Implications of Early Family Economic Concerns and Caregiver Investment on Reading Development

Reading is a foundational skill for all other learning and academic achievements, and reading-related problems are strongly connected to future academic success (Rashid, 2018). In the proposed study, longitudinal data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care and Youth Development will be used to better understand the associations between early socioeconomic concerns and third-grade reading achievement. We will investigate whether paternal emotional and cognitive investment are potential mechanisms linking early socioeconomic concerns to third-grade reading achievement. Hierarchical linear regressions will be utilized to investigate the potential predictive relations between three indicators of socioeconomic concern when children are 54 months (4 and a half years old) and reading ac: (1) family income-to-needs ratio (FITNR); (2) caregivers’ occupational status; and (3) and caregivers’ education level. We will then examine whether parental emotional and cognitive investment at age 54 months mediates the association between early socioeconomic concerns and third-grade reading achievement.