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Applied Developmental Science

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A Multivariate Investigation of Maternal Risks and Their Relationship to Low-Income, Preschool Children's Competencies
Marlo A. Perry & John W. Fantuzzo
a b a b

Adagio Health, Inc., University of Pennsylvania,

Available online: 25 Jan 2010

To cite this article: Marlo A. Perry & John W. Fantuzzo (2010): A Multivariate Investigation of Maternal Risks and Their Relationship to Low-Income, Preschool Children's Competencies, Applied Developmental Science, 14:1, 1-17 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10888690903510281

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APPLIED DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE, 14(1), 117, 2010 Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 1088-8691 print=1532-480X online DOI: 10.1080/10888690903510281

A Multivariate Investigation of Maternal Risks and Their Relationship to Low-Income, Preschool Childrens Competencies
Marlo A. Perry
Adagio Health, Inc.

John W. Fantuzzo
University of Pennsylvania

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Utilizing a developmental-ecological framework, the purpose of this study was to understand the unique impact of multiple maternal risks across time on ethnically diverse, low-income, preschool childrens cognitive skills, pro-social behaviors, and behavior problems. Additionally, this study sought to understand the variability of maternal risks within a low-income population. Data from the national impact evaluation of the Comprehensive Child Development Program (CCDP) was used (N 3,852). Variable-centered analyses demonstrated that maternal education accounted for the most variance in childrens cognitive outcomes, whereas chronicity of maternal depression accounted for the most variance in childrens pro-social and problem behaviors. Person-centered analyses revealed eight distinct proles of maternal risks, demonstrating the heterogeneity of this low-income population. Further, these proles related differentially to childrens preschool skills, indicating that different combinations of maternal risks were associated with varying outcomes for young children. Implications of study ndings for early childhood practice, policy, and future research are discussed.

Early school success for young children has become a national priority, especially for young children living in poverty. Achievement gaps between poor and non-poor children at young ages have highlighted the signicance of a childs early years. The National Center

The data utilized in this project were made available by the Data Archive of the Head Start Performance Measures Center (HSPMC) and have been used by permission. Data from the Comprehensive Child Development Program (CCDP) were originally collected by Abt Associates, Inc. and supported under the contract for the Evaluation of the Comprehensive Child Development Program (Contract No. 105-90-1900) by Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Neither the collector of the original data, the funder, the Data Archive of the HSPMC, Westat, nor its agents or employees bear any responsibility for the analyses or interpretations presented here. Address correspondence to Marlo A. Perry, PhD, Associate Director of Applied Research, Adagio Health, Inc., 960 Penn Ave, Suite 600, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, USA. E-mail: mperry@adagiohealth.org

for Education Statistics has noted achievement gaps between Black, Hispanic, and White children as early as kindergarten, with minority children showing poorer outcomes. Achievement gaps have also been noted between young children experiencing many family risks (including, but not limited to, poverty) versus young children experiencing few family risks (U.S. Department of Education, 2006; Wirt et al., 2004). Such ndings emphasize the importance of early childhood, especially for poor Black and Hispanic children. National reports, such as Eager to Learn (National Research Council [NRC], 2001) and From Neurons to Neighborhoods (NRC, 2002), have drawn attention to a host of biological and social risk factors that signicantly impact the development of cognitive and social-emotional competencies that are necessary for children to succeed in school. Both biological and social risks are more pronounced among low-income

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families (McLoyd, 1990; NRC, 2002; Parker, Greer, & Zuckerman, 1988), putting this group of children at further risk for poor educational outcomes. Biological risks include prenatal threats to the fetus as well as congenital characteristics. Maternal substance use, poor prenatal care, low birthweight, and premature birth are all examples of biological risks that place infants in danger of developmental delays (NRC, 2002; Shonkoff & Marshall, 2000). Social risks are those found in the childs immediate environment. For young children whose most proximal environment consists primarily of their mother, these are typically maternal risks that also affect the childs development (NRC, 2002). These may include risks such as chronicity of depression or persistence of unemployment. Social risks are generally mutable and, thus, lend themselves well to intervention. Therefore, it is critical that researchers and policy makers understand the impact and variability of these risks within poor populations and develop effective interventions for low-income children and families. A developmental-ecological model (Bronfenbrenner, 1986) provides a useful conceptual framework for understanding the relations between a diverse set of maternal risks and the development of cognitive and social-emotional competencies that contribute to early school success for vulnerable, low-income children. This framework recognizes the importance of characteristics that the child brings to the world (such as sex, race= ethnicity, and biological risks) and an understanding of the inuence of the most proximal caregiver, typically the mother, on early child development. The inuence of this proximal caregiver consists of aspects associated with maternal characteristics (microsystem risks) as well as aspects associated with the mothers relationships and transactions with other systems (exosystem risks; Garbarino & Ganzel, 2000). A variable-centered approach is traditionally taken in order to investigate maternal risks and their relationship to childrens early school skills. There are many studies that take this variable-centered approach, though they are typically univariate in nature. For example, Dollaghan and colleagues (1999) found that maternal education is positively associated with childrens receptive vocabulary, and Youngblut and associates (2001) found that maternal employment was positively related to childrens achievement and inversely associated with childrens externalizing behavior problems. Such studies have identied maternal characteristics such as young age, low education level, and depression as more proximal maternal risks, and unemployment, single motherhood, welfare receipt, and mobility as more distal risks associated with mothers transactions with people or systems; both types of maternal risks have been shown to relate to childrens preschool skills. However, there are far fewer studies that utilize a variable-centered, multivariate approach,

investigating multiple maternal risks in the same model and their relative relations with both academic and behavioral school readiness outcomes. In their study of single Black mothers of preschoolers, Jackson, Brooks-Gunn, Huang, and Glassman (2000) found that maternal risks were associated with childrens behavior problems and school readiness skills. Specically, they found that maternal education and maternal depression were related to childrens behavior problems, with more highly educated mothers having children with lower levels of behavior problems and more depressed mothers having children with higher levels of behavior problems. In their study of poor, adolescent mothers, Almgren, Yamashiro, and Ferguson (2002) also found that childrens problem behaviors were a function of their mothers depression status, and not of any employment or welfare characteristics. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), Harvey (1999) examined the effects of early parental employment on childrens cognitive and receptive language skills, as well as on behavior problems. She found that marital status interacted with employment during the rst three years in predicting child behavior problems at age ve; this relationship was more positive for married mothers than for single mothers, in that married mothers reported higher levels of behavior problems. However, this relationship was not signicant when looking at married or single mothers separately. Employment during the rst three years also interacted with marital status in predicting receptive vocabulary scores in three year olds; this association was more positive for single mothers than for married mothers. In a study examining the effects of maternal employment and prematurity on preschool childrens cognitive and social emotional outcomes in single parent families, ndings indicated that children of employed mothers scored higher on a measure of achievement and lower on a measure of externalizing behavior problems (Youngblut et al., 2001). Further, the more hours that the mother worked per week, the higher her childs achievement and mental processing skills were. When control variables such as income and maternal education were added to the regression models, however, the associations between employment and child outcomes were lost, indicating that it was not employment per se that was contributing to childrens outcomes, but those characteristics often associated with maternal employment. While these multivariate studies help us better understand the relationship between multiple maternal risks and childrens preschool outcomes, there are several conceptual and methodological limitations to this body of research. For example, the samples in these studies are often constricted. The Jackson et al. study (2000) was based on single, Black mothers, and the Almgren

