Pediatrics
Volume 134, Issue 1, 2014, Pages e162-e168

Disparities in early exposure to book sharing within immigrant families (Article)

Festa N. , Loftus P.D. , Cullen M.R. , Mendoza F.S.*
  • a School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
  • b School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States, Division of General Medical Disciplines, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
  • c School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States, Division of General Medical Disciplines, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
  • d School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the early developmental context of children in immigrant families (CIF), measured by the frequency with which parents share books with their children. METHODS: Trends in the frequency with which parents report book sharing, defined in this analysis as reading or sharing picture books with their young children, were analyzed across immigrant and nonimmigrant households by using data from the 2005, 2007, and 2009 California Health Interview Survey. Stepwise multivariate logistic regression assessed the likelihood that CIF shared books with parents daily. RESULTS: In this study, 57.5% of parents in immigrant families reported daily book sharing (DBS), compared with 75.8% of native-born parents. The lowest percentage of DBS was seen in Hispanic families with 2 foreign-born parents (47.1%). When controlling for independent variables, CIF with 2 foreign-born parents had the lowest odds of sharing books daily (odds ratio [OR]: 0.61; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.54-0.68). When stratified by race/ethnicity, separate multivariate logistic regressions revealed CIF status to be associated with lower odds of DBS for Asian (OR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.38-0.81) and Hispanic CIF (OR: 0.49; 95% CI: 0.42-0.58). CONCLUSIONS: There is an association between the lower odds of DBS and parental immigrant status, especially for Hispanic and Asian children. This relationship holds after controlling for variables thought to explain differences in literacy-related practices, such as parental education and income. Because book sharing is central to children's development of early literacy and language skills, this disparity merits further exploration with the aim of informing future interventions. Copyright © 2014 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Author Keywords

Early childhood Immigrant Book sharing Children in immigrant families emergent literacy

Index Keywords

Parents educational status immigrant Asian health survey Books human trend study language ability controlled study priority journal emergent literacy book sharing children in immigrant families early childhood Hispanic Americans interview income reading Humans Hispanic Asian Americans male Emigrants and Immigrants female prediction Infant Child, Preschool Article European Continental Ancestry Group Age Factors ethnicity African Americans human activities Child
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84904206168&doi=10.1542%2fpeds.2013-3710&partnerID=40&md5=409e3c2ba617da1a5caafefc2161abce
DOI: 10.1542/peds.2013-3710
ISSN: 00314005
Cited by: 9
Original Language: English