| This study investigates the effects of family risks on children's math and reading achievement during the elementary school years, in a sample of urban families and children. It examines family risk within a comprehensive set of family characteristics, including maternal age, maternal depression, maternal education, maternal physical health, family involvement in school, family resources, family structure, family mobility, number of children, and parenting style. Components of the investigation include examining the effects of family risk on math and reading achievement scores separately; investigating whether the number of family risks explains more of the effect of family risk on children's achievement than do single family characteristics; and examining the influence of family risk over a long period of time, seven years of elementary school.; Family data collected in the kindergarten year on a predominantly African-American sample of 197 families whose children attended Head Start is related to the children's yearly math and reading achievement data, from kindergarten through sixth grade. Analyses include descriptive statistics for family characteristics, a family risk index measuring the number of risks families face, and children's achievement scores; correlational analysis of the relationships between family characteristics; and correlational, regression and MANCOVA analysis of the relationships between family characteristics and children's achievement scores.; Results indicate that the number of risks faced by families is as strong a predictor of children's achievement scores as the most salient individual risks, and provides the most consistent prediction of children's achievement scores across the elementary school years. Individual family risks influence reading achievement to a greater degree than math. The family characteristic most salient for children's math achievement is parenting style, though only for the first few years of school. Maternal education is the most important predictor of children's reading achievement, followed by parenting style. Three key ideas to take away from this study: first, some young children in poverty achieve at national average levels or above, despite family risks. Second, math skills may be an area of potential strength for children in poverty, if they can receive the appropriate classroom supports. Given the well-documented problems in literacy for these children, a strengths-based perspective may lend some balance and hope to all who care about children's education and success in life. Lastly, early intervention is imperative for the successful remediation of the effects of family risks on children's academic achievement, as the weight of the child's own history quickly becomes the most potent risk. |
