Early childhood poverty and adult attainment, behavior, and health
Open accessAbstract
This article assesses the consequences of poverty between a child's prenatal year and 5th birthday for several adult achievement, health, and behavior outcomes, measured as late as age 37. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (1,589) and controlling for economic conditions in middle childhood and adolescence, as well as demographic conditions at the time of the birth, findings indicate statistically significant and, in some cases, quantitatively large detrimental effects of early poverty on a number of attainment-related outcomes (adult earnings and work hours). Early-childhood poverty was not associated with such behavioral measures as out-of-wedlock childbearing and arrests. Most of the adult earnings effects appear to operate through early poverty's association with adult work hours.
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- Authors
- Duncan, G. J., Ziol-Guest, K. M., & Kalil, A.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Irvine (US)
- Institute for Children and Poverty
- University of Chicago (US)
- Corresponding author
- Duncan, Greg J
- Venue
- Child Development
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2010-01-01
- Volume
- 81
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 306-325
- ISSN
- 0009-3920 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-8624
- OpenAlex
- W2120850100
- Cited by
- 859
- References
- 62
- Citations by year
- 2026: 26 · 2025: 48 · 2024: 55 · 2023: 53 · 2022: 75 · 2021: 53 · 2020: 82 · 2019: 74 · 2018: 55 · 2017: 52 · 2016: 65 · 2015: 45 · 2014: 64 · 2013: 42 · 2012: 38
- FWCI
- 114.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Child Development (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Knowledge@UChicago (University of Chicago) (submittedVersion)
- University of Chicago
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Income, Poverty, and Inequality
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare
- Keywords
- early childhood poverty, adult earnings, adult health, adult behavior, out-of-wedlock childbearing, arrests, educational attainment, Panel Study of Income Dynamics
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Behavior, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Health Status, Humans, Income, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Poverty, Social Class, United States, Workload
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