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Material hardship and the physical health of school-aged children in low-income households

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  • Yoo, J.P.
  • Slack, K.S.
  • Holl, J.L.

Abstract

Objectives. We examined the relationship between material hardship reported by low-income caregivers and caregivers' assessments of their children's overall health. Methods. We used logistic regression techniques to analyze data from 1073 children aged 5 through 11 years whose caregivers participated in multiple waves of the Illinois Families Study. Results. Caregivers' reports of food hardship were strongly associated with their assessments of their children's health. Other sources of self-reported material hardship were also associated with caregivers' assessments of their children's health, but the effects disappeared when we controlled for caregiver physical health status and mental health status. Proximal measures of material hardship better explained low-income children's health than traditional socioeconomic measures. There were no statistically significant cumulative effects of material hardships above and beyond individual hardship effects. Conclusions. Our findings highlight the importance of developing and supporting programs and policies that ensure access to better-quality food, higher quantities of food, and better living conditions for low-income children, as well as health promotion and prevention efforts targeted toward their primary caregivers as ways to reduce health disparities for this population.

Suggested Citation

  • Yoo, J.P. & Slack, K.S. & Holl, J.L., 2009. "Material hardship and the physical health of school-aged children in low-income households," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 99(5), pages 829-836.
  • Handle: RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2007.119776_4
    DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2007.119776
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    Cited by:

    1. Margaret M. C. Thomas, 2022. "Longitudinal Patterns of Material Hardship Among US Families," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 341-370, August.
    2. Natasha V. Pilkauskas & Katherine Michelmore & Nicole Kovski & H. Luke Shaefer, 2024. "The expanded Child Tax Credit and economic wellbeing of low-income families," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(4), pages 1-35, December.
    3. Elly Field, 2020. "Material Hardship and Contraceptive Use During the Transition to Adulthood," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(6), pages 2057-2084, December.
    4. Wenqiang Sun & Dongping Li & Wei Zhang & Zhenzhou Bao & Yanhui Wang, 2015. "Family Material Hardship and Chinese Adolescents’ Problem Behaviors: A Moderated Mediation Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(5), pages 1-22, May.
    5. Lenna Nepomnyaschy & Irwin Garfinkel, 2010. "Fathers' Involvement with Their Nonresident Children and Material Hardship," Working Papers 1271, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    6. Fiona Imlach Gunasekara & Kristie Carter & Peter Crampton & Tony Blakely, 2013. "Income and individual deprivation as predictors of health over time," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 58(4), pages 501-511, August.
    7. Seungyeon Cho, 2022. "The Effect of Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Food Insecurity of Children in U.S. Immigrant Households," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 43(3), pages 501-510, September.
    8. Edmunds, Chrisse, 2020. "Academic failure and the role of early life course economic deprivation," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    9. James P. Ziliak & Craig Gundersen, 2016. "Multigenerational Families and Food Insecurity," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 82(4), pages 1147-1166, April.
    10. repec:pri:crcwel:wp10-12-ff is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Colleen Heflin & Hannah Patnaik, 2023. "Material Hardship and the Living Arrangements of Older Americans," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(2), pages 267-284, June.
    12. Jiyoung Park, 2018. "Predictors of health‐promoting behaviors in children from low‐income families: An ecological approach," Nursing & Health Sciences, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(1), pages 60-68, March.

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