Poverty and Disadvantage throughout Childhood in the United States

We analyze measures of socioeconomic disadvantage over the course of childhood in the United States. Using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we estimate the proportion of childhood spent in income poverty, low food spending, and multidimensional disadvantage from 1998 to 2018, as well as the degree to which these measures coincide. We also report associations between correlates of childhood disadvantage and early adulthood implications for health and education. On average, one-fifth of childhood is characterized by some socioeconomic disadvantage. 10% of all children spend at least half of their childhood in poverty, and the 10% most persistently disadvantaged Black children spend at least 85% of their childhood in poverty. Childhood disadvantage has strong negative associations with continuing education, both at the extensive and intensive margins of exposure, and a broader classification of childhood disadvantage is suggestive of negative health outcomes in early adulthood, as well.