ABSTRACT
Human parenting expresses itself and child development unfolds in multiple enveloping contexts, an important one being socioeconomic status (SES). This chapter compares the two most prominent multivariate measures of SES and their components, and using structural equation modeling then assess simultaneous direct and indirect paths of influence from these two indexes of SES, and from their components, to multiple maternal behaviors and, in turn, to multiple infant behaviors. SES contributes to the short- and long-term goals parents have for their children, the practices parents employ in attempting to meet their goals, and, consequently, the everyday contexts of development experienced by children. Many sociodemographic factors are relevant to parenting and child development, including ethnicity, race, and residence. The specification of SES plays other key roles in developmental science. Distal variables like SES could affect child development directly or people could influence proximal variables like parenting beliefs and behaviors and thereby affect child development indirectly.
