Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Adults Reading to Two Year Old Children: A Population-based Study

Childhood reading proficiency is positively associated with educational achievement. Education is positively associated with many health outcomes. Reading to children can improve children's reading capability, improving their odds of increased education. This study examined the association between adults reading to a child every day and maternal race/ethnicity using a cross-sectional analysis of Oregon's Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) and PRAMS-2 data. We studied women whose babies were born in 2005-2005 and reinterviewed in 2006-2008. The analysis included bivariate and multivariate logistic regression. STATA was used to account for the three stage complex survey design. Maternal race/ethnicity was associated with whether a child was read to every day. The mothers most likely to report that an adult read to their child every day were non-Hispanic (NH) White (71.6%) followed by NH Asian/PI (58.4%), NH American Indian/Alaska Native (53.9%), NH Black (38.8%) and Hispanic (34.1%). Using multivariate regression, after adjusting for maternal age, education, depression, birth order and poverty status, Hispanic (aOR=0.30; 95% CI 0.20, 0.44), NH Black (aOR=0.32; 95% CI 0.21, 0.48), NH AI/AN (aOR=0.58; 95% CI 0.39, 0.87) and NH Asian/PI women (aOR=0.39; 95% CI 0.27, 0.57) were significantly less likely than NH White women to read to their children every day. There are significant racial/ethnic disparities in adults reading to two year old children. Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black mothers are the least likely to report reading to their children every day. These disparities have long term consequences (education, health, life course) for the children.