Post on 05-Jan-2016
Assessing Parenting Behaviors Across Racial Groups
Lawrence M. BergerChristina Paxson
Center for Health and WellbeingPrinceton University
prepared for Fragile Families workshopColumbia University
July 2004
In-home addition to Fragile Families
Added an in-home assessment to the Fragile Families Study.
In-home assessments added at 36 and 60 months.
Information includes: Child health and behaviors Parenting (through interviews and direct observation) Children’s cognitive development (PPVT, Woodcock-
Johnson) Parental physical and mental health and cognitive ability
(stress; anthropometrics; PPVT) At 60 months: ask families about involvement with the child
welfare system.
Questions to be addressed:
How do factors such as economic status, family structure, and parental health affect the environments in which children live? (“Environments” include aspects of the physical environment as well as parenting.)
What are the determinants of very poor parenting behavior?
How does the care that children receive (across a variety of domains) affect their cognitive and developmental outcomes?
Do policy changes that alter the economic status of parents affect children’s environments and outcomes?
This paper (in progress!): Racial Differences in Parenting
Why is this topic of interest?
A large literature documents racial and ethnic differences in parenting of young children, along a variety of domains.
It is possible that these parenting differences may account for differences in early achievement/school readiness.
Question: how much (and which) socioeconomic and parental characteristics can account for racial and ethnic differences in parenting?
Another motivation: Child Maltreatment and Race
The issue of “racial bias” in the assessment of parenting is an important topic in the child maltreatment literature.
Based on official statistics, blacks represent 15 percent of the U.S. children and 25 percent of child maltreatment victims. Whites represent 65 percent of children and 51 percent of maltreatment victims.
Statistics from “Child Abuse and Neglect” 2002 (NCCAN) (cases/1000)
By age: 0-3 16.0
4-7 13.7
8-11 11.9
By type: Neglect 7.2
Physical abuse 2.3
Other 5.6
By race: Black 20.2
White 10.7
Hispanic 9.5
Problems of Interpretation
Validity of official statistics as accurate measures of maltreatment rates can be questioned.
Poor children—especially those on welfare—may be more likely to come to the attention of mandated reporters, especially at young ages.
Some evidence of racial bias in reports of maltreatment (Lane et al, JAMA).
What might explain racial differences in maltreatment rates?
There is an active debate over the source of the disparity in official maltreatment rates. Potential explanations include:
Differences in parenting behaviors that are correlated with race.
“Racial bias” in the child protective services (CPS) system.
Racial bias refers to a racial double standard, such that otherwise identical families of different races are assessed differently by reporters of maltreatment or by the social workers, judges, etc. who verify the validity of reports of maltreatment.
What might drive racial bias?
There are several reasons in theory why racial bias in reporting and substantiation might be observed:
Stereotyping: Individuals expect to see “worse” parenting among some groups, and observe what they expect to see. (Could be driven by genuine differences in average behaviors in the population.)
Miscommunication: Individuals do not know how to interpret information from members of some groups. Assessments may not be systematically biased, but may be more error-ridden (so more chance that an extreme value is “observed.”
Implications, for maltreatment rates and for surveys:
Maltreatment: Greater error in the system, possibly for both blacks and whites.
Surveys: The same kinds of factors that result in biased assessments by reporters and social workers could result in biased assessments by interviewers.
Research Objectives
To investigate whether there are differences in parenting across racial groups (blacks versus whites).
To assess whether these differences can be accounted for by household and maternal characteristics other than race.
To study whether parents’ reports of their own behaviors and interviewers’ assessments of parental behaviors are related to the race of the interviewer.
Data
Our data are drawn from an in-home module of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCW). This contains self-reported and interviewer-observed parenting measures.
Data are available for 20 cities from the 36-month interview.
Our sample consists of 1,149 blacks and 367 whites. All completed the full in-home module, and had interviewers for whom race was known.
