Are student differences in “grit” a key to explaining achievement gaps in the United States? Despite the widespread persistence of policies that promote academic perseverance and related traits in American schools, to date, there has been no formal assessment of grit using data from a nationally representative longitudinal cohort. Using the ECLS-K 2011, we document the size of socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities in math and reading achievement in 5th grade and examine whether self-reported grit and related skills meaningfully account for these gaps. We find that grit has only modest links to academic performance and does not attenuate socioeconomic and racial/ethnic achievement gaps. Instead, we find evidence that other related factors—approaches to learning and attentional skills—may account for a nontrivial portion of these gaps, but urge caution in how these findings are interpreted.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with enduring risks to well-being, while positive childhood experiences (PCEs) may help buffer against these risks. However, evidence regarding the moderating role of PCEs remains inconsistent, likely reflecting differences in how PCEs are conceptualized and measured, the outcomes examined, and the populations studied. This study draws on data from the 2020–2021 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH), a nationally representative dataset that includes validated measures of ACEs and PCEs. Results indicate that PCEs were associated with lower odds of youth anxiety/depression and conduct/behavior concerns, whereas ACEs were associated with higher odds of youth anxiety/depression and conduct/behavior concerns. Findings also suggest that PCEs moderated the associations between ACEs and anxiety/depression and conduct/behavior concerns although this buffering influence appeared more evident at lower levels of ACE exposure. Taken together, these results highlight the potential value of promoting access to PCEs for children experiencing modest adversity, while pointing to the need for more intensive supports for those with high ACE exposure.

Previous studies have well-documented that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with negative health outcomes, including suicidal thoughts and behaviors. As historically marginalized groups have long experienced poorer socio-emotional outcomes due to systemic and institutional racism, racial stress, and related factors, surprisingly little is known about how ACEs matter across racial/ethnic adolescent groups. This study aims to fill this gap by analyzing data from the 2022 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey (FYSAS). Utilizing logistic regression models, we investigate how ACEs influence adolescent suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Results reveal a significant link between ACEs and these outcomes, indicating that higher ACE scores correlate with increased risk of suicidal thoughts and attempts. Racial/ethnic variations in ACE effects on suicidality are observed among non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic/Latinx youth. We also find that despite generally experiencing fewer ACEs, Asian American youth were nearly 30% more likely to have suicidal thoughts than non-Hispanic White youth.

Many U.S. schools utilize grade retention (repeating grades when not meeting academic benchmarks) to allow more time for students to learn grade level material. However, some research suggests retention may increase inequalities and not help students progress. We use national data (Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study 2014–2017) and logistic regression to examine what predicts the likelihood of elementary school retention and whether retention is associated with long term outcomes. We find that race and family income did not predict who was most likely to be retained. As expected, boys were more likely to be retained than girls. Most importantly, we show that, of students in major metropolitan areas, retention did not predict long-term academic outcomes (regardless of race, sex, or familial income). Retention did predict long-term exclusionary discipline outcomes for Black students only supporting the School to Prison Pipeline framework.

Asian-American students have some of the highest scores for standardized tests in American schools—a pattern that is commonly attributed to immigrant selectivity. We extend this line of inquiry by examining mixed-race couples and their children. Using both the ECLS-K cohorts of 1998 and 2010, we document the persistence of the Asian-American educational advantage over time by comparing the math and reading scores of white students (1998 n = 6700; 2010 n = 4500) with Asian-American (1998 n = 500; 2010 n = 600) and biracial Asian/white (1998 n = 150; 2010 n = 150) students at the start of elementary school. Surprisingly, in bivariate models, biracial Asian/white students have some of the highest math and reading scores. Socioeconomic factors are an important part of this advantage. When we examine parenting practices, we find that parenting works in opposite directions for biracial and monoracial Asian couples—decreasing the size of the biracial Asian/white educational advantage but increasing the size of the Asian-American advantage compared with their white kindergartener peers at school entry.

Several theoretical traditions posit that individual skills (or human capital) have become stronger predictors of life outcomes over time. To date, however, significant limitations have hindered a confident empirical assessment of this important idea. Using six nationally representative datasets, the authors find surprisingly little support for the notion that measurable skills are becoming more important over time. Instead, the results reveal a durable relationship between measurable skills and socioeconomic outcomes despite periods of significant societal change.

While a substantial body of work has shown that higher-SES students tend to apply to more selective colleges than their lower-SES counterparts, we know relatively less about why students differ in their application behavior. In this study, we draw upon a sociological approach to educational stratification to unpack the SES-based gap in college application selectivity. Using data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 , we examine the contribution of theoretical factors to the class-based gap in the selectivity of college applications. Namely, from the rational action model we estimate the contribution of performance differentials and choice differentials , while from the status attainment model we look at the level and type of educational expectations as well as the number of applications submitted. Through a series of Heckman selection models, as well as a Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition analysis, we can explain 85% of the gap in college application selectivity between students in the top and bottom SES quintiles. In turn, we estimate that 60% of this explained portion is due to rational action mechanisms such as grades and test scores while 35% is due to status attainment mechanisms. Finally, we reveal that SES moderates the relationship between type of expectations and application selectivity. We find that the payoff to higher expectations (in terms of selective applications) disproportionately accrues to higher-SES students.

