Strengths and Stressors in Region XI Head Start: The Role of Social Support and Economic Condition in the Well-Being of Children and Families from AIAN FACES 2019

Publication Date: February 10, 2022
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  • Published: 2022

Introduction

Research Questions

  1. What kinds of social and community support do families have?
  2. How are families doing economically?
  3. Do families with different levels of material hardship and financial strain report different levels of social and community support?
  4. Are material hardship and financial strain associated with the well-being of the child and family, beyond the effects of income?
  5. Are social and community supports associated with the well-being of the child and family, beyond the effects of economic condition?

This research brief uses nationally representative data from the American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (AIAN FACES 2019) to describe families’ economic conditions and the forms of social and community support they have. It also explores whether families with different levels of social and community support report different levels of financial strain and material hardship (for example, whether families can afford the kind of home they need or have medical needs). Finally, it examines whether financial strain and material hardship predict family and child well-being beyond household income, and whether social and community supports predict family and child well-being above and beyond economic condition, including household income, financial strain, and material hardship.

Purpose

The purpose of this brief is to explore the role of social support and economic condition in the well-being of Region XI Head Start children and families. The objectives of this brief are to explore the economic conditions and forms of social and community support children and families have, examine the associations between social and community support and economic condition, and examine whether economic condition and social and community supports predict child and family well-being.

Key Findings and Highlights

  • Parents of Region XI children have high levels of social and community support. More than half report they have three of four types of material support (such as the ability to get a loan in an emergency), and most report their child participated in at least one community cultural activity in the past year. In addition, about one-fifth of Region XI children live with a grandparent or great-grandparent (either alone or with parents in the house).
  • More than half of parents have at least one type of material hardship, with transportation being the most common (more than one third of parents report at least one transportation-related hardship). At the same time, the majority of parents report they have no financial strains.
  • Material hardship and financial strain are associated with higher parental depressive symptom scores, and more financial strain is associated with worse parent-reported child health.
  • A child’s participation in more community cultural activities is associated with very small but statistically significant increases in children’s approaches to learning (learning behaviors like attention and persistence), taking into account income, material hardship, and financial strain.
  • More material supports are associated with lower parental depressive symptom scores, but living in a multigenerational household is associated with higher parental depressive symptom scores, beyond the effects of income, material hardship, and financial strain.

Methods

The AIAN FACES 2019 sample provides nationally representative information about Region XI Head Start children, their families, programs, centers, and classrooms. We selected a nationally representative sample of Region XI Head Start programs from the 2016—2017 Head Start Program Information Report, with one or two centers per program and two to four classrooms per center. Within each classroom, we randomly selected 13 children for the study. In fall 2019, 22 programs, 40 centers, 85 classrooms and 720 children and their parents participated in the study. The sample for this brief includes 526 children who were enrolled in Region XI Head Start in fall 2019 for whom we had a complete parent interview, along with either a direct child assessment or a teacher’s report of children’s skills and behavior.

All findings are weighted to represent this population of children who were enrolled in Region XI Head Start programs in fall 2019. We estimated percentages and averages (means) to answer the first two research questions. To answer the third research question about whether families with different levels of supports report different levels of strains and hardships, we conducted chi square and analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests to examine differences between groups. To answer the fourth and fifth research questions, we conducted a series of linear and logistic regressions predicting children’s and families’ well-being from information parents provided about financial strain, material hardship, and social and community support.

Citation

Bernstein, S., K. Gonzalez, S. Rakibullah, L. Malone, J. Harrington, and the AIAN FACES 2019 Workgroup. “Strengths and Stressors in Region XI Head Start: The Role of Social Support and Economic Condition in the Well-Being of Children and Families from AIAN FACES 2019”. OPRE Report # 2021-184. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, 2021.

Glossary

AIAN FACES:
American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey