Experiences of material hardship have ripple effects on young children’s development

Since the launch of the RAPID survey in April 2020, we have asked parents of children under age 6 questions designed to better understand the contexts and circumstances in which young children are developing. This has included questions about the economic well-being of families and households. One way in which RAPID does this is by asking parents about experiences of material hardship, defined as difficulty in the last month affording basic needs, such as food, housing, utilities, child care, healthcare, and activities that support well-being (e.g., counseling).

One of the most consistent findings in the RAPID data is the existence of a chain reaction of hardship. The data clearly show that as parents’ experiences of material hardship increase, they also experience more emotional distress (higher levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and loneliness), which, in turn, is associated with parents reporting increased emotional distress in their young children. We have seen this chain reaction that flows between material hardship to parental well-being and then to children’s emotional well-being throughout the five years of RAPID surveys and among different groups of people.

As we’ve continued to hear from parents and understand their experiences, we’ve learned that the chain reaction of hardship is not only strongly associated with young children’s emotional distress, but also with impacts on their overall development, in terms of cognitive, motor, language, and social-emotional development.

Deepening understandings of the chain reaction of hardship

We discovered this finding in collaboration with a team led by Dr. Abbie Raikes at the University of Nebraska Medical Center that developed the Kidsights Measurement Tool. Historically, there has been no survey-based measurement that offers a population view into how children ages birth through 5 years are developing, despite the consensus on the critical period of early childhood development. The Kidsights Measurement Tool is designed to fill this gap, offering the first scientifically-validated, survey-based measure that can accurately assess how young children are progressing with typical development, in terms of reaching their cognitive, motor, language, and social-emotional development milestones. As children grow older, on average, their developmental scores typically increase as well, reflecting a trajectory of growth.

Kidsights collects parent-reported data through an online survey to measure typical early development of children across the U.S., from birth through age 5, at a population level. When measured in the context of factors associated with disparities, such as family income, education, geography, and other family characteristics, Kidsights results can be used to report on overall development for groups of children and assist public health and policy decision-making.

RAPID included the Kidsights tool as part of our ongoing monthly surveys to parents in July and August 2023 to holistically assess how young children are developing, beyond the emotional distress domain that RAPID routinely includes. Our analysis pairs these insights with national RAPID household survey data on family well-being (e.g., material hardship, food insecurity, parent distress, health care disruptions, child care disruptions) collected between April 2020 and June 2023, to better understand how these family experiences are associated with early development.

Household material hardship is associated with lower developmental scores

Consistent access to basic needs contributes to the conditions that support the healthy, positive development of young children and their families. After accounting for the effects of families’ income levels, races and ethnicities, geographic locations, and family structure, our analysis finds that household experiences of material hardship are significantly associated with decreases in early developmental scores.

The data show that, on average, young children in families that consistently meet their basic needs have higher developmental scores and are developmentally ahead of their peers in the same age group. Conversely, young children in families that experience material hardship have lower early childhood developmental scores, indicating that young children in these families are, on average, developmentally behind compared to their peers in the same age group who do not experience material hardship.

Additionally, as parents’ experiences of material hardship increase, their children’s developmental scores decrease, reflecting more negative impacts of material hardship on early development. Decades of research show that being exposed to chronic stress in infancy and early childhood can negatively affect brain, biological, and social-emotional development. These data suggest that supporting parents to meet basic needs and reduce material hardship subsequently buffers the effects of family economic hardship on children’s development.

Associations of family material hardship and early development score, overall

* Note about the figure: Kidsights residual scores are presented as an age-adjusted assessment of overall early development. We used these Kidsights residual scores in subsequent analyses because they have accounted for between-age variation in early development.

Parents’ emotional distress provides key insights into understanding the associations between material hardship experiences and lower developmental scores

Previous RAPID research has shown that parents who have difficulty paying for basic needs also report elevated levels of emotional distress. In this analysis, we found that parents’ own elevated emotional distress as a result of material hardship also contributes to their children’s early development scores. As material hardship increases, parents’ stress increases and parents’ emotional well-being decreases. In turn, parents’ own emotional distress experiences are significantly linked to their children’s early development scores.

Children of parents with no or low levels of emotional distress are on average developmentally ahead of their peers. Children whose parents have moderate or high levels of emotional distress are developmentally behind, on average, compared to their peers in the same age group. As well, we see that the differences in early development scores are substantial between children whose parents have no or low emotional distress and children whose parents have moderate or high emotional distress.

Associations of parent emotional distress and early development score, overall

* Note about the figure: Kidsights residual scores are presented as an age-adjusted assessment of overall early development. We used these Kidsights residual scores in subsequent analyses because they have accounted for between-age variation in early development.

Conclusion

Household experiences of material hardship are significantly linked with increases in parents’ emotional distress levels, which are subsequently associated with children’s lower early developmental scores compared to their peers in the same age group. These associations extend the chain reaction of hardship, which has been found in the RAPID data since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and has remained consistent.

In families with young children, the chain reaction of hardship can undermine the stable, nurturing care that parents seek to provide and that is essential to healthy development in early childhood. Research has shown how crucial the earliest years of children’s lives are for positive development, healthy brain growth, social and emotional well-being, and lifelong health. There is also extensive evidence of the links between experiences of early adversity and poorer outcomes in health, education, well-being, and income later in life. Given this, it is important that we pay particular attention to supporting children, caregivers, and families during this period of development.

By pairing Kidsights and RAPID data, we are able to assess early development in a more holistic and rigorous way, beyond the emotional well-being aspect of development that RAPID routinely focuses on. Findings reported in this blog provide strong evidence of the detrimental effects of family economic hardship on early childhood development, a critical stage that can shape lifelong trajectories. With the chain reaction of hardship affecting families with young children everywhere, there is an urgent need to take immediate steps to improve economic circumstances in support of healthier, thriving families and communities now and in the future. RAPID plans to continue to collaborate with Dr. Raikes and to explore how families’ economic circumstances are connected to their children’s experiences and development.

About

This set of RAPID analyses is based on survey responses collected via the Kidsights Measurement Tool and RAPID Survey from 1,261 parents of young children in July and August 2023. Kidsights provides a scientifically-validated, parent-reported, and population-based measure of early childhood development from birth to age 5 in the U.S. These caregivers represent a range of voices: 9% are Black, 12% are Latinx, and 32% live at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. Proportions/percentages are calculated based on the item-level response rates, not out of the total sample size. The data for these analyses are not weighted.