Strengths and Stressors in Region XI Head Start: The Role of Social Support and Economic Condition in the Well-Being of Children and Families from AIAN FACES 2019
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Strengths and Stressors in Region XI Head Start: The Role of Social Support and Economic Condition in the Well-Being of Children and Families from AIAN FACES 2019

OPRE Report # 2021-184
Published: Feb 10, 2022
Publisher: Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation
Human Services Early Childhood Child Development
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Associated Project

American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (AIAN FACES)

Time frame: 2014-2022

Prepared for:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation

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Authors

Sara Bernstein

Katie Gonzalez

Sharika Rakibullah

Lizabeth Malone

Jeffrey Harrington

AIAN FACES 2019 Workgroup

Key Findings
  • Parents of Region XI children have high levels of social and community support. More than half report they have three of four types of material support (such as the ability to get a loan in an emergency), and most report their child participated in at least one community cultural activity in the past year. In addition, about one-fifth of Region XI children live with a grandparent or great-grandparent (either alone or with parents in the house).
  • More than half of parents have at least one type of material hardship, with transportation being the most common (more than one third of parents report at least one transportation-related hardship). At the same time, the majority of parents report they have no financial strains.
  • Material hardship and financial strain are associated with higher parental depressive symptom scores, and more financial strain is associated with worse parent-reported child health.
  • A child’s participation in more community cultural activities is associated with very small but statistically significant increases in children’s approaches to learning (learning behaviors like attention and persistence), taking into account income, material hardship, and financial strain.
  • More material supports are associated with lower parental depressive symptom scores, but living in a multigenerational household is associated with higher parental depressive symptom scores, beyond the effects of income, material hardship, and financial strain.

This research brief uses nationally representative data from the American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (AIAN FACES 2019) to describe families’ economic conditions and the forms of social and community support they have. It also explores whether families with different levels of social and community support report different levels of financial strain and material hardship (for example, whether families can afford the kind of home they need or have medical needs). Finally, it examines whether financial strain and material hardship predict family and child well-being beyond household income, and whether social and community supports predict family and child well-being above and beyond economic condition, including household income, financial strain, and material hardship.

The purpose of this brief is to explore the role of social support and economic condition in the well-being of Region XI Head Start children and families. The objectives of this brief are to explore the economic conditions and forms of social and community support children and families have, examine the associations between social and community support and economic condition, and examine whether economic condition and social and community supports predict child and family well-being.

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