The home environments of children in the United States part II: Relations with behavioral development through age thirteen

This study examined the frequency with which children were exposed to vario us parental actions, materials, events, and conditions as part of their hom e environments, and how those exposures related to their well-being. Part 1 focused on variations by age, ethnicity, and poverty status. In Part 2 of the study, relations between major aspects of the home environment (includi ng maternal responsiveness, learning stimulation, and spanking) and develop mental outcomes for children from birth through age 13 were investigated. T he outcomes examined were early motor and social development, vocabulary de velopment, achievement, and behavior problems. These relations were examine d in both poor and nonpoor European American, African American, and Hispani c American families using hierarchical linear modeling. The most consistent relations found were those between learning stimulation and children's dev elopmental status, with relations for parental responsiveness and spanking varying as a function of outcome, age, ethnicity, and poverty status. The e vidence indicated slightly stronger relations for younger as compared with older children.