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et al. study (2002) was based on adolescent mothers. Studies based on such samples provide limited information in terms of generalizing to other groups. Another limitation is that these studies are typically cross-sectional in nature. Maternal risks are measured at one point in time, instead of looking at the consistency (or inconsistency) of those risks across a childs rst few years. While the majority of studies focused on maternal risks include low-income populations, poverty is often used as a risk factor itself. Since so many maternal risks are so highly correlated with poverty, and because developmental scholars are calling for research examining variability within low-income populations (Garcia Coll et al., 1996; McGroder, 2000; Slaughter, 1988; Spencer, 1990), it is important to investigate maternal risks within the context of poverty. Further, to date, there are no studies that have sought to nd patterns of maternal risks and how those patterns relate to preschool skills.

interventions and policies aimed toward low-income women and children. The following research questions, reecting variablecentered and person-centered approaches, are presented in order to meet the objectives of this study: (1) What is the unique impact of multiple maternal risks across time on preschool childrens cognitive ability, social skills, and behavior problems, controlling for child sex, race= ethnicity, and biological risks? (2) Do maternal risks combine to form distinct proles? (3) Do maternal risk proles relate differentially to childrens cognitive ability, social skills, and behavior problems?

METHOD Participants The dataset from the national impact evaluation of the Comprehensive Child Development Program (CCDP) was used to address the research questions for the present study. The CCDP was a large federally funded demonstration (19911996) that was designed to deliver comprehensive services to low-income families with young children with the aim of enhancing child development and increasing economic self-sufciency (St. Pierre, Layzer, Goodson, & Bernstein, 1997). To meet the objectives of the current study, only families where the mother (biological or adoptive) was the respondent for each of the interviews from baseline to the childs assessments at age four were included. Additionally, because the numbers of Asian and Native American participants were too low to discern meaningful group differences (less than three percent were Native American, less than two percent were Asian), only Black, Hispanic, and White children were included. The resulting sample was comprised of 3,852 mothers and their children. Forty-two percent of the children were Black, 30% were Hispanic, and 28% were White. Half of the children were male. Eighty-three percent of the families spoke English as their primary language in the home, 16% spoke Spanish, and 1% spoke another language. The average age of mothers when they gave birth to the focus child was twenty-four (SD 5.7 years). However, only 35% of the children were the rst born to their mother; the average age of mothers when they gave birth to their rst child was 20 (SD 3.8 years). The average education level of mothers when they gave birth to the focus child was 10th grade (SD 2.2 years). The original CCDP impact evaluation involved a longitudinal study of 4,410 low-income families across 21 national sites. These families were randomly assigned to CCDP program and control conditions. The CCDP impact evaluation found no signicant differences

EXTENDING THE KNOWLEDGE BASE FOR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES The purpose of the present study was to understand the unique impact of multiple maternal risks across time on ethnically diverse, low-income childrens preschool skills. This study was designed in response to the aforementioned critiques within the context of a developmental-ecological framework. We sought to extend the knowledge base by looking at multiple maternal risks in two different, but complementary, ways: (1) a variable-centered approach and (2) a personcentered approach. A variable-centered approach will allow us to understand the impact of maternal risks as a set, AND as individual risks. A multivariate variablecentered approach, such as a hierarchical analytic strategy, allows for the simultaneous comparison of multiple maternal risk variables while controlling the potential inuence of other relevant characteristics, such as child sex, race=ethnicity, and birth risks and concurrently controlling for the effects of the other risks (Cicchetti, 1993). A person-centered approach allows us to better understand the variability of low-income mothers. Such an approach identies and describes groups of individual cases dened by similarities among multiple dimensions of interest, in this case, maternal risks (Henry, Tolan, & Gorman-Smith, 2005). Therefore, in the case of the present study, while a variablecentered approach can offer information about which specic maternal risks relate to poor preschool outcomes, a person-centered approach can yield information on mothers who manifest specic patterns of risk factors and, thus, provide valuable information regarding

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across any of the major constructs under study for CCDP versus control families.1 Because participants were randomly assigned at the start of the study, and there were no signicant differences in any major constructs, the entire dataset could be used to support the research aims of the current investigation. Details about the CCDP project can be found in St. Pierre et al. (1997). Procedures Recruitment of Participants The CCDP demonstration was administered by the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families (ACYF) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The CCDP grantees included universities, school districts, hospitals, and public and private non-prot organizations. Grants were awarded through a competitive process that emphasized selection of the most qualied applicants, with the strongest staff, and the best history of providing comprehensive services. Of the 24 projects initially funded, 21 participated in the impact evaluation (see St. Pierre et al., 1997, for more details). Data Collection Collection of data involved the training and monitoring of approximately 50 staff members in the 21 sites, who were responsible for interviewing participating mothers and children for the duration of the study. On-site teams consisted of an On-Site Researcher and a Child Tester; all evaluation data were collected by this team. All data on children and families were collected through tests of children and in-person interviews with mothers. Most data collection took place in the familys home; when that was not possible, arrangements were made to collect the data elsewhere. Visits to administer tests and interviews lasted between one and a half to three hours, depending on the age of the child and the language used (Spanish language interviews and tests
1 Specically, CCDP had no effect on maternal employment, household income, receipt of public assistance, home environment, parenting beliefs, parent-child interactions, or parents pregnancy behaviors. Moreover, even though children enrolled in CCDP were more likely to be enrolled in center-based care, CCDP had no effect on childrens level of cognitive functioning, social-emotional problems, or adaptive social behavior. Neither were there signicant site or sub-group effects; CCDP had no effect on any of 36 different outcome measures in almost all of the projects in the evaluation (with the exception of one site) and had no consistent differential effects on any subgroups of parents or children, including children of low birthweight, children of teenage mothers, children of employed versus unemployed mothers, children of mothers with at least a high school versus less than a high school education, and children whose mothers were depressed versus not depressed (St. Pierre et al., 1997).

took longer). Interviews took place once during the childs rst year of life and approximately every six months thereafter (St. Pierre et al., 1997). The age four child outcomes utilized in this study were assessed within two months of a childs fourth birthday. Measures The following is a list of the measures used in terms of child characteristics (birth risks), child outcomes (cognitive and social-emotional skills), risks associated with maternal characteristics (age, education level, chronicity of depression), and risks associated with maternal transactions with people and systems (single motherhood, unemployment, welfare receipt, mobility). Birth Risks Index The birth risks index is a count of the number of prenatal or antenatal risks that children faced, according to maternal report. The risks included the following: problems during pregnancy, maternal use of alcohol, maternal use of cigarettes, maternal use of drugs, child born prematurely, child in special care unit, mother received late prenatal care, and child was of low- or very low-birthweight (less than 2,500 grams or 1,500 grams, respectively). The average number of birth risks for this sample was 1.2 (SD 1.2). Age at Birth of Focus Child Maternal age at the birth of the focus child was derived from the childs and mothers dates of birth, which were both obtained at the baseline interview. Maternal age was rounded to the nearest year. Maternal Education Level The mothers highest level of education was recorded at the baseline interview. It was recorded as the number of years of school the mother had completed, including those beyond high school. Mobility Mobility was dened as the total number of moves the family made in the childs rst four years of life, based on maternal report at each interview. Four periodicity variables were created in order to measure how long mothers had experienced particular risks over the childs rst four years; these included maternal depression, single motherhood, unemployment, and welfare receipt. Details for each are explained under their respective headings, but the process of the creation of the variables was as follows. Binary variables were created for each interview (e.g., single vs. not single).

