A multimethod, multi-informant design was used to examine links among sociodemographic risk, family adversity, parenting quality, and child adjustment in families experiencing homelessness. Participants were 245 homeless parents (M[subscript age] = 31.0, 63.6% African American) and their 4- to 6-year-old children (48.6% male). Path analyses…

This investigation tested the importance of early academic achievement for later achievement trajectories among 18,011 students grouped by level of socioeconomic risk. Students considered to be at highest risk were those who experienced homelessness or high residential mobility (HHM). HHM students were compared with students eligible for free…

Research Findings: Effects of parenting quality on the academic functioning of young homeless children were examined using data from 58 children ages 4 to 7 and their parents during their stay at an emergency homeless shelter. Parenting quality, child executive function, child intellectual functioning, and risk status were assessed in the shelter,…

Analyses examined academic achievement data across third through eighth grades ("N" = 26,474), comparing students identified as homeless or highly mobile (HHM) with other students in the federal free meal program (FM), reduced price meals (RM), or neither (General). Achievement was lower as a function of rising risk status (General…

The authors examined the role of executive function (EF) skills as a predictor of kindergarten or first-grade adjustment in 138 children living in shelters for homeless families. During the summer, children completed a battery of six EF tasks and three IQ measures. Teachers later rated children's school adjustment in five domains of achievement…

The rate of poverty for children in the United States is far higher than for other advantaged nations (Payne & Biddle, 1999) with an estimated 13.3 million children, 18% of all children, living below the poverty threshold (U. S. Bureau of the Census, 2008). An estimated 5.8 million children live in extreme poverty where their families earn less…

Investigates educational risks among 73 homeless children, 6 to 11 years old. Results indicate that access to school was not a problem, but significant school success problems (i.e., achievement and classroom behavior) were seen among the study's 59 African American children. Findings support the feasibility of studying at-risk children in highly…

Examined psychological adjustment in 159 homeless and 62 low-income, at-home children. Homeless children had greater recent stress exposure, more disrupted schooling/friendships. Behavior problems were above norms for homeless children, particularly for antisocial behavior. Behavior problems in both samples were more related to parental distress,…

Investigated parenting as a protective process for school success in African-American 6- to 11-year olds from homeless families. Found that close parent/child relationships and high parent involvement in the child's education were associated with academic achievement and positive school behavior. Parent intellectual functioning, educational level,…