Alex Silver, Leanne Elliott & Melissa Libertus
Journal of Educational Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Recent work has stressed the importance of considering child-level propensities and environmental opportunities when studying early math achievement; however, few studies investigate the interaction between these factors. This study examined whether children's inhibitory control moderates the association between parental math input and children's math performance. Parental math input via number talk and parent-reported frequencies of math activities were measured in 123 children (Mage = 3.9 years) and one of their parents. High levels of parent number talk were associated with higher math achievement among children with higher inhibitory control. This association was not seen in children with lower inhibitory control, for children's vocabulary as the outcome measure, or for parents' overall talk or parent-reported math activities as the opportunity measures. Thus, children may differentially benefit from parental math input depending on their cognitive abilities and this association is specific to parental number talk and children's math abilities.
Persistent Inequalities: The Origins of Intergenerational Associations in Voter Turnout
Sven Oskarsson et al.
Journal of Politics, forthcoming
Abstract:
We use population-wide Swedish data with information on adopted children's biological and adoptive parents to assess the importance of pre-birth factors (measured by biological parents' voting) and post-birth socialization factors (as captured by adoptive parents' voting) for generating intergenerational associations in voter turnout. We find that both pre-birth and post-birth factors explain the parent-child similarity in turnout behavior. More importantly, we show that the conditions that strengthen the social pathways to intergenerational transmission - such as youth and exposure to consistent parental behavior - at the same time weaken the biological mechanisms, and vice versa. Follow-up analyses based on US and UK samples suggest that these results are externally valid. Our findings are important for understanding how political inequality is reproduced across generations.
Genetic insights into biological mechanisms governing human ovarian ageing
Katherine Ruth et al.
Nature, forthcoming
Abstract:
Reproductive longevity is essential for fertility and influences healthy ageing in women1,2, but insights into its underlying biological mechanisms and treatments to preserve it are limited. Here we identify 290 genetic determinants of ovarian ageing, assessed using normal variation in age at natural menopause (ANM) in about 200,000 women of European ancestry. These common alleles were associated with clinical extremes of ANM; women in the top 1% of genetic susceptibility have an equivalent risk of premature ovarian insufficiency to those carrying monogenic FMR1 premutations3. The identified loci implicate a broad range of DNA damage response (DDR) processes and include loss-of-function variants in key DDR-associated genes. Integration with experimental models demonstrates that these DDR processes act across the life-course to shape the ovarian reserve and its rate of depletion. Furthermore, we demonstrate that experimental manipulation of DDR pathways highlighted by human genetics increases fertility and extends reproductive life in mice. Causal inference analyses using the identified genetic variants indicate that extending reproductive life in women improves bone health and reduces risk of type 2 diabetes, but increases the risk of hormone-sensitive cancers. These findings provide insight into the mechanisms that govern ovarian ageing, when they act, and how they might be targeted by therapeutic approaches to extend fertility and prevent disease.
Maternal caregiving ameliorates the consequences of prenatal maternal psychological distress on child development
Leah Grande et al.
Development and Psychopathology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Children exposed to prenatal maternal psychological distress are at elevated risk for a range of adverse outcomes; however, it remains poorly understood whether postnatal influences can ameliorate impairments related to prenatal distress. The current study evaluated if sensitivematernal care during the first postnatal year could mitigate child cognitive and emotional impairments associated with prenatal psychological distress. Prenatal maternal psychological distress was assessed via self-reports of anxiety, depression, and perceived stress for 136 mothers at five prenatal and four postpartum time points. Quality of maternal care (sensitivity to nondistress, positive regard, and intrusiveness reverse-scored) were assessed during a mother-child play interaction at 6 and 12 months. Child cognitive function and negative emotionality were assessed at 2 years, using The Bayley Scales and the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire. Elevated prenatal distress was associated with poorer child cognitive function and elevated negative emotionality. Children exposed to elevated prenatal maternal distress did not, however, display these outcomes if they received high-quality caregiving. Specifically, maternal care moderated the relation between prenatal psychological distress and child cognitive function and negative emotionality. This association remained after consideration of postnatal maternal psychological distress and relevant covariates. Sensitive maternal care was associated with altered offspring developmental trajectories, supporting child resilience following prenatal distress exposure.