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A variable reecting the constancy of single motherhood, for example, was created by dividing the number of times the mother reported being single by the number of interviews in which she participated; in other words, the percent of time she reported being single over the course of the project. This variable was then only included if the mother participated in at least four interviews, and if they occurred at baseline and within two months of the childs 2nd, 3rd, and 4th birthdays. This was to ensure that the variable captured her status for that risk at least once during each of the childs rst four years. Maternal Depression Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977). The CES-D is used for initial screening of symptoms related to depression or psychological distress and has been used extensively for research purposes to investigate levels of depression among non-psychiatric populations (Administration for Children and Families [ACF], 2005). Respondents indicate the frequency or duration of time (in the past week) during which they have experienced certain feelings and=or situations for 20 items. Possible range of scores is from 060, with higher scores indicating greater distress. The author of the scale suggests that a total score of 16 be used as the cut-off to indicate depression. The CES-D has shown adequate reliability and validity with low-income samples (ACF, 2005). Internal consistency for the present sample was .90. Binary categories were created for each of the interviews: either the mother exceeded a score of 16 on the CES-D (1) or she did not (0). Presence of depressive symptoms was thus used as a proxy for maternal depression. Single Motherhood Mothers reported their living arrangements and marital status at each interview. Mothers were considered to be single mothers if they reported not being married, in a common-law marriage, or co-habitating with a partner.

categories were created for each of the interviews: either the mother was receiving AFDC (1) or she was not (0). Receptive Vocabulary Skills The Peabody Picture Vocabulary TestRevised (PPVT-R) (Dunn & Dunn, 1981) was used to assess childrens receptive vocabulary at four years of age. The PPVT-R is an individually administered measure of receptive language or vocabulary in individuals aged 2.5 years through adulthood and provides a quick estimate of verbal ability and literacy-related skills. The test consists of 175 vocabulary items of increasing difculty. For Spanish-speaking children, the Spanish version of the PPVTthe Test de Vocabulario en Imagenes Peabody, or TVIPwas used (Dunn, Padilla, Lugo, & Dunn, 1986). The PPVT-R was nationally standardized on a stratied normative sample of 4,200 children and adolescents (aged 2.5 through 18 years) and 828 adults. Raw scores can be converted to age-referenced standard scores with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. The PPVT-R has demonstrated good psychometric properties (Sattler, 1992; Umberger, 1985). Cognitive Development Childrens cognitive development at four years of age was assessed with the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC; Kaufman & Kaufman, 1983). The K-ABC yields two separate scales: Mental Processing and Achievement. The Mental Processing scale was designed to measure problem solving skills; whereas, the Achievement scale is intended to measure knowledge acquisition (Lamp & Krohn, 2001). The K-ABC was standardized on a national sample of 2,000 children (aged 26 to 125), stratied within half-year groups for sex, geographic region, parental education, race, and community size. The K-ABC has strong psychometric properties (Anastasi, 1985; Sattler, 1992). Analyses by ethnic groups yielded similar validity coefcients for Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites (Anastasi, 1985). Problem Behaviors Childrens emotional and behavioral problems at age four were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach, 1991). The CBCL consists of 113 items and provides scores on eight subscales: Withdrawn, Somatic Complaints, Anxious= Depressed, Social Problems, Thought Problems, Attention Problems, Delinquent Behavior, and Aggressive Behavior. In addition, scores on two overarching composites

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Maternal Unemployment Mothers reported their employment status at each interview. Binary categories were created for each of the interviews: either the mother was unemployed (1) or reported at least some part-time employment (0). Welfare Receipt Mothers reported on whether or not they were receiving AFDC funds at each interview. Binary

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can be determined: Internalizing and Externalizing. The Internalizing composite consists of items on the Withdrawn, Somatic Complaints, and Anxious= Depressed subscales, while the Externalizing composite is comprised of the items from the Delinquent Behavior and Aggressive Behavior subscales. Items are rated on a three-point scale (Sometimes True, Very True, or Often True). Raw scores are converted to standardized T scores with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10 (Achenbach, 1991). The CBCL has been used in a number of large-scale evaluation studies, including those for Early Head Start and the Nurse Home Visitation Program; however, some questions have been raised about its appropriateness with low-income and minority preschool populations.2 The Adaptive Skills Behavior Inventory (see as follows) was also, therefore, included as a social-emotional outcome measure.

Data Analytic Strategies Variable-Centered Approach Hierarchical setwise multiple regression was used to assess the ability of the maternal risk variables to predict to measures of childrens cognitive ability, social skills, and behavior problems (PPVT-R, K-ABC, ASBI, and CBCL) at age four. Hierarchical setwise multiple regression was chosen as the most conservative analytic procedure because each set of variables is introduced to test an a priori hypothesis and the inuence of random error is minimized (Cohen & Cohen, 1983). Also, as each set is entered, a signicance test is conducted that signals violation of Type I Error. Person-Centered Approach To supplement the variable-centered analyses described previously, person-centered analytic techniques were used to identify distinct patterns of maternal risk variables across individuals (Magnusson & Bergmann, 1988). Similarities among individual CCDP mothers across the seven maternal risk variables (age at birth of child, level of education, dependence on welfare, persistence of unemployment, chronicity of depression, constancy of single motherhood, mobility) were explored using multistage hierarchical cluster analysis with replications and relocation (McDermott, 1998). Next, maternal risk proles were inspected with respect to child sex, race=ethnicity, and number of biological risks to determine if any signicant differences existed among the proles. Finally, contrasts between prole types were assessed to determine whether patterns of maternal risks were differentially related to measures of childrens cognitive ability, social skills, and behavior problems using one-way ANOVA (for the PPVT-R) and MANOVA (for K-ABC, ASBI, and CBCL) with Tukeys post hoc comparisons. Sample Size Adequacy for Addressing Research Questions For the rst research question, a sample of 3,852 was employed. In multiple regression, an N of 850 is required to detect a small effect with 11 explanatory variables, with power set at .80 and alpha set at a .05 signicance level (Cohen, 1992). For the second and third research questions, a sample of 2,019 was employed (i.e., the number of mothers who have data for each risk variable). In conducting ANOVA procedures with 8 groups (i.e., the number of clusters resulting from preliminary analyses), an N of 1,448 is required to detect a small effect, with power set at .80 and alpha set at the .05 signicance level (Cohen, 1992). For the present study, the sample sizes of 3,852 and 2,019 are sufcient

