C. Howes et al., RACE, SOCIAL-CLASS, AND MATERNAL WORKING-CONDITIONS AS INFLUENCES ON CHILDRENS DEVELOPMENT, Journal of applied developmental psychology, 16(1), 1995, pp. 107-124
Infant, toddler, and preschool children were observed in their child c
are centers. Mothers were interviewed regarding their social class and
working conditions. Mothers and children were either African American
(n = 67) or European American (n = 139). We examined associations bet
ween variations in maternal working conditions and variations in child
ren's behavior, in a sample of families diverse in both race and socia
l class. The results suggest that child care quality could be predicte
d in both racial groups, but the patterns of associations were differe
nt. Social class directly predicted child care quality in European Ame
rican families. In African American families social class predicted ch
ild care quality indirectly through work demands. Mothers with higher
social class scores and less demanding work used higher quality child
care. Among child outcomes only the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (P
PVT) could be predicted in African American children. Social class and
job demands both directly predicted PPVT scores. Personal maturity, P
PVT, and adaptive language scores were predicted in European American
children. Social class directly predicted personal maturity and PPVT s
cores. Maternal perception of work demands directly predicted personal
maturity and adaptive language scores. Social class indirectly predic
ted adaptive language scores through child care quality.