Parenting Measures
Based on maternal reports:(1) absence of nonviolent discipline; (2) use of psychological aggression; (3) use of physical assault;
Based on interview observations:(1) harshness (2) lack of warmth;
Measures of Maternal and Child Characteristics
Based on interviewer observations:(1) Maternal verbal/social skills(2) Maternal understanding/attention (3) Maternal hostility/suspicion (4) Problems with child’s appearance (5) Problems with child’s behavior
Sociodemographic Characteristicsand Maternal Behaviors (core survey)
natural logarithm of needs-adjusted family income
the number of children and adults in the household
indicators for maternal education
indicators for presence and employment of father/other man in household
an indicator for whether the mother worked in the week before the core survey
maternal depression score
Indicator variables for whether the mother smoked cigarettes, drank alcohol, or used drugs during her pregnancy
Question 1:Are there racial/ethnic differences in
parenting?
Cross-tabulations of parenting measures indicate there are significant differences in the distributions across whites and blacks.
lack of nonviolent discipline, annual frequency
0 50 100
0
.5
1
Examples: Frequency mother uses time-outs, explains why somethingis wrong, gave something else to do, etc.
psychological aggression, annual frequency
0
.5
1
0 50 100 150
Examples: Called child lazy or dumb; shouted, yelled or screamed at child; threatened to hit; threatened to kick out of house
physical assault, annual frequnecy
0 50 100
0
.5
1
Examples: Spanked, slapped, hit on bottom with object; pinched; shook.
harshness
0 2 4 6
.7
.8
.9
1
Items:Parent did not shout at child Parent did not express annoyance with or hostility toward child.Parent neither slapped nor spanked child during the visit.Parent did not scold or criticize child during visit.Parent did not interfere or restrict child more than 3 times.
lack of warmth
0 2 4 6
.4
.6
.8
1
Items:Parent spontaneously vocalized to child twice.Parent responded verbally to child’s vocalizations.Parent told child the name of an object or person during visitParent spontaneously praised child at least twice.Parent's voice conveys positive feelings toward child.Parent caressed or kissed child at least once.
lack of maternal verbal/social skills
0 1 2 3
.85
.9
.95
1
Items:Parent's speech was distinct and audible.Parent initiated verbal exchanges with visitor.Parent conversed freely and easily.
lack of maternal attention/understanding
0 5 10
.2
.4
.6
.8
1
Items:Respondent’s attention to interview (coded 0-3)Respondent’s understanding of questions (coded 0-3)Respondent’s ability to articulate answers (coded 0-3)Respondent’s level of cooperation (coded 0-3)
maternal hostility/suspicion
0 2 4 6
.85
.9
.95
1
Items: Did respondent appear to be:Suspicious?Uncommunicative?Anxious/nervous?Hostile?To be on drugs?(Each on 3 point scale)
problems with child's appearance
0 5 10
.7
.8
.9
1
Examples:Child’s clothes dirty, ill-fitting, or inappropriate for seasonChild appears to be recently bathedChild’s hair is combed and clean
problems with child's behavior
0 5 10 15 20
0
.5
1
Items (each scored 0-3)Displays of negative emotions during interview Displays of positive emotions during interviewCooperation during PPVTCooperation during height and weight measurement Persistence during PPVT
distributions notsignificantly different across races
Sociodemographic characteristics
white black t-test
Ln(income/a.e.) 9.45(0.95)
8.49(1.05)
15.42
# children 1.94(1.14)
2.44(1.42)
6.20
# adults 2.00(0.61)
1.84(0.85)
3.41
Mother works 0.594 0.564 1.01
Mother has high school degree
0.259 0.356 3.45
Mother has more than high school degree
0.569 0.285 10.23
Sociodemographic characteristics
white black t-test
Child’s father at home and not working
0.071 0.091 1.21
Other man at home and working
0.071 0.085 0.87
Other man at home and not working
0.008 0.029 2.27
Neither father nor other man at home
0.218 0.505 9.95
Maternal depression and risky behaviors
white black t-test
Maternal depression score 1.40(2.53)
1.64(2.67)
1.54
Smoked while pregnant 0.294 0.211 3.28
Drug use while pregnant 0.046 0.071 1.69
Alcohol use while pregnant 0.158 0.102 2.89
Question 2: Do Sociodemographic and Maternal Characteristics Account for Racial
Differences?