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Pro-Social Skills The Adaptive Social Behavior Inventory (ASBI; Hogan, Scott, & Bauer, 1992) was used to measure childrens social-emotional competence at age four. The ASBI consists of 30 items and yields three dimensions: Express, Comply, and Disrupt. The Express dimension consists of 13 items and reects pro-social behaviors. Examples of items include understands others feelings, like when they are happy, sad, or mad and is open and direct about what he=she wants. The Comply dimension (10 items) describes cooperative behaviors such as is helpful to other children and shares toys or possessions. Items such as gets upset when you dont pay enough attention and is bossy, needs to have his=her way comprise the Disrupt dimension (7 items). Each item is rated on a three point scale (Rarely or Never, Sometimes, or Almost Always). Originally developed for the Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP) as an outcome measure, the ASBI was created for use with 36-month old at-risk infants (Infant Health and Development Program, 1990). However, research by Greeneld and colleagues (Greeneld, Iruka, & Munis, 1997; Greeneld, Wasserstein, Gold, & Jorden, 2004) has demonstrated its reliability and validity with three-, four-, and ve-year old Head Start children. Additionally, the ASBI was used in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care to supplement the CBCL.

See, for example, Gross, Sambrook, and Fogg (1999), Konold, Hamre, and Pianta (2003), and Ngo (2007).

MATERNAL RISKS TABLE 1 Prediction of Cognitive Skills by Maternal Risk Variables PPVT-Ra Child characteristics Sex (male) Black Hispanic Biological risks Maternal Risk Characteristics Age at birth of child Education level Chronicity of depression Dependence on welfare Constancy of single motherhood Persistence of unemployment Mobility % Variance Explained by: Child characteristics Maternal risk characteristicsb Overall modelc K-ABC Achievement

K-ABC Mental Processing

0.1 10.7 2.5 0.1 0.7 2.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.2

(0.9) (14.7) (7.8) (0.4) (0.3) (1.2) (0.1) (0.0) (0.1) (0.1) (0.4)

0.0 5.3 5.8 0.1 0.2 4.3 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.1

(0.4) (6.6) (7.6) (0.3) (0.1) (1.2) (0.1) (0.0) (0.0) (0.1) (0.2)

0.2 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.0 1.5 0.4 0.0 0.1 1.0 0.0

(1.4) (0.6) (2.0) (0.0) (0.1) (0.9) (0.1) (0.0) (0.1) (0.2) (0.2)

16.6 5.6 22.2

14.1 8.0 22.1

1.7 5.2 6.9

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Note: N 1490 (PPVT-R), 1504 (K-ABC Mental Processing and Achievement). a Non-parenthetical entries correspond to squared semi-partial correlations converted into percentages by multiplying values by 100. Parenthetical entries are standardized parameter estimates derived in hierarchical multiple regression of PPVT-R or K-ABC dimensions on maternal risk variables. Values reect the relative contribution of each dimension as covaried by child sex, race=ethnicity, and number of biological risks. Tests assess the deviation of each parameter estimate from zero, where p < .05, p < .01, p < .001, p < .0001. b Values equal the partial r2 (100) for prediction of PPVT-R or K-ABC dimensions by all maternal risk variables. All values are covaried for child sex, race=ethnicity, and number of biological risks. c Values equal the Multiple R2 (100) for prediction of PPVT-R or K-ABC dimensions for the entire model.

to provide adequate power for examining the unique contribution of maternal risks to variation in the criterion variables, and differences between maternal risk proles3.

RESULTS Prediction of Childrens Cognitive Skills by Maternal Risk Variables Table 1 displays the results from the multivariate hierarchical setwise regression models indicating the amount of variation in childrens cognitive skills explained by the set of maternal risk variables (after accounting for variance associated with the set of child characteristics [sex, race=ethnicity, and biological risks]). The overall Wilks Lambda (K) was signicant4 for the K-ABC (Wilks K .75, F[22, 2982] 21.22), permitting inspection of the two dependent models for the K-ABC scales: Achievement and Mental Processing. Both models were
To ensure that the two samples did not differ in important ways, the regression analyses were also run on the smaller sample used for the cluster analyses. Results were identical for both samples, and the two samples did not differ signicantly on any of the maternal or child variables. 4 All results presented were signicant at least the .05 level.
3

signicant (F[11, 1492] 38.44, and F[11, 1492] 9.99, respectively). As indicated by the partial r2, the maternal risk dimensions as a set accounted for 8.0% of the variance in Achievement scores (F 21.90), and 5.2% of variance in Mental Processing scores (F 11.78). Standardized Beta () coefcients for each of the maternal risks demonstrated several different prediction patterns. Maternal education was strongly associated with both Achievement and Mental Processing scores at age four ( 1.2 and 0.9, respectively). Depression was inversely related to Mental Processing ( 0.1). Unemployment was inversely related to Achievement ( 0.1) and Mental Processing ( 0.2). For the PPVT-R, the Wilks Lambda was signicant (Wilks K .78, F[11, 1478] 38.25). The set of maternal risk variables accounted for 5.6% of the variance in receptive language scores (F 15.12). Again, maternal education was related to scores at age four ( 1.2). Maternal age was also related to PPVT-R scores ( 0.3), and unemployment was inversely related to PPVT-R scores ( 0.1). In order to further interpret the beta coefcients, squared semi-partial correlation coefcients for maternal risks were converted into percentages in order to demonstrate how much of the variance each risk accounts for (see Table 1). For all three areas of cognitive skills, maternal education accounted for the most variance

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(ranging from 1.5% to 4.3%). Maternal unemployment accounted for a lesser percentage of the variance (1% or less). Prediction of Childrens Pro-Social Skills by Maternal Risk Variables Table 2 displays the amount of variation in the two pro-social ASBI dimensions explained by the set of maternal risk variables after applying child characteristics (sex, race=ethnicity, and biological risks) as covariates. The overall Wilks Lambda (K) was signicant (Wilks K .83, F[33, 5310] 10.39), allowing inspection of the two dependent models for the ASBI pro-social dimensions: Comply and Express. Both models were signicant (F[11, 1804] 12.67 and F[11, 1804] 18.07, respectively). As indicated by the partial r2, the maternal risk dimensions as a set accounted for 4.5% of the variance in Comply scores (F 12.48) and 4.9% of variance in Express scores (F 14.05). Standardized Beta () coefcients for each of the maternal risks demonstrated several different prediction patterns. Maternal depression was associated with both pro-social ASBI dimensions: Comply ( 0.2), and Express ( 0.2). Maternal education was also related to both

pro-social dimensions ( 0.3 and 0.5, respectively). Age at birth of child was related to Comply ( 0.1). Unemployment was inversely related to Express ( 0.1). Squared semi-partial correlation coefcients for maternal risks (see Table 2) showed that maternal depression accounted for the most variance (approximately 1.5%) for each of the pro-social behaviors. Each of the other signicant maternal risks accounted for less than 1% of the variance in these dimensions. Prediction of Childrens Problem Behaviors by Maternal Risk Variables Table 3 displays the amount of variation in the Disrupt dimension of the ASBI explained by the set of maternal risk variables after applying child characteristics (sex, race=ethnicity, and biological risks) as covariates. The model for Disrupt was signicant: F [11, 1804] 11.82. Maternal risks accounted for 6.2% of the variance in childrens Disrupt scores at age four (F 17.06). In terms of beta weights, maternal depression was associated with childrens disruptive behaviors ( 0.2). Maternal education and maternal age were inversely related to childrens disruptive behaviors

