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The effect of unconditional cash transfers on maternal assessments of children's early language and socioemotional development: Experimental evidence from U.S. families residing in poverty.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Hart, ER; Gennetian, LA; Sperber, JF; Penalva, R; Magnuson, K; Duncan, GJ; Halpern-Meekin, S; Yoshikawa, H; Fox, NA; Noble, KG
Published in: Developmental psychology
August 2024

Economic disadvantage has often been associated with poorer performance on measures of early childhood development. However, the causal impacts of income on child development remain unclear. The present study uses data from the Baby's First Years randomized control trial to identify the causal impact of unconditional cash transfers on maternal reports of early childhood development. One thousand racially and ethnically diverse mothers residing in poverty were recruited from four U.S. metropolitan areas shortly after giving birth. Mothers were randomized to receive either a $333/month or $20/month unconditional cash transfer for the first several years of their child's life. Maternal reports of language and socioemotional development, concerns for developmental delay, and enrollment in early intervention services were collected annually at the time of the child's first, second, and third birthdays. In this registered report, we document no statistically detectable impacts of the high-cash gift on maternal reports of child development. We discuss the significance and implications of these findings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

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Published In

Developmental psychology

DOI

EISSN

1939-0599

ISSN

0012-1649

Publication Date

August 2024

Related Subject Headings

  • Developmental & Child Psychology
  • 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
  • 5201 Applied and developmental psychology
  • 3904 Specialist studies in education
  • 1702 Cognitive Sciences
  • 1701 Psychology
  • 1303 Specialist Studies in Education
 

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Hart, E. R., Gennetian, L. A., Sperber, J. F., Penalva, R., Magnuson, K., Duncan, G. J., … Noble, K. G. (2024). The effect of unconditional cash transfers on maternal assessments of children's early language and socioemotional development: Experimental evidence from U.S. families residing in poverty. Developmental Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001824
Hart, Emma R., Lisa A. Gennetian, Jessica F. Sperber, Renata Penalva, Katherine Magnuson, Greg J. Duncan, Sarah Halpern-Meekin, Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Nathan A. Fox, and Kimberly G. Noble. “The effect of unconditional cash transfers on maternal assessments of children's early language and socioemotional development: Experimental evidence from U.S. families residing in poverty.Developmental Psychology, August 2024. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001824.
Hart ER, Gennetian LA, Sperber JF, Penalva R, Magnuson K, Duncan GJ, Halpern-Meekin S, Yoshikawa H, Fox NA, Noble KG. The effect of unconditional cash transfers on maternal assessments of children's early language and socioemotional development: Experimental evidence from U.S. families residing in poverty. Developmental psychology. 2024 Aug;

Published In

Developmental psychology

DOI

EISSN

1939-0599

ISSN

0012-1649

Publication Date

August 2024

Related Subject Headings

  • Developmental & Child Psychology
  • 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
  • 5201 Applied and developmental psychology
  • 3904 Specialist studies in education
  • 1702 Cognitive Sciences
  • 1701 Psychology
  • 1303 Specialist Studies in Education