Dataset Information

Disparities in Children's Family Experiences by Mother's Socioeconomic Status: The Case of Finland.

ABSTRACT: A well-known argument claims that socioeconomic differentials in children's family structures have become increasingly important in shaping child outcomes and the resources available to children in developed societies. One assumption is that differentials are comparatively small in Nordic welfare states. Our study examines how children's experiences of family structures and family dynamics vary by their mother's educational attainment in Finland. Based on register data on the childbearing and union histories of women in Finland born from 1969 onwards, we provide life-table estimates of children's (N?=?64,162) experiences of family dissolution, family formation, and family structure from ages 0-15 years, stratified by mother's education level at the child's birth. We find huge socioeconomic disparities in children's experiences of family structures and transitions. Compared to children of highly educated mothers, children of mothers with low levels of education are almost twice as likely to be born in cohabitation and four times as likely to be born to a lone mother. They are also much more likely to experience further changes in family structure-particularly parental separation. On average, children of low-educated mothers spend just half of their childhood years living with both their parents, whereas those of high-educated mothers spend four-fifths of their childhood with both parents. The sociodemographic inequalities among children in Nordic welfare states clearly deserve more scholarly attention.

SUBMITTER: Jalovaara M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6267228 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Disparities in Children's Family Experiences by Mother's Socioeconomic Status: The Case of Finland.

Jalovaara Marika M Andersson Gunnar G

Population research and policy review 20180814 5

A well-known argument claims that socioeconomic differentials in children's family structures have become increasingly important in shaping child outcomes and the resources available to children in developed societies. One assumption is that differentials are comparatively small in Nordic welfare states. Our study examines how children's experiences of family structures and family dynamics vary by their mother's educational attainment in Finland. Based on register data on the childbearing and un ...[more]

PMID: 30546177

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Project description:OBJECTIVES:This study examined the associations of parental socioeconomic status (SES) with preschoolers' objectively measured sedentary time (SED) over the course of a week and with parent-reported children's screen and reading times at home as indicators of sedentary behaviours (SB). DESIGN:Cross-sectional. SETTING:In years 2015 and 2016 in Finland. PARTICIPANTS:864 children, aged 3-6 years, with their parents. OUTCOME MEASURES:Children's accelerometer data were transformed into average SED minutes per hour in different contexts (preschool, home during preschool days, weekend and total). Parent-reported children's screen and reading times were expressed as average daily minutes. The SES indicators (maternal and paternal education and relative household income) were grouped into three categories. Linear or logistic regression analyses were used, with municipality, season, and children's gender and age as covariates. CIs were adjusted for clustering at the preschool group level. RESULTS:Children with low maternal (?=17.21, 95%?CI: 8.71 to 25.71) and paternal (?=10.54, 95%?CI: 0.77 to 20.30) education had more overall screen time at home than their more advantaged counterparts. SES differences in overall screen time were mostly explained by TV viewing. Children with low as opposed to high maternal education (?=-2.66, 95%?CI: -4.95 to -0.38) had less reading time at home. Children whose fathers were on the middle (?=-1.15, 95%?CI: -2.01 to -0.29) educational level had less weekend SED than those with high paternal education. Otherwise, parental SES was not related to objectively measured SED. CONCLUSIONS:The results of this study highlight the fact that the associations between parental SES and preschoolers' SB are dependent on the indicators of SES and SBs, and vary between different contexts. Generally, parental SES was not associated with SED, whereas some SES differences existed in screen time and reading time at home. Interventions aiming to diminish SES differences in children's SB should focus on home hours. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER:ISRCTN57165350.

Dataset Information

Disparities in Children's Family Experiences by Mother's Socioeconomic Status: The Case of Finland.

Publications

Disparities in Children's Family Experiences by Mother's Socioeconomic Status: The Case of Finland.

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