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TABLE 2 Prediction of Pro-Social Skills by Maternal Risk Variables Adaptive Social Behavior Inventory (ASBI)a Dimensions Comply Child Characteristics Sex (male) Black Hispanic Biological risks Maternal Risk Characteristics Age at birth of child Education level Chronicity of depression Dependence on welfare Constancy of single motherhood Persistence of unemployment Mobility % Variance Explained by: Child characteristics Maternal risk characteristicsb Overall modelc (2.4) (1.3) (0.2) (0.1) (0.1) (0.3) (0.2) (0.1) (0.0) (0.1) (0.0) Express (1.5) (3.9) (2.9) (0.0) (0.1) (0.5) (0.2) (0.0) (0.0) (0.1) (0.0)

1.4 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.3 1.5 0.1 0.0 0.2 0.0

0.6 2.2 1.0 0.0 0.1 0.9 1.6 0.0 0.1 0.7 0.0

2.7 4.5 7.2

5.0 4.9 9.9

Note: N 1816. a Non-parenthetical entries correspond to squared semi-partial correlations converted into percentages by multiplying values by 100. Parenthetical entries are standardized parameter estimates derived in hierarchical multiple regression of the ASBI dimensions on the maternal risk variables. Values reect the relative contribution of each dimension as covaried by child sex, race=ethnicity, and number of biological risks. Tests assess the deviation of each parameter estimate from zero, where p < .05, p < .01, p < .001, p < .0001. b Values equal the partial r2 (100) for prediction of ASBI dimensions by all maternal risk variables. All values are covaried for child sex, race=ethnicity, and number of biological risks. c Values equal the Multiple R2 (100) for prediction of ASBI dimensions for the entire model.

MATERNAL RISKS TABLE 3 Prediction of Problem Behaviors by Maternal Risk Variables Adaptive Skills Behavior Inventory (ASBI) Dimension Disrupt Child Characteristics Sex (male) Black Hispanic Biological risks Maternal Risk Characteristics Age at birth of child Education level Chronicity of depression Dependence on welfare Constancy of single motherhood Persistence of unemployment Mobility % Variance Explained by: Child characteristics Maternal risk characteristicsb Overall model c Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)a Dimensions Externalizing Internalizing (1.3) (0.7) (1.1) (0.6) (0.2) (0.1) (0.3) (0.0) (0.0) (0.1) (0.1)

0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.4 2.7 0.2 0.0 0.1 0.0

(0.8) (0.9) (0.6) (0.0) (0.1) (0.3) (0.2) (0.1) (0.0) (0.0) (0.1)

0.0 0.8 0.2 0.7 1.1 0.1 4.2 0.3 0.0 0.1 0.0

(0.3) (2.4) (1.4) (0.8) (0.2) (0.2) (0.3) (0.1) (0.0) (0.0) (0.1)

0.5 0.1 0.2 0.5 0.7 0.0 5.7 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0

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0.5 6.2 6.7

1.7 8.0 9.7

1.9 8.9 10.8

Note: N 1816. a Non-parenthetical entries correspond to squared semi-partial correlations converted into percentages by multiplying values by 100. Parenthetical entries are standardized parameter estimates derived in hierarchical multiple regression of ASBI Disrupt dimension or CBCL dimensions on the maternal risk variables. Values reect the relative contribution of each dimension as covaried by child sex, race=ethnicity, and number of biological risks. Tests assess the deviation of each parameter estimate from zero, where p < .05, p < .01, p < .001, p < .0001. b Values equal the partial r2 (100) for prediction of CBCL dimensions by all maternal risk variables. All values are covaried for child sex, race= ethnicity, and number of biological risks. c Values equal the Multiple R2 (100) for prediction of CBCL dimensions for the entire model.

( 0.3 and 0.1, respectively). Dependence on welfare was also related to childrens disruptive behaviors ( 0.1). Squared semi-partial correlation coefcients showed that maternal depression accounted for the most variance in Disrupt (see Table 3; 2.7%). Maternal age and education level accounted for 0.5% or less of the variance. Table 3 also displays the amount of variation in CBCL dimensions explained by the set of maternal risk variables after applying child characteristics (sex, race= ethnicity, and biological risks) as covariates. The overall Wilks Lambda (K) was signicant for the CBCL (Wilks K .84, F [22, 3606] 14.46), permitting inspection of the dependent models for the two CBCL dimensions: Externalizing and Internalizing. Both models were signicant (F [11, 1804] 17.51 and F [11, 1804] 19.81, respectively). As indicated by the partial r2, the maternal risk dimensions as a set accounted for 8.0% of variance in Externalizing scores (F 22.74), and 8.9% of the variance in Internalizing scores (F 25.67). Standardized Beta () coefcients for each of the maternal risks demonstrated several different prediction patterns. Maternal depression was associated both CBCL dimensions: Externalizing ( 0.3), and Internalizing ( 0.3). Maternal age was inversely related to both dimensions ( 0.2 and 0.2, respectively). Dependence on

welfare was related to Externalizing ( 0.1), and unemployment was associated with Internalizing scores ( 0.1). In terms of child characteristics, increased biological risks were associated with higher scores on both dimensions. Squared semi-partial correlation coefcients again showed that maternal depression accounted for the greatest amount of variance (see Table 3); 4.2% for Externalizing and 5.7% for Internalizing. Maternal age accounted for just over 1% of the variance in Externalizing and less than 1% for Internalizing. Other maternal risks accounted for less than 0.5% of the variance of these dimensions.

