Low maternal education as a unique and general risk factor for developmental delays in preschoolers: Population-based estimates

Lower maternal education is thought to increase a preschooler's risk of developmental delays. However, prior studies have used small convenience samples of children and often lack controls for gestational, birth, and socio-demographic confounds. To better estimate maternal education as a risk factor, we used a large nationally representative cohort sample of children (N= 6,825) participating in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort (ECLS-B). Data on risk factors collected at 24 months of age were used to predict the occurrence of delays by 48 months. Pre-academic delays were operationalized as displaying very low scores on standardized measures of expressive or receptive language, literacy, or mathematics at 48 months. Behavioral delays were operationalized as very low scores on standardized measures of impulsivity, inattention, a lack of task persistence, or distractibility at 48 months. Logistic regression analysis indicated that children whose mothers had low education levels were consistently more likely to display language, literacy, mathematics, and behavioral delays than children of mothers with high education levels. This effect of maternal education was linear, such that increases in a mother's education level consistently predicted decreases in a child's risk for pre-academic or behavioral delays. The relationship held after statistically controlling for low household income, cognitive delay at 24 months, low birthweight or prematurity, congenital anomalies, talking delay, and other gestational, birth, and socio-demographic risk factors. These results indicate that low maternal education is both a unique and general risk factor for developmental delays, and so should be a primary target of intervention efforts.