RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Wealth and Child Development: Differences in Associations by Family Income and Developmental Stage
JF RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
FD Russell Sage Foundation
SP 154
OP 174
DO 10.7758/RSF.2021.7.3.07
VO 7
IS 3
A1 Portia Miller
A1 Tamara Podvysotska
A1 Laura Betancur
A1 Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal
YR 2021
UL http://www.rsfjournal.org/content/7/3/154.abstract
AB Wealth inequality is at a historic high in the United States. Yet little is known about the implications of wealth on children’s development because research has focused mainly on the role of wealth in shaping outcomes in adulthood. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (N = 8,095), we examine how family wealth relates to achievement and behavior problems during early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence. Further, we explore whether links between wealth and children’s development vary by level of income and income volatility. Results show that wealth, controlling for income level and volatility, is uniquely related to both academic and behavioral development in early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence. Moreover, evidence suggests that wealth plays a buffering role when it comes to protecting children’s development from the deleterious effects of low family income, especially as children grow older.