Typological Analyses of Maternal Risk Variables Prole Types The primary goal of person-centered analyses was to determine a reliable and meaningful typology of distinct maternal risk patterns. Multi-stage, hierarchical cluster analyses produced eight distinct maternal risk proles. These proles replicated an average of 87.5 percent over rst- through third-stage clustering and demonstrated strong psychometric properties. Homogeneity coefcients (H), which measure the internal cohesion of each

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PERRY AND FANTUZZO TABLE 4 Means of Maternal Risks across Proles (N 2019) Proles

Variable Maternal age Education level Depression Number of moves Unemployment Single motherhood Welfare receipt (Prole n)

M (SD) 49.5 49.6 49.4 50.4 48.4 49.3 49.1 (9.9) (10.0) (8.2) (8.7) (8.7) (8.1) (8.3)

1 58.8 59.3 46.5 47.3 35.2 46.4 40.5 (210)

2 44.4 52.8 46.9 54.8 38.4 49.3 43.8 (269)

3 57.1 32.1 47.6 45.7 50.6 39.9 41.4 (171)

4 53.3 48.3 57.3 43.9 53.8 53.9 55.9 (247)

5 52.0 53.6 43.6 48.5 52.8 54.1 55.8 (388)

6 34.4 41.2 47.7 51.5 52.5 53.2 51.2 (211)

7 45.2 47.1 58.4 60.9 52.5 51.5 54.1 (294)

8 52.6 55.8 47.8 47.1 47.8 38.8 41.0 (229)

Note: Reported means of proles are expressed as T scores, based on area conversion of precision-weighted factor scores (in standard z-score form). To assist with interpretation, T scores one standard deviation above or below the mean for that particular variable are underlined and in boldface type. T scores within one point of a standard deviation above or below the mean for that particular variable are underlined.

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prole, ranged from .71 to .82 with an overall average of .78. Calculations of external isolation indicated a high level of separation among proles, with average similarity coefcients (rp) ranging from .07 to .31. Table 4 shows the mean T-scores for each type, and Figure 1 presents a pictorial representation of the dimensions that comprise the eight distinctive proles. Type 1 (Low risk; 10.4% of the sample) and Type 2 (Employed; 13.3% of sample) are both characterized by low levels of unemployment. However, Type 1 is also characterized by low levels of welfare receipt and consists of slightly older mothers with relatively high levels of education; whereas, Type 2 shows average levels of the other maternal risks. Type 3 (Low education, resident

partner; 8.5%) consists of mothers with low levels of education and single motherhood; this type also demonstrates relatively low rates of welfare dependence and consists of slightly older mothers. Type 4 (Relatively depressed; 12.2%) and Type 7 (Depressed, high mobility; 14.6%) are both comprised of mothers with high or relatively high levels of depression. However, Type 7 is also characterized by high levels of mobility. Type 6 (Young mothers; 10.5%) consists of mothers who gave birth to their focus child at young ages. Type 8 (Resident partner, low welfare receipt; 11.3%) is characterized by mothers with low levels of single motherhood and with relatively low levels of welfare receipt. Type 5 (Average; 19.2%) is marked by average levels of all seven maternal risks.

FIGURE 1 Mean T-scores for maternal risks across the eight proles.

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Signicant Differences Between Proles with Respect to Child Characteristics Divergence in the expected cluster prevalence of child sex, race=ethnicity, English as a primary language, and number of biological risks in comparison to the larger sample of children was examined through two-tailed tests of the standard error of proportional differences (Ferguson & Takane, 1989). For all pairwise comparisons, the Bonferroni correction was applied to limit Type I error. Results showed that there were no signicant differences in terms of child sex with respect to cluster prevalence, indicating relatively equal distributions of boys and girls across each of the clusters. In terms of race=ethnicity, Low Risk (Type 1), Employed (Type 2), Low Education, Resident Partner (Type 3), and Resident Partner, Low Welfare Receipt (Type 8) encompassed more Whites than expected based on the overall sample. Relatively Depressed (Type 4), Average (Type 5), and Young Mothers (Type 6) were comprised of more Blacks than expected. Low Education, Resident Partner (Type 3) and Relatively Depressed (Type 4) both encompassed more Hispanics than expected. There were signicant differences in terms of prevalence of English speakers in some of the clusters. Low Education, Resident Partner (Type 3) had more mothers whose primary language was not English than would be expected given the prevalence in the overall sample. Employed (Type 2), Average (Type 5), Depressed, High Mobility (Type 7), and Resident Partner, Low Welfare Receipt (Type 8) were all comprised of more mothers whose primary language was English than would be expected. In terms of biological

risks, Low Education, Resident Partner (Type 3) encompassed more children with no biological risks than would be expected, and Relatively depressed (Type 4) was comprised of more children who had two or more biological risks than would be expected given the prevalence in the overall sample.

Signicant Differences Between Proles with Respect to Preschool Skills The MANOVA models were examined to determine if maternal risk proles differentially related to preschool cognitive skills, pro-social behaviors, and behavior problems (in the case of the PPVT-R, an ANOVA was used). In terms of cognitive skills, the overall ANOVA model was signicant for the PPVT-R with F (7, 1529) 14.15, g2 .061. The overall MANOVA was p also signicant for the K-ABC, with Wilks Lambda .89, F (14, 3084) 11.98. Signicant main effects were detected for both K-ABC subscales with F(7, 1543) 9.00, g2 .039 (Mental Processing) and F(7, 1543) p 22.44, g2 .092 (Achievement). Table 5 presents PPVT-R p and K-ABC means by type along with signicant differences. For all three measures of cognitive skills, children in Low Risk (Type 1) families demonstrated the highest levels, followed by children in Resident Partner, Low Welfare Receipt (Type 8) families and Employed (Type 2) families. Children in Depressed, High Mobility (Type 7) families and in families headed by Young Mothers (Type 6) performed at signicantly lower levels on measures of cognitive skills.

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TABLE 5 Group Differences in Cognitive Skills across Maternal Risk Proles K-ABCa Prole 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Low risk Employed Low education, Resident partner Relatively depressed Average Young mothers Depressed, High mobility Resident partner, Low welfare receipt PPVT-Rb 86.66 79.36 78.41 75.35 79.56 73.16 75.27 85.25 1, 8 > 2,3,4,5,6,7 2,5 > 6 Achievement 91.42 86.99 78.69 83.38 86.07 82.11 83.21 87.59 1 > 2,3,4,5,6,7 2,5,8 > 7 Mental Processing 94.63c 90.20 85.53 86.07 89.57 86.49 85.07 90.22 1 > 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 2,8 > 3,4,6,7 4,7 > 3 5 > 3,6

Signicant differences among typesd

Note: a K-ABC 2019. b PPVT-R 2019. c Reported means are least mean squares calculated for MANOVA models due to unequal cell sizes across the eight proles. Means are expressed as standard scores (M 100, SD 15). d Statistically signicant differences between proles with respect to each multivariate model were determined based on Tukey-Cramers post hoc comparison.

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TABLE 6 Group Differences in Pro-Social Skills Across Maternal Risk Proles ASBIa Prole 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Low risk Employed Low education, Resident partner Relatively depressed Average Young mothers Depressed, High mobility Resident partner, Low welfare receipt Comply 53.08b 50.29 50.85 47.56 49.69 48.76 47.69 51.14 1 > 4,5,6,7 3,8 > 4,7 Express 53.44 52.56 48.09 47.54 50.61 48.70 49.08 51.33 1 > 3,4,5,6,7 2 > 3,4,6,7 5>4 8 > 3,4

Signicant differences among typesc

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Note: aASBI 2019. b Reported means are least mean squares calculated for MANOVA models due to unequal cell sizes across the eight proles. Means are expressed as T-scores (M 50, SD 10). c Statistically signicant differences between proles with respect to each multivariate model were determined based on Tukey-Cramers post hoc comparison.

