Taryn W. Morrissey

Family Income, School Attendance, and Academic Achievement in Elementary School.

Low family income is associated with poor academic achievement among children. Higher rates of school absence and tardiness may be one mechanism through which low family income impacts childrens academic success. This study examines relations between family income, as measured by receipt of free or reduced-price lunch, school attendance, and academic achievement among a diverse sample of children from kindergarten to 4th grade (N = 35,419) using both random and within-child fixed-effects models. Generally, results suggest that the receipt of free or reduced-price lunch and duration of receipt have small but positive associations with school absences and tardies. Poor attendance patterns predict poorer grades, with absences more associated with grades than tardies. Given the small associations between receipt of free or reduced-price lunch and school attendance, and between the duration of receipt of free or reduced-price lunch and childrens grades, results do not provide strong evidence that absences and tardies meaningfully attenuate relations between the duration of low family income and student achievement; poorer attendance and persistent low income independently predict poorer grades. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.

Local Food Prices and Their Associations With Children’s Weight and Food Security

OBJECTIVES: Both obesity and food insecurity are important public health problems facing young children in the United States. A lack of affordable, healthy foods is one of the neighborhood factors presumed to underlie both food insecurity and obesity among children. We examine associations between local food prices and children’s BMI, weight, and food security outcomes. METHODS: We linked data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort, a nationally representative study of children from infancy to age 5, to local food price data from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) Cost-of-Living Index (n = 11 700 observations). Using ordinary least squares (OLS), linear probability, and within-child fixed effects (FE) models, we exploit the variability in food price data over time and among children who move residences focusing on a subsample of households under 300% of the Federal Poverty Level. RESULTS: Results from ordinary least squares and FE models indicate that higher-priced fruits and vegetables are associated with higher child BMI, and this relationship is driven by the prices of fresh (versus frozen or canned) fruits and vegetables. In the FE models, higher-priced soft drinks are associated with a lower likelihood of being overweight, and surprisingly, higher fast food prices are associated with a greater likelihood of being overweight. CONCLUSIONS: Policies that reduce the costs of fresh fruits and vegetables may be effective in promoting healthy weight outcomes among young children.

A Cross-sectional Study of Postpartum Depressive Symptoms and Infant Weight Outcomes: Do Well-Child Visits make a Difference?

A Cross-sectional Study of Postpartum Depressive Symptoms and Infant Weight Outcomes: Do Well-Child Visits make a Difference? Maternal postpartum depression affects 10% to 20% of new mothers, but little research has examined its relationship with weight outcomes during infancy and whether clinical interventions can mitigate this relationship. This study investigated the associations of postpartum depressive symptoms with infants’ weight-for-length z-scores, obesity, and overweight at 9 months of age; and whether the number of well-child visits moderated these associations.

Associations between active shooter incidents and gun ownership and storage among families with young children in the United States

The presence of firearms and their unsafe storage in the home can increase risk of firearm-related death and injury, but public opinion suggests that firearm ownership is a protective factor against gun violence. This study examined the effects of a recent nearby active shooter incident on gun ownership and storage practices among families with young children. A series of regression models, with data from the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort merged with the FBIs Active Shooter Incidents data collected in 2003-2006, were used to examine whether household gun ownership and storage practices differed in the months prior to and following an active shooter incident that occurred anywhere in the United States or within the same state. Approximately one-fifth of young children lived in households with one or more guns; of these children, only two-thirds lived in homes that stored all guns in locked cabinets. Results suggest that the experience of a recent active shooter incident was associated with an increased likelihood of storing all guns locked, with the magnitude dependent on the temporal and geographic proximity of the incident. The severity of the incident, defined as the number of fatalities, predicted an increase in storing guns locked. Findings suggest that public shootings change behaviors related to firearm storage among families with young children.

Center-Based Early Care and Education and Children's School Readiness: Do Impacts Vary by Neighborhood Poverty?.

Neighborhoods provide resources that may affect children’s achievement or moderate the influences of other developmental contexts, such as early care and education (ECE). Using a sample (N ≈ 12,430) from the 2010–2011 Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort, merged with census tract-level poverty data from the 2008–2012 American Community Survey, this article examines associations between center-based ECE participation, neighborhood poverty, and children’s academic skills and behavior at kindergarten entry. Findings suggest that children who attend center-based care in the year prior to kindergarten show higher math and reading scores across neighborhood contexts. Results provide limited evidence that neighborhood poverty moderates the associations between either Head Start or other types of center-based ECE participation and children’s outcomes at kindergarten, with children in moderate-high poverty neighborhoods showing stronger positive associations between who participated in Head Start or center care participation and math and reading scores, respectively, compared to those participating in low-poverty neighborhoods. Research and policy implications are discussed.