Canadian Journal of Public Health
Volume 103, Issue 4, 2012, Pages 270-276

Tracking exposure to child poverty during the first 10 years of life in a Quebec birth cohort (Article)

Séguin L.* , Nikiéma B. , Gauvin L. , Lambert M. , Tu M.T. , Kakinami L. , Paradis G.
  • a Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Université de Montréal, P.O. Box 6128, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada, Public Health Research Institute, Université de Montréal (PHRIUM/IRSPUM), Montréal, QC, Canada, Léa-Roback Research Centre on Social Inequalities in Health, Montréal, QC, Canada, International Network for Research on Inequalities in Child Health (INRICH), Montréal, QC, Canada
  • b Public Health Research Institute, Université de Montréal (PHRIUM/IRSPUM), Montréal, QC, Canada, International Network for Research on Inequalities in Child Health (INRICH), Montréal, QC, Canada
  • c Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Université de Montréal, P.O. Box 6128, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada, Public Health Research Institute, Université de Montréal (PHRIUM/IRSPUM), Montréal, QC, Canada, Léa-Roback Research Centre on Social Inequalities in Health, Montréal, QC, Canada, International Network for Research on Inequalities in Child Health (INRICH), Montréal, QC, Canada, Research Centre of the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (RCUHM/CRCHUM), Montréal, QC, Canada
  • d Department of Paediatrics, Université de Montréal and Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montréal, QC, Canada
  • e Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Université de Montréal, P.O. Box 6128, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada, Public Health Research Institute, Université de Montréal (PHRIUM/IRSPUM), Montréal, QC, Canada, International Network for Research on Inequalities in Child Health (INRICH), Montréal, QC, Canada
  • f Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
  • g Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada, Institut national de santé publique du Québec, Montréal, QC, Canada

Abstract

Objectives: Early childhood poverty is associated with adult chronic diseases. The objectives of this study were to examine patterns of exposure to poverty during the first 10 years of life in the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD) cohort according to three measures of poverty and to explore family characteristics associated with different poverty exposures. Method: Data from 1,334 participants from the QLSCD were collected annually at home from ages 5 months through 10 years. Household income (previous 12 months) and sources of income were recorded at each data round. Poverty status was operationalized as 1) living below the low income cut-off of Statistics Canada, 2) receiving social welfare and 3) being in the lowest quintile of socio-economic status. We plotted trends in the prevalence of child poverty over time. We used latent class growth modelling to identify subgroups with similar poverty trajectories. Duration of poverty according to each measure was computed separately for early childhood, middle childhood, and the entire 10 years of life. Results: Four trajectories of poverty were identified: stable poor, decreasing likelihood, increasing likelihood, and never poor. The three measures of poverty do not cover the same population, yet the characteristics of those identified as poor are similar. Children of non-European, immigrant mothers were most likely to be poor, and there was a higher likelihood of children from single-parent families to live in chronic poverty during the first 10 years. Conclusion: A large proportion of children are exposed to poverty before 10 years of age. More effective public policies could reduce child poverty. © Canadian Public Health Association, 2012.

Author Keywords

Birth cohort Longitudinal study Trajectories Child poverty Child low SES Child health

Index Keywords

longitudinal study poverty Quebec human Longitudinal Studies statistics Child low SES Child poverty Trajectories Birth cohort family size Family Characteristics income Humans Canada preschool child Infant risk factor Risk Factors Child, Preschool social welfare child health Article social class Child
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84867317314&partnerID=40&md5=0d45f8ab42b383aec6524d7953925e08
ISSN: 00084263
Cited by: 11
Original Language: English