Migrants’ sense of belonging in their country and community of residence has direct effects on their health and wellbeing. A diverse set of case studies suggest that legal immigration status plays a primary role in shaping migrants’ opportunities for and experiences of belonging. Few of these studies, though, have examined belonging for migrants with varied legal immigration statuses living in the same receiving context, limiting our understanding of if and how migrant status interacts with other factors to shape access to belonging for migrants settling in the same host community. To address this gap, we analyze 73 semi-structured interviews with migrants in Utah, USA, to investigate the process and experience of belonging for migrants across permanent, temporary, undocumented, and refugee statuses. While legal immigration status is an important factor shaping (non)belonging, it does not appear to function as a master status for migrant belonging. Rather, we find that legal immigration status works alongside a number of community-level factors—including cultural, social, linguistic, and racial/ethnic factors—to shape belonging for migrants of all immigration statuses. These non-legal, community-level factors emerged as critical features of (non)belonging for many migrants living in Utah. Our findings suggest that, although they cannot change federal immigration policies, local- and state-level governments and organizations can enhance migrants’ access to belonging and wellbeing across many other dimensions.

Worry and loneliness looms large in American schools, especially in the social years of early adolescence where friendships are in flux and children strive to fit in and do well academically. We examine a nationally-representative sample of American 5th graders to document the extent of academic worry and loneliness, its costs for academic performance, and how social class can disrupt or exacerbate its associations. Based on a nationally representative longitudinal survey (ECLS-K 2010–2011) of childhood (N = 5750), we examine if a child’s self-reported worry and loneliness are associated with standardized math and reading scores using OLS regression. We explore whether these associations vary by socioeconomic status. We find that academic worry is a strong predictor of math and reading skill. The association is amplified for disadvantaged students. Patterns hold when accounting for a host of other factors and are replicated in the ECLS-K 1998–1999. Loneliness and its association with math and reading performance was not statistically significant. As academic worry is negatively associated with standardized math and reading skills, practitioners can be especially attuned to how these patterns are amplified for children in low socioeconomic households. Utilizing a nationally representative survey of early adolescence, we show that worry (and less so loneliness) is associated with math and reading skills and that these associations are moderated by socioeconomic status—disadvantaged students have a higher negative association with math and reading performance when they worry about their academic performance compared to advantaged students.

This study examines how disassociation with a majority religion influences subjective perception of community desirability in rural communities. Current community literature shows that religious affiliation identification can influence community sentiment, while other studies suggest the possibility of either mixed or inconclusive results. To further clarify the relationship between religious affiliation and community desirability, we draw upon data from the 2017 Rural Utah Community Study. We find that even when accounting for the length of residence, age, and perception of local services, a resident's religious affiliation continues to be associated with community desirability. These findings have potential implications for understanding other communities with a large, singular religious presence.

The use of school suspension and expulsion is a widespread phenomenon in American schools (Wallace et al., 2009; Owens and McLanahan, 2020). Yet, much of what we know about these exclusionary practices provide little insight into the personal biographies of the students themselves-specifically their histories of childhood trauma. Using measures of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), we examine the link between early ACEs (up to age 5) and school suspension/expulsion using the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (1998-2010) (FFCWS). We find that a child with a cumulative ACE score are almost four times more likely to have been suspended or expelled. Importantly, this negative link persists even when accounting for factors known to be associated with ACEs and school discipline. This work offers new theoretical insight into how we understand discipline in school contexts and suggests the importance of trauma-informed interventions in the American education system.

School-based parental involvement is a common practice in the United States, and yet there is an emerging view that parents' involvement in schools may have little if any academic benefit for their children. However, such conclusions are often based on narrowly construed survey questions, such as "Did you attend PTA in the past year?". In our study, we re-examine commonly used measurements of school-based parental involvement using 130 interviews with parents and administrators across three diverse elementary schools. We compare conventional survey measures of school-based parental involvement with our own qualitative assessments of parental efficacy. Notably, we find that highly efficacious parents employed a wide range of involvement strategies, undetected by some traditional metrics of involvement (i.e., attending PTA meetings). As expected, we also find that efficacious parents were largely advantaged themselves and concentrated in advantaged schools. However, school contexts can play a powerful role in shaping the reception of parents' engagement with schools-the presence of a Spanish immersion program transformed how teachers and administrators interpreted the involvement activities of Latinx parents. Our results point to the importance of (1) recasting parental involvement as parental efficacy and (2) integrating school contexts to understand how efficacy can be more effectively encouraged and deployed.

