Disadvantaged Families and Child Outcomes: The Importance of Emotional Support for Mothers

This research brief was authored by Child Trends with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Authors look at how maternal emotional support affects child development using data from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health. Results show that emotional support is important for child development as children with mothers with high support had higher social competence and school engagement. Children from more disadvantaged families who had emotional support were more likely to have low externalizing behavior, fewer depressive symptoms, and were less likely to repeat a grade. Thus, emotional support may be an important protective factor for families.