Estimate regressions that control for city of residence; then add sociodemographics; then add maternal depression and risky behaviors.
Dependent variables are indicators being above the 75th and 90th percentiles for each of the scales.
I show OLS results, because I move to fixed effects models later (although conditional logits show similar results.)
Lack of non-
violent discipline
Psych. aggression
Physical assault
Harsh-ness
Lack of warmth
Mother Black 0.144(0.027)
0.046(0.038)
0.073(0.028)
0.083(0.024)
0.160(0.028)
Add sociodemographic controls
Mother Black 0.098(0.030)
0.030(0.031)
0.073(0.031)
0.026(0.026)
0.077(0.031)
Test: Socio-demographics
0.008 0.100 0.250 0.000 0.000
Add maternal depression and risky behaviors
Mother Black 0.091(0.030)
0.031(0.031)
0.069(0.031)
0.028(0.027)
0.076(0.031)
Test: Socio-demographics
0.002 0.211 0.364 0.000 0.000
Test: Mater-nal controls
0.037 0.000 0.035 0.702 0.216
Parenting Measures at 75th Percentile Cut Points
Lack of non-
violent discipline
Psych. aggression
Physical assault
Harsh-ness
Lack of warmth
Mother Black 0.055(0.018)
0.020(0.020)
0.046(0.017)
0.070(0.019)
0.069(0.018)
Add sociodemographic controls
Mother Black 0.021(0.020)
-0.001(0.022)
0.049(0.019)
0.027(0.021)
0.026(0.020)
Test: Socio-demographics
0.000 0.001 0.401 0.000 0.000
Add maternal depression and risky behaviors
Mother Black 0.016(0.020)
-0.006(0.022)
0.051(0.019)
0.025(0.023)
0.024(0.020)
Test: Socio-demographics
0.000 0.015 0.527 0.000 0.002
Test: Mater-nal controls
0.039 0.000 0.329 0.928 0.677
Parenting Measures at 90th Percentile Cut Points
Non-violent
discipline
Psych. aggression
Physical assault
Harsh-ness
Lack of warmth
Ln(income) -0.048*** 0.015 0.008 -0.015 -0.031**
# children 0.002 -0.007 -0.018** -0.008 0.005
# adults 0.008 -0.020 0.003 -0.028** -0.011
Mother works 0.026 0.009 -0.017 -0.035* -0.028
High school -0.023 -0.033 0.044 -0.015 -0.032
> High school -0.027 -0.084*** -0.014 -0.081*** -0.109***
Dad, no work 0.061 0.005 0.015 -0.024 0.013
Step, work -0.029 -0.024 -0.007 0.015 0.055
Step, no work 0.076 -0.101 -0.068 -0.047 -0.033
No dad/step 0.006 0.015 0.013 0.045* 0.034
Depression -0.009** 0.016*** 0.010** 0.001 0.007*
Smoking -0.053* -0.002 -0.002 -0.012 -0.008
Drug use -0.010 0.137*** 0.102** -0.007 0.081
Alcohol use 0.017 -0.006 -0.053 0.043 -0.007
Parenting Measures at 75th Percentile Cut Points
Question 3: Does the Race of the Interviewer Matter?
Estimate regressions that control for the race of the interviewer (including all other controls used so far).
Estimate models with interactions between the race of the mother and the interviewer.
Estimate models with race interactions and interviewer fixed effects.
Descriptive information on interviewers:
Interviewer characteristics
# of interviewers 100
Average interviews per interviewer 15.2
Range of interviews per interviewer 1-54
% of interviewers who are black 39%
% of black interviewers who interview both black and white mothers
77%
% of non-black interviewers who interview both black and white mothers
66%
Descriptive information on interviewers:
Interviewer characteristics Assignment of interviewers to respondents
Interviewer non-black
Interviewer black
Total
Mother white 227(15.0%)
140(9.2%)
367(24.2%)
Mother black 580(38.3%)
569(37.5%)
1,149(75.8%)
Total 807(53.2%)
709(46.8%)
1,516(100.0%)
Descriptive information on interviewers:
Interviewer characteristics Assignment of interviewers to respondents Is assignment random?