Many social commentators posit that children's social skills are declining as a result of exposure to technology. But this claim is difficult to assess empirically because it is challenging to measure "social skills" with confidence and because a strong test would employ nationally representative data of multiple cohorts. No scholarship currently meets these criteria. The authors fill that gap by comparing teachers' and parents' evaluations of children's social skills among children in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study 1998 and 2010 cohorts. The authors find no evidence that teachers or parents rate children's face-to-face social skills as poorer among more recent cohorts, even when accounting for family characteristics, screen time use, and other factors. In addition, within cohorts, children with heavy exposure to screens exhibit similar social skills trajectories compared to children with little exposure to screens. There is a notable exception-social skills are lower for children who access online gaming and social networking many times a day. Overall, however, the results represent a challenge to the dominant narrative that social skills are declining due to technological change.

Researchers have sought to understand why cognitive skill disparities between black and white children persist in American society, but the most thorough examinations study school-aged children during a period when the black/white skill gap is already well established. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort of 2001, we find trivial black/white differences in cognitive skills at 10 months of age but large disparities at 24 and 48 months, suggesting that the gap emerges in force between 10 months and age four. Although black/white differences in parenting are a powerful predictor, these variations are driven by socioeconomic and related factors that directly and indirectly shape cognitive development gaps between black and white children.

This study contributes to the literature on long-term effects of relative age (i.e. age differences between classmates in compulsory school) by examining tertiary education outcomes. We investigate whether there is evidence of relative age effects on university students enrolled in the Erasmus exchange program. We use administrative data on all exchange students who visited the Linnaeus University, in Sweden, in the four years since its founding. We find long-term evidence of RAEs-the youngest cohort students participate less often to the Erasmus exchange program than older cohort members.

This study evaluates the impact of the Circles Program on participant's outlook using several metrics of self-efficacy. Across two programs, we find that at 6 months, participants had significantly higher rates of positive outlook compared to the control group.

In past research, the relationship between population size and community satisfaction have reported mixed results. Additionally, few community studies utilized distance from urban centers as a complementary to population size. Using the 2010 Montana Health Matters Study, this research seeks to uncover how these two measures together help to explain community satisfaction. Our results indicate that distance and population size are conflated measures when used separately. Yet, when used together, both measures complement each other in capturing place-based elements of community satisfaction. Paradoxically, findings show that residents are less satisfied the farther they live from urban centers when accounting for population size, yet residents are more satisfied with their community when they live in very small populated communities after accounting for distance. These findings suggest that residents living in small-populated communities adjacent to urban centres are the most satisfied with their communities than larger rural communities farther from urban centers.

Objectives Infants and toddlers need secure attachments in order to develop the social competence required to successfully navigate later peer and adult relationships. Breastfeeding is a parenting factor that has been associated with child emotional development—specifically the attachment between children and their mothers. Yet, this link may simply be the result of other parenting behaviors that are associated with breastfeeding. Thus, our objective is to examine whether the link between infant attachment behaviors and breastfeeding endures when accounting for a broad array of in-depth measures of parenting. Methods We use the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of children from 9 months to 2 years of age collected by the National Center for Education Statistics. Using Ordinary Least Squares regression, data analyses examine the association between the Toddler Attachment Sort-45 (TAS-45) measures of toddler-parent attachment (infant attachment security and temperamental dependency) and breastfeeding practices. We also examine individual items of the TAS-45 to isolate specific attachment behaviors that have the strongest associations with breastfeeding. Results We find an enduring link between children who are predominantly breastfed for six or more months and infant attachment security. However, we find no evidence that breastfeeding is linked to a child’s temperamental dependency. Of the nine items used to examine infant attachment behaviors, we find that breastfed children are rated as having slightly higher scores on two measures (“warm and cuddly,” “cooperative”) and lower scores on one measure (“demanding/angry”). Conclusions for Practice Breastfeeding has an important link to the child’s use of their caregiver as a secure base for exploration and a place of comfort when distressed (infant attachment security). Yet, breastfeeding does not appear to reduce a child’s temperamental dependency or level of clinginess as measured by how demanding, fussy or distressed the child becomes when separated.

GENERAL COMMENTARY article Front. Psychol., 25 January 2017Sec. Movement Science and Sport Psychology Volume 8 - 2017 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00058

While the use of inferential statistics is a nearly universal practice in the social sciences, there are instances where its application is unnecessary and potentially misleading. This is true for a portion of research using administrative data in educational research in the United States. Surveying all research articles using administrative data published in Educational Researcher and American Educational Research Journal between 2011 and 2013, we find that over half use inferential techniques to help interpret results despite the use of population data. To the extent that these practices and findings are replicated and interpreted in the United States and elsewhere, this can lead to the undervaluing of potentially meaningful patterns and trends.