Childhood Material Hardship and Externalizing Behavior

Abstract

The role of socioeconomic status (SES) in the etiology of childhood externalizing behavior remains unclear, especially within developmental models. Many scholars argue that material hardship (i.e. inability to meet basic needs such as food and shelter) is a better indicator of economic pressure than economic hardship (i.e. income), yet material hardship is seldom considered. We draw on a longitudinal sample of young males in the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study (n = 1,135) and contrast the influence of persistent material hardship with that of economic hardship. Results indicate that the experience of heightened material hardship, irrespective of economic hardship, matters. High-material hardship triples the odds of externalizing behavior by age 9 compared to those in a low-material hardship group. Effects are partially mediated by parental supervision, child diligence, and children’s bonds to school. Findings warrant further investigation of material hardship and its impact on children’s externalizing behavior.

Keywords:

• Material hardship
• life course
• socioeconomic status
• externalizing behavior

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 A small percentage of families experience long-term spells of economic hardship, yet often adapt by tapping into and receiving material assistance from formal and informal support networks, or ameliorate material hardship with receipt of in-kind transfers (i.e. TANF, SNAP, or housing vouchers). The ability to cushion (or not) the effects of extreme economic hardship likely obscures its relationship with both material hardship and delinquency.

2 A comparison of the males included in our analyses (n = 1,135) to those excluded (n = 1,375, weighted) owing to the selection criteria reveals some differences on relevant variables. Note that the number of cases used in comparisons varies based on missing data in the attrition sample, an issue that constrains the number of comparisons that can be made. Self-reported externalizing behavior (year 9) is significantly higher among children in the analysis sample compared to the attrition sample (1.48 vs. .88). The families of children in our analyses report similar levels of material hardship (at year 1), but parents are less likely to be college educated and married (year 9) and mothers are slightly younger (at baseline) than the attrition sample. The analysis sample comprises more non-Hispanic blacks (53% vs. 43%) and fewer Hispanics (24% vs. 37%) than the attrition sample, whereas the percent non-Hispanic white is comparable (23% vs. 20%). Finally, children in the analyses are more likely to be low birth weight babies than are children in the attrition sample, but score similarly with respect to verbal ability and prior aggression.

3 A formal test of mediation using the KHB method revealed that the relationship between material hardship and externalizing behavior is not significantly mediated. However, we find that the effect of parental supervision on externalizing behavior is fully mediated by diligence and school bonding.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Paul E. Bellair

Paul E. Bellair is a Professor of Sociology at The Ohio State University. His current research is focused on socio-economic causes of delinquency in childhood, especially material hardship, the relationship between work and crime among justice-involved populations, and causes and correlates of neighborhood crime.

Thomas L. McNulty

Thomas L. McNulty is an Associate Professor in Sociology at the University of Georgia since 1996. His research focuses on relationships among communities, material hardships, race/ethnicity, and violence. He is currently investigating the race-crime and characteristics of police-citizen fatal encounters across neighborhoods.

Vincent J. Roscigno

Vincent J. Roscigno is a Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences in Sociology at Ohio State University. His research focused on inequality, workplace dignity, culture, social movements, and educational mobility. His current projects focus on the impact of workplace relations on worker well-being and inequalities experienced by first-generation college students.

Man Kit (Karlo) Lei

Man Kit (Karlo) Lei is an Assistant Professor at the University of Georgia. His research interests include the social consequences of juvenile delinquency, understanding spatial distributions in crime, and biosocial criminology.