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Consistency and Continuity in Material and Psychosocial Adversity Among Australian Families with Young Children

Author

Listed:
  • Bina Gubhaju

    (The Australian National University
    National University of Singapore)

  • Bryan Rodgers

    (The Australian National University)

  • Peter Butterworth

    (The Australian National University)

  • Lyndall Strazdins

    (The Australian National University)

  • Tanya Davidson

    (The Australian National University)

Abstract

Prior studies on longitudinal continuity of adversity have mostly examined persistence of individual adversity, rather than of families and have focussed mainly on material disadvantage. However, adversity is multi-dimensional, and in the case of families with children, it includes psychosocial as well as material elements. While both material and psychosocial elements are recognized as critical to child development, these aspects of family adversity are often studied in isolation and there is a dearth of longitudinal evidence on the extent to which such factors are transient or persistent. Using the first three waves (2004–2005, 2006–2007, 2008–2009) of the longitudinal study of Australian children this paper investigated the consistency and continuity of multiple adversity in families with children using material and psychosocial indicators. First, longitudinal factor analysis determined that a consistent factor structure of multiple adversity adequately fit the data longitudinally. Second, cross-tabular analysis showed significant changes in the prevalence of specific adversities over waves. In particular adversity related to changes in family composition and social support followed an increasing trend. Adversity in two material elements—economic status and hardship—decreased over time. Third, variance-components models revealed that though aggregate scores of material and psychosocial adversity indicated a high degree of continuity over time, continuity in disaggregated measures showed that within families a great deal of variability in adversity occurs, with intra-class correlations ranging from 0.27 to 0.84. The more persistent forms of adversity—family, substance use, economic adversity—are areas where targeted interventions are feasible while employment conditions and time pressure are more transient and may require intervention at the population level to reduce overall prevalence of the adversities. Our study has reinforced the need to assess psychosocial adversity in studies of families with children as a balance to the more commonly utilized material adversity.

Suggested Citation

  • Bina Gubhaju & Bryan Rodgers & Peter Butterworth & Lyndall Strazdins & Tanya Davidson, 2016. "Consistency and Continuity in Material and Psychosocial Adversity Among Australian Families with Young Children," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 128(1), pages 35-57, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:128:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1007_s11205-015-1018-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-015-1018-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mary Jo Bane & David T. Ellwood, 1986. "Slipping into and out of Poverty: The Dynamics of Spells," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 21(1), pages 1-23.
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    6. Strazdins, Lyndall & Shipley, Megan & Clements, Mark & Obrien, Léan V. & Broom, Dorothy H., 2010. "Job quality and inequality: Parents' jobs and children's emotional and behavioural difficulties," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(12), pages 2052-2060, June.
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