Probit,no city
dummies
OLS, no city
dummies
OLS, city
dummies
Mother is black 0.130(0.033)
0.129(0.034)
0.010(0.025)
Test: Sociodemographic and maternal controls insignificant
0.244 0.245 0.376
F-Test: Joint insignificance of city dummies
91.9(0.000)
Dependent variable: indicator that interviewer is black
Note: All sociodemographic and maternal controls included.
RESULTS
Lack of non-
violent discipline
Psych. aggression
Physical assault
Harsh-ness
Lack of warmth
At 75th percentile cut points
Mother is black
0.090(0.030)
0.030(0.031)
0.069(0.031)
0.029(0.026)
0.081(0.030)
Interview is black
0.032(0.031)
0.025(0.032)
-0.013(0.032)
-0.105(0.027)
-0.380(0.031)
At 90th percentile cut points
Mother is black
0.016(0.020)
-0.006(0.022)
0.051(0.019)
0.026(0.022)
0.026(0.020)
Interview is black
0.067(0.021)
0.035(0.023)
0.012(0.020)
-0.056(0.022)
-0.192(0.020)
Note: All models include all sociodemographic and maternal controls and city dummies
Interpretation of these results:
The fact that there are systematic differences in assessments by the race of the interviewer, although interesting, does NOT provide evidence of bias.
We need to examine whether the assessments of black relative to white respondents vary across black and white interviewers.
Next set of regressions include a complete set of interactions between the race of the interviewer and the respondent (omitted category: white respondent and non-black interviewer.)
Non-violent discipline
Psych. aggression
Physical assault
Harsh-ness
Lack of warmth
At 75th percentile cut points
M blackI non-black
0.088(0.037)
0.021(0.038)
0.060(0.039)
0.065(0.033)
0.106(0.037)
M whiteI black
0.028(0.054)
0.006(0.056)
-0.031(0.056)
-0.033(0.047)
-0.328(0.053)
M blackI black
0.121(0.045)
0.050(0.046)
0.052(0.046)
-0.055(0.039)
-0.284(0.044)
Bias test 0.926 0.666 0.691 0.066 0.238
At 90th percentile cut points
M blackI non-black
0.004(0.025)
-0.005(0.027)
0.059(0.024)
0.066(0.027)
0.070(0.024)
M whiteI black
0.042(0.036)
0.037(0.039)
0.029(0.035)
0.023(0.039)
-0.103(0.035)
M blackI black
0.076(0.030)
0.030(0.032)
0.067(0.029)
-0.007(0.032)
-0.140(0.029)
Bias test 0.398 0.949 0.550 0.013 0.002
Interviewer’s race
white black diff
Mother’s race black 0.066 -0.007 0.073
white 0 0.023 -0.023
diff 0.066 -0.030 0.096
Harshness (90th percentile cut point)
Test for bias: (MB/IW – MW/IW) = (MB/IB - MW/IB)
Or: ( 0.066 – 0 ) – (-0.007 – 0.023) = 0
Or: 0.096 = 0 (p-value for test is 0.013).
Interviewer’s race
white black diff
Mother’s race black 0.059 0.067 -0.008
white 0 0.029 -0.029
diff 0.059 0.038 0.021
Physical assault (90th percentile cut point)
Test for bias: p-value=0.550 (hypothesis of no racial bias cannot be rejected.)
