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Socialization mediators of the relation between socioeconomic status and child conduct problems
K A Dodge1, G S Pettit, J E Bates
1Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37203.
Insights
Early socioeconomic status (SES) impacts child behavior problems. Socializing experiences, like harsh discipline and lack of maternal warmth, mediate this link, influencing externalizing and aggressive behaviors in children.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Sociology
- Child Psychiatry
Background:
- Early socioeconomic status (SES) is linked to later child behavior problems.
- Understanding the mediating factors in this relationship is crucial for intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine socialization processes that explain the link between early SES and later child behavior problems.
- To identify specific socializing experiences that mediate the impact of SES on aggression.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 585 children from preschool to grade 3.
- Assessed preschool SES, various socialization factors, and child behavior problems (externalizing, aggression).
Main Results:
- Preschool SES predicted externalizing and aggressive behaviors in children through grade 3.
- SES negatively correlated with factors like harsh discipline, maternal warmth, and cognitive stimulation.
- These socialization factors mediated over half the effect of SES on behavior problems.
Conclusions:
- Socializing experiences related to socioeconomic status play a significant role in children's aggressive development.
- Interventions targeting these mediating factors may mitigate the negative effects of low SES on child behavior.
Abstract:
The goal was to examine processes in socialization that might account for an observed relation between early socioeconomic status and later child behavior problems. A representative sample of 585 children (n = 51 from the lowest socioeconomic class) was followed from preschool to grade 3. Socioeconomic status assessed in preschool significantly predicted teacher-rated externalizing problems and peer-rated aggressive behavior in kindergarten and grades 1, 2, and 3. Socioeconomic status was significantly negatively correlated with 8 factors in the child's socialization and social context, including harsh discipline, lack of maternal warmth, exposure to aggressive adult models, maternal aggressive values, family life stressors, mother's lack of social support, peer group instability, and lack of cognitive stimulation. These factors, in turn, significantly predicted teacher-rated externalizing problems and peer-nominated aggression and accounted for over half of the total effect of socioeconomic status on these outcomes. These findings suggest that part of the effect of socioeconomic status on children's aggressive development may be mediated by status-related socializing experiences.