Associations Between Household Chaos and Child Behavior and Vocabulary in an Immigrant, Ethnic-Minority Community in...

Household chaos has been shown to be an important predictor across multiple domains of children's development, with both direct associations and indirect associations through changes in parenting practices. Yet, little is known about these associations among immigrant families. Data from the Children, Community, and Caregivers (C3) Study of the larger Together Growing Strong place-based initiative among predominantly Chinese and Latine immigrant families in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York were used to examine cross-sectional associations between household chaos and child behavior and receptive vocabulary at child ages 4 and 6 (N = 187). The STROBE checklist for cross-sectional research was adhered to. Linear regression models were used to examine unique contributions of variables, as well as structural equation modeling to examine mediation through parenting stress. As a supplemental exploratory analysis, differences in associations between household chaos and child behavior and language by race/ethnicity were further examined. There were significant positive associations between household chaos and parental reports of children's problem behavior (β = 0.21, 95% CI [0.07-0.35]) and significant negative associations between household chaos and direct assessments of children's receptive vocabulary (β=-0.21, 95% CI [-0.37 - -0.04]). Further, there were indirect associations of household chaos through parenting stress for child problem behavior only (β = 0.11, 95% CI [0.05-0.17]). The results for the main linear regression models and mediation models were primarily driven by Chinese families. Implications for predictors of child development in immigrant populations and the enduring salience of household chaos are discussed.