Interviewers’s race
white black diff
Mother’s race black 0.070 -0.140 0.210
white 0 -0.103 0.103
diff 0.070 -0.037 0.107
Lack of Warmth (90th percentile cut point)
Test for bias: p-value is 0.002
Non-violent discipline
Psych. aggression
Physical assault
Harsh-ness
Lack of warmth
At 75th percentile cut points
M blackI non-black
0.089(0.038)
0.023(0.039)
0.064(0.039)
0.053(0.032)
0.077(0.034)
M blackI black
0.088(0.046)
0.042(0.048)
0.089(0.048)
-0.037(0.039)
0.061(0.042)
Bias test 0.990 0.744 0.662 0.061 0.761
At 90th percentile cut points
M blackI non-black
0.009(0.025)
-0.001(0.028)
0.063(0.025)
0.064(0.027)
0.060(0.024)
M blackI black
0.033(0.031)
-0.003(0.034)
0.033(0.030)
-0.040(0.032)
-0.021(0.029)
Bias test 0.527 0.967 0.415 0.009 0.024
With Interviewer Fixed Effects
Summary so far:
Self-reports of parenting behavior are not affected by the race of the interviewer relative to the respondent.
The race of the interviewer is systematically related to the assessments of harshness and lack of warmth– black interviewers are consistently less likely to give all parents, black and white, more negative ratings.
We find evidence of racial bias in assessments of harshness (at 75th and 90th p’tile cut point) and lack of warmth (at 90th p’tile cut point).
Could these findings be due to more negative interactions of the interviewer with the mother in mixed-race interviews, or “worse” child behavior?
Maternal verbal/social
Maternal attention
Maternal hostility
Child appearance
Child behavior
At 75th percentile cut points
Mother is black
0.042(0.024)
0.046(0.030)
-0.045(0.031)
-0.037(0.032)
Interview is black
-0.243(0.025)
-0.051(0.031)
-0.132(0.032)
-0.106(0.033)
At 90th percentile cut points
Mother is black
0.018(0.017)
0.014(0.018)
0.029(0.017)
-0.019(0.018)
-0.020(0.021)
Interview is black
-0.121(0.018)
-0.090(0.019)
-0.090(0.017)
-0.088(0.018)
-0.062(0.022)
Note: All models include all sociodemographic and maternal controls and city dummies
Maternal verbal/social
Maternal attention
Maternal hostility
Child appearanc
e
Child behavior
At 75th percentile cut points
M blackI non-black
0.092(0.030)
0.066(0.037)
-0.092(0.038)
-0.012(0.040)
M whiteI black
-0.143(0.043)
-0.010(0.055)
-0.225(0.055)
-0.055(0.058)
M blackI black
-0.172(0.035)
0.006(0.045)
-0.204(0.046)
-0.130(0.048)
Bias test 0.005 0.365 0.041 0.273
At 90th percentile cut points
M blackI non-black
0.045(0.021)
0.027(0.023)
0.047(0.021)
-0.022(0.022)
0.007(0.026)
M whiteI black
-0.067(0.031)
-0.063(0.033)
-0.053(0.030)
-0.095(0.032)
-0.007(0.038)
M blackI black
-0.088(0.026)
-0.069(0.027)
-0.052(0.025)
-0.108(0.026)
-0.067(0.031)
Bias test 0.033 0.321 0.127 0.789 0.076
Maternal verbal/social
Maternal attention
Maternal hostility
Child appearance
Child behavior
At 75th percentile cut points
M blackI non-black
0.067(0.029)
0.047(0.037)
-0.091(0.037)
-0.028(0.040)
M blackI black
0.011(0.035)
0.020(0.046)
-0.042(0.045)
-0.074(0.049)
Bias test 0.195 0.626 0.017 0.437
At 90th percentile cut points
M blackI non-black
0.033(0.021)
0.009(0.022)
0.031(0.020)
-0.020(0.022)
-0.004(0.026)
M blackI black
-0.017(0.025)
-0.005(0.027)
0.017(0.025)
-0.016(0.027)
-0.077(0.318)
Bias test 0.111 0.626 0.667 0.888 0.056
With Interviewer Fixed Effects
Conclusions
There are racial differences in self-reported and interviewer-assessed parenting behaviors.
For many (although not all) measures, racial differences are accounted for by household and maternal characteristics.
The race of the interviewer matters for interviewer assessments of parenting.
There is some evidence of racial bias in interviewer assessments of parenting measures.