In looking at pro-social behaviors, the overall MANOVA model was signicant for the ASBI with Wilks Lambda .93, F(21, 5347) 6.91. Signicant main effects were found for both pro-social subscales with F(7, 1864) 7.70, g2 .028 (Comply) and F (7, 1864) p 10.45, g2 .038 (Express). Table 6 presents the means p for the Comply and Express subscales of the ASBI by type along with signicant differences. Children in

Low Risk (Type 1) families again scored signicantly higher than children in most other family types. Children in Employed (Type 2) families also fared well in terms of the Express subscale of the ASBI. Children from Depressed, Welfare Dependent, and Low Mobility (Type 4) families again performed poorly, along with children in Depressed, High Mobility (Type 7) and Low Education, Resident Partner (Type 3) families. In terms of behavior problems, there was also a signicant main effect for the Disrupt subscale of the ASBI: F (7, 1864) 9.37, g2 .034. The overall model p for the CBCL was signicant, with Wilks Lambda .93, F (14, 3732) 10.14. There were signicant main effects for both subscales: F (7, 1867) 14.20, g2 p .051 (Externalizing), and F (7, 1867) 11.69, g2 .042 p (Internalizing). Table 7 shows the CBCL means and the means for the Disrupt subscale of the ASBI, by type, along with signicant differences. Children in Low Risk (Type 1) families again fared best, showing signicantly lower levels of problem behaviors than children in several other types of families. Children in Low Education, Resident Partner (Type 3) families also exhibited lower levels of problem behaviors, while children in Depressed, Welfare Dependent, and Low Mobility (Type 4) and Depressed, High Mobility (Type 7) demonstrated the highest levels of problem behaviors.

DISCUSSION National concerns about low-income preschool childrens school readiness skills call for a look at the unique

TABLE 7 Group Differences in Problem Behaviors Across Maternal Risk Proles ASBIa Prole 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Low risk Employed Low education, Resident partner Relatively depressed Average Young mothers Depressed, High mobility Resident partner, Low welfare receipt Disrupt 47.18c 49.87 50.11 52.44 48.73 50.80 52.69 48.51 7 > 1,2,5,8 4 > 1,5,8 6>1 Externalizing 51.59 54.98 50.82 57.66 53.17 54.59 58.29 53.91 7 > 1,2,3,5,6,8 4 > 1,3,5,6,8 2 > 1,3 6>3 CBCLb Internalizing 46.22 47.93 48.98 51.52 47.84 50.21 52.95 48.78 7 > 1,2,3,5,8 4 > 1,2,5 6>1

Signicant differences among typesd

Note: aASBI 2019. b CBCL 2019. c Reported means are least mean squares calculated for MANOVA models due to unequal cell sizes across the eight proles. Means are expressed as T-scores (M 50, SD 10). d Statistically signicant differences between proles with respect to each multivariate model were determined based on Tukey-Cramers post hoc comparison.

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relations between multiple maternal risks across time with the cognitive, pro-social, and behavior problem outcomes of ethnically diverse, low-income preschool children, controlling for relevant child characteristics. Using a developmental-ecological framework, the present study conducted secondary analyses of the Comprehensive Child Development Program (CCDP) dataset using variable-centered and person-centered approaches to extend our understanding of the association between these maternal risks and preschool outcomes for a low-income population of White, Black, and Hispanic children.

Problem Behaviors Chronicity of maternal depression accounted for the most variance in childrens externalizing, disruptive, and internalizing behaviors. Children of mothers with high levels of depression showed the highest levels of all three behavior problem constructs. This nding is consistent with what the empirical literature has shown in terms of the relation of maternal depression to problem behaviors in low-income, preschool children. Maternal depression has been most frequently linked to disruptive, aggressive, and oppositional behaviors in young children (Almgren et al., 2002; Black et al., 2002; Hubbs-Tait et al., 1996; Leadbeater, Bishop, & Raver, 1996; Spieker, Larson, Lewis, Keller, & Gilchrist, 1999). Fewer studies include childrens internalizing behaviors as a separate outcome variable, with some nding a relationship between maternal depression and internalizing behaviors (Black et al., 2002; Hubbs-Tait et al., 1996; Hubbs-Tait, Osofsky, Hann, & Culp, 1994), and at least one study showing only a relationship with externalizing behaviors, but not internalizing behaviors (Alpern & Lyons-Ruth, 1993). The variable-centered ndings from the present study extend the literature by demonstrating that maternal education and chronicity of maternal depression account for the most variance in childrens preschool competencies, even when controlling for child characteristics and other maternal risks. Further, it is of interest to note that both education and depression are more proximal (microsystem) maternal risks, as opposed to more distal (exosystem) risks associated with mothers relationships or transactions with systems. This nding has important implications for policy and targeted interventions.

Consideration of Variable-Centered Findings Cognitive Skills Analyses indicated that maternal education accounted for the most variance in childrens receptive vocabulary, achievement, and mental processing skills. Specically, mothers with low levels of education had children who performed poorly on all three measures of cognitive skills, controlling for child characteristics and other maternal risks. This nding supports the few studies that have examined the role of maternal education as it relates to preschool childrens cognitive skills. Dollaghan and colleagues (1999) found that low levels of maternal education were associated with low scores on a measure of receptive vocabulary in her study of White and Black children. In her study of welfare-receiving mothers, Magnuson (2003) found that mothers with higher levels of education had children with higher levels of academic school readiness skills. Pro-Social Behaviors Chronicity of maternal depression accounted for the most variance in childrens compliant and expressive behaviors. Mothers exhibiting higher degrees of depression had children demonstrating low levels of compliant and expressive behaviors. The majority of the literature on maternal depression and childrens outcomes investigates the presence of behavior problems in children, not necessarily the absence of pro-social behaviors (see for example, Alpern & Lyons-Ruth, 1993, LaRoche, Turner, & Kalick, 1995). An exception to this, however, is a study by the NICHD Early Child Care Research Network (1999), which demonstrated that three-year-old children of depressed mothers exhibited lower levels of cooperative behaviors than did same age peers of non-depressed mothers. Although this study did look at the chronicity of maternal depression over childrens rst three years, it did not account for childrens birth risks or other maternal risks, other than maternal education.

