Journal Article

Testing Equivalence of Mediating Models of Income, Parenting, and School Readiness for White, Black, and Hispanic Children in a National Sample

Raver, C. Cybele, Aber, J. Lawrence, Gershoff, Elizabeth T.

2007

Overview

This paper examines complex models of the associations between family income, material hardship, parenting, and school readiness among White, Black, and Hispanic 6-year-olds, using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K). It is critical to test the universality of such complex models, particularly given their implications for intervention, prevention, and public policy. Therefore this study asks: Do measures and models of low income and early school readiness indicators fit differently or similarly for White, Black, and Hispanic children? Measurement equivalence of material hardship, parent stress, parenting behaviors, child cognitive skills, and child social competence is first tested. Model equivalence is then tested by examining whether category membership in a race/ethnic group moderates associations between predictors and young children's school readiness.

• Publisher: Blackwell Publishing Inc,Blackwell Publishers,Blackwell Publishing,Blackwell,Oxford University Press
• Subject: Academic readiness / Adaptation, Psychological / African Americans / Biological and medical sciences / Black People - psychology / Blacks / Child / Child development / Child psychology / Child Rearing / Child, Preschool / Childhood / Children / Cognition & reasoning / Cognitive Ability / Cognitive skills / Cognitive-behavioral factors / Cohort Studies / Correlation / Developmental psychology / Economic hardship / Emprical Articles / Equivalence / Ethnic groups / Family Income / Family school relationship / Family studies / Female / Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology / Hispanic Americans / Hispanic or Latino - psychology / Hispanic people / Hispanics / Humans / Income / Income distribution / Intelligence / Internal-External Control / Interpersonal Competence / Kindergarten / Longitudinal Studies / Low Income / Low income groups / Male / Measurement / Measurement Techniques / Membership / Models, Psychological / Parent-child relations / Parental stress / Parenting / Parenting - psychology / Parenting Skills / Parents & parenting / Poverty - psychology / Prevention programs / Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry / Psychology. Psychophysiology / Psychosocial Deprivation / Public policy / Race / Racial Differences / School Readiness / Schools / Social Behavior / Social interaction / Social skills / Statistics as Topic / Stress Variables / Stress, Psychological - complications / Tests / White People - psychology / Whites / Young Children