MITIGATING SUSCEPTIBILITY WITH THE CHILD CARE DEVELOPMENT FUND: USING FOUR LARGE DATA SETS TO CLASSIFY RISK PROFILES AND RISK TRANSMISSION BY MODIFIABLE FACTORS

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Early environmental stressors are frequently experienced in low-income families and impact outcomes across the lifespan, including academic achievement, mental and physical health, and ultimately result in both earlier mortality and reduced quality of life. Characterizing specific risk trajectories and points of intervention would make more efficient and effective use of limited federal resources. The current proposal works toward these goals with four broad aims. Aim 1. To identify subpopulations with different early environmental risk profiles. This study will identify subpopulations of children who are characterized by different profiles of exposure to a wide range of environmental risks factors (e.g., TANF eligible but not enrolled, poverty threshold, family conflict, birth/prenatal complications, housing instability, low maternal education, and household composition) at/near birth, at/near age one, and at age three using data combined from the NICHD SECCYD, ECLS-B, Baby FACES, and Fragile Families. This study will also examine duration and timing of environmental risks across the first three years of life. Aim 2. To examine the effects of early risk and support profiles on later child outcomes. This study will test the utility of early risk profiles in predicting later academic, health, and socio-emotional child outcomes. Specifically how risk profiles present at birth are predictive of age five and nine outcomes, and how the chronicity/stability of risk profiles from birth to age three is associated with age five and nine outcomes. Further, this study will examine whether there are children who are more or less susceptible to the negative effects of early risk exposure on later child outcomes. Aim 3. Examine the potential role of modifiable maternal characteristics in the effects of early risk profiles on later child outcomes. Many interventions focus on improving parenting, and two-generation solutions suggest that improving maternal mental health and education/job training may also help break the link between environmental adversity and negative child outcomes. This study test whether the effects of the risk profiles on outcomes are mediated by maternal depression and/or positive parenting, hypothesizing that early adversity will contribute to maternal depression, and exacerbate poor child outcomes, while positive parenting will be protective. This study will also test whether changes in maternal education/job training are protective. Aim 4. Examine the potential moderating role of child care factors on the relationship between risk profiles and later child outcomes. Positive early education experiences are a critical support for families experiencing environmental adversity. Conversely, long hours in low quality care can exacerbate family-level risk. Thus, this study will examine moderation of risk trajectories by child care factors. This study hypothesizes that high quality early child care will serve as a buffer against negative child outcomes, but that poor caregiver mental health, lower quality care and longer hours will exacerbate risk. Further, this study hypothesizes that child care subsidy usage will increase the likelihood of better outcomes, but only when it provides access to higher quality care.