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Consideration of Person-Centered Findings Person-centered analyses revealed eight distinct maternal risk proles. Three proles were characterized by high levels of maternal risks, including Depressed, High Mobility (Type 7), Young Mothers (Type 6), and Relatively Depressed (Type 4). One prole was characterized by low levels of multiple risksmothers in Low Risk (Type 1) demonstrated low levels of unemployment and welfare receipt and were relatively older and more educated than other mothers in the sample. The remaining proles were characterized by varying levels of risks. These included Low Education, Resident Partner (Type 3), Average (Type 5), Employed (Type 2), and Resident Partner, Low Welfare Receipt (Type 8). The results of these person-centered analyses demonstrate heterogeneity among low-income families, even heterogeneity within risks (i.e., there is more than one type characterized by high levels of depression or

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employment). Ramey, Ramey, and Lanzi (1998) also found heterogeneity within low-income families using a person-centered approach. However, their study was limited in several ways. Their sample was limited to only former Head Start families, and some of their proles were dened by only one attribute (e.g., there was one chronic health problem prole, which encompassed all the families with a primary caregiver with a chronic health problem that interfered with parenting duties). Further, their study used a cross-sectional design, measuring risks at only one point in time, and their risk variables were often measured dichotomously (i.e., did the mother receive welfare benets?), which is inadequate for many types of risks that are often episodic in nature. Finally, they utilized less robust cluster analytic techniques than were used in the present study. For example, instead of splitting their sample into multiple groups in order to maximize replicability of the cluster solution, their sample was only split into two groups. Multivariate analyses of variance demonstrated that the eight maternal risk proles related differentially to childrens preschool skills. First, these analyses conrmed ndings from the variable approach in that maternal depression is related to behavior problems for preschoolers. Types 4 and 7 (Relatively Depressed and Depressed, High Mobility, respectively) are both characterized by higher than average levels of maternal depression, and both were consistently related to high levels of disruptive, externalizing, and internalizing behaviors. Additionally, a signicant contribution of the present study is the nding of a low risk prole (Type 1; Low Risk). Despite the high prevalence of these maternal risks within a low-income population, there is a subgroup of families who are experiencing low levels of several of these risks and are doing well. Children of mothers in this low risk prole are showing the best outcomes, both in terms of cognitive skills and in terms of social-emotional competence. Implications for Research, Policy, and Practice By employing secondary analyses of data from the Comprehensive Child Development Program (CCDP) to investigate the relationship of maternal risks across time with young childrens preschool skills, the current study was limited by the maternal risk variables available within the CCDP dataset. Although this study investigated a comprehensive set of maternal risks grounded in empirical literature, it is missing some important familial variables that the literature has identied. For example, family discord and maternal relationship stress have been shown to be correlated with maternal depression (Black et al., 2002), as has domestic violence (Bonomi et al., 2006). These additional familial risks have also been shown to have negative

sequelae for young children (Black et al., 2002; Mohr, Lutz, Fantuzzo, & Perry, 2000; National Research Council, 2000). As such, future studies could explore how these kinds of related familial risks mediate the relationship of maternal depression to childrens behavioral outcomes. Similarly, the present study revealed maternal education as an important maternal risk relating to childrens cognitive outcomes. Future work could investigate correlates of low educational attainment, such as IQ or special education status (Alexander, Entwisle, & Kabbani, 2001; Magnuson, 2003) to determine if and how they add to what we know about the relationship between maternal education and childrens cognitive outcomes. Additionally, educational disengagement has been shown to be a signicant predictor for dropping out of school (Alexander et al., 2001; Magnuson, 2003; Slaughter-Defoe, Addae, & Bell, 2002); mothers who exhibit educational disengagement during their own school years may pass along their negative attitudes toward school to their children and=or may show less interest in educational activities for their children (e.g., reading books together), resulting in poorer cognitive outcomes for their children. Future studies could disentangle beliefs and attitudes about education from educational attainment to further explain this relationship between maternal education and childrens cognitive outcomes. It also cannot be ignored that parent-child relationships are reciprocal in nature, and although the present study does not indicate causality, it is focused on maternal risks predicting to child outcomes. However, the literature has also noted that child characteristics are related to maternal risks, such as depression (see, for example, Hammen, Burge, & Stansbury, 1990). Future work could examine more closely the potential pathways of both child and maternal risks and their inuence on each other. The current study was focused on the presence (or absence) and chronicity of maternal risk factors. Future research could explore more carefully the unique impact of protective factors on childrens preschool skills and their potential ability to mitigate risks. The presence of a large social support network, for example, has been shown to be negatively correlated with maternal depression (MacPhee, Fritz, & Miller-Heyl, 1996; Melson, Ladd, & Hsu, 1993). Similarly, research has demonstrated that feelings of efcacy and satisfaction toward ones job are related both to lower levels of depression and higher rates of consistent employment (Goldberg, Greenberger, Hamill, & ONeil, 1992; Parcel & Menaghan, 1997; Zaslow & Emig, 1997). Inclusion of protective factors such as these can further improve our knowledge base about the impact of maternal risks on preschool childrens outcomes by highlighting other

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important contexts for low-income mothers and their young children. The policy context at the time of CCDP qualies the ndings of the present study. Welfare receipt during CCDP was under the regulations of Assistance to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC); ndings may differ under regulations of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA; Public Law 104-193, 110 Statute 2105). With PRWORA posing time limitations on welfare receipt, dependence on welfare may show a different association with the development of childrens preschool skills. Further, PRWORA now mandates employment, so maternal employment may play even more of a role in childrens outcomes, especially important process issues such as job satisfaction or efcacy. Studies are beginning to disentangle these complicated aspects of welfare reform and their impact on childrens development, but they often do not include other maternal risks. Thus, future research should continue to investigate this important issue, being sure to examine welfare reform in the context of concurrent maternal risks. Findings from the present study have important implications for two-generation programs, which are charged with enhancing the well-being of children and families living in poverty and ideally suited for ameliorating the different combinations of risks that families face. Early childhood programs that have this dual focus are optimal mechanisms to improve the school readiness skills of young children living in poverty, both by teaching those skills to children directly, and by helping to mitigate familial risks that impact the development of those skills. Head Start is the nations largest two-generation program, serving more than 900,000 low-income children and families nationwide (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Ofce of Head Start, 2006). Partnering with families and communities is a central part of Head Starts mission (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1999); it is through these partnerships that Head Start can connect families with appropriate services, such as mental health programs or GED classes. Despite these mandates for partnerships, Head Starts family involvement component has been criticized as insufcient, especially following welfare reform rules that require parents to work, thus not allowing them to participate during a typical Head Start day (Zigler & Styfco, 1993). This is disheartening given research that shows that the simple act of participating in Head Start, whether in their childrens classrooms or in support groups with other parents, lessens feelings of social isolation and depression in parents (Parker, Piotrkowski, & Peay, 1987; Fantuzzo, Stevenson, Abdul-Kabir, & Perry, 2006), especially considering the ndings about maternal depression in the present study.

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Further, parent involvement in their childrens education is associated with improved school readiness skills (Fantuzzo, McWayne, Perry, & Childs, 2004; Fantuzzo, Tighe, & Perry, 1999). Another area of deciency in Head Starts parent programming relates to the self-sufciency goals for parents, such as educational or literacy services. Programs generally do not have the infrastructure to help parents attain these goals, nor do they have sufcient staff or funding (Parker et al., 1995). These issues make the mandates for community collaborations even more important, as they could potentially connect parent with other necessary services, such as GED classes or mental health services. However, such programs can be cumbersome and costly to fund, and current mechanisms fall short of the need (Knitzer, Theberge, & Johnson, 2008). Twogenerational programs such as Head Start are on the right track in terms of meeting the disparate needs of poor families; however, the nation needs to recognize that poverty brings multifaceted needs and invest more resources in programs that promote protection against these multiple risks.

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