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Familial transient financial difficulties during infancy and long-term developmental concerns

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2017

S. Ramanathan ,
N. Balasubramanian  and
S. V. Faraone
S. Ramanathan*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA Hutchings Psychiatric Center, Syracuse, NY, USA
N. Balasubramanian
Affiliation:
Department of Management, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
S. V. Faraone
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: S. Ramanathan, M.D., Hutchings Psychiatric Center, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA. (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

Background

Socioeconomic difficulties affect the cognitive and emotional development of children. However, the focus of prior studies has largely been on poverty and material hardship. This study expands on the existing literature by examining the impact of familial transient financial difficulties during infancy on long-term cognitive and behavioral outcomes.

Methods

The National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth (79) were used to assess the association between a transient drop in family income by 50% or more (called transient income decline or TID) during the first 3 years of life and later-life Peabody Individual Achievement Math and Reading scores and behavior problem index (BPI) scores (N = 8272–17 348; median assessment age = 9 years). A subsample of matched siblings (N = 2049–4238) was examined to tease out maternal and intra-familial effects.

Results

Exposure to TID predicted increased total and externalizing BPI scores (std. coefficients of 0.10 and 0.09, respectively, p < 0.01) in the overall sample. Among matched siblings, exposure to TID predicted increased total, externalizing, and internalizing BPI scores (std. coefficients of 0.27, 0.25, and 0.23, respectively, p < 0.01).

Conclusion

Familial transient financial difficulties can have long-lasting behavioral effects for infants. The study identifies an early risk factor and at-risk children, thus providing insight into developing early intervention measures for infants to avoid long-term behavioral problems.

Keywords

Behavior problemsfinancial difficultiesinfancytransient
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 47 , Issue 12 , September 2017 , pp. 2197 - 2204
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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