Various intervention usage is associated with positive outcomes for children with autism. However, the intensity of these interventions tends to be below recommendations, especially for minoritized children. This study aimed to examine how average weekly intervention hours among children vary by sociodemographic factors. Regression analyses were…

Chronic school absenteeism can lead to poorer academic performance and school engagement for students. It is also a risk factor for school dropout, which is associated with many long-term health impacts. This report uses data from the 2022 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to describe the percentage of children ages 5-17 who experienced…

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common mental disorders of childhood. It is characterized by a pattern of inattention, impulsivity, or hyperactivity that leads to functional impairment experienced in multiple settings. Symptoms of ADHD occur during childhood, and many children continue to have symptoms and…

Sports team participation has been associated with increased levels of physical activity and improved physical and mental health among children and adolescents. Disparities in sports participation have been found across age, sex, race, disability, and socioeconomic subgroups. This report describes national estimates of parent-reported organized…

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic affected health and well-being worldwide, but little is known about how the pandemic specifically impacted families with young children. Evidence suggests a relationship between well-being and health behaviors (diet, physical activity) and that preexisting health disparities were exacerbated during the pandemic.…

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends 9-12 hours of sleep for children aged 6-12 years and 8-10 hours for those aged 13-18, yet only two-thirds of children meet these recommendations. This report uses 2020 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data to describe regular bedtimes, defined as going to sleep at the same time most days or…

In this article, Melanie Wasserman reviews the latest evidence about the causal link between family structure and children's economic and social outcomes. Going beyond the question of whether family structure affects child outcomes--a topic that's already been covered at length, including in previous Future of Children volumes--she examines how…

We use data collected between April 2020 and March 2021 from the Understanding America Survey, a nationally representative internet panel of approximately 1,450 households with school-age children, to document the access of American households to K-12 education during the COVID-19 crisis. We also explore disparities by parent race/ethnicity,…

Rates of children identified as having autism spectrum disorder (ASD) continue to increase in both medical and school settings. While procedures for providing a medical diagnosis are relatively consistent throughout the United States, the process for determining special education eligibility under an ASD classification varies by state, with many…

Significant racial and ethnic achievement gaps exist between students in the U.S. by elementary school, although the underlying causes for these achievement gaps differ. One factor for racial/ethnic achievement gaps is between-group differences in socioeconomic status (SES), particularly exposure to poverty. Moreover, other factors contributing to…

To what extent are multigenerational forces associated with the becoming of measured academic skills? This study argues that by considering inhuman(e) ontologies such as a system of racialized structural relations, a new materialist and radical black feminist lens opens up new possibilities for conceptualizing and understanding how shifting…

Introduction: We examined the development of anxiety in youth with or without intellectual disabilities (ID). We also examined the effects of child delay status, temperament, ethnicity, and negative parenting on anxiety symptom trajectory. Method: Participants were 177 families in (blinded). We employed latent growth curve modeling to examine the…

This study documents gaps in kindergarten and first-grade science achievement by family income and explores the degree to which such gaps can be accounted for by student race/ethnicity, out-of-school activities, parental education, and school fixed effects. In doing so, it expands on prior research that documents disparate rates of science…

The current study uses a large, nationally representative data set and a new method for computing teacher expectations to better understand the developmental effect of mathematics teacher expectations on future student achievement. The study utilizes autoregressive cross-lagged models with 5 time points between kindergarten and 8th grade as well…

This study took a life course approach to examine associations among family income from birth to age 15, and adolescent health and well-being. Utilizing latent growth mixture modeling, we identified four distinct family income trajectories based on changes in low-income status (family income [less than or equal to] 200% of the federal poverty…