Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Title: Maternal Beliefs and Long-Term Child Skill Development
Author-Name: Greta Morando
Author-Email: g.morando@ucl.ac.uk
Author-Name: Sonkurt Sen
Author-Email: 
Author-Name: Almudena Sevilla
Author-Email: 
Classification-JEL: D10, D91, J13, J24, I24
Keywords: Parental beliefs, human capital development, locus of control, parental investment, socio-economic inequality

Abstract: Parental beliefs significantly inŕuence parental investment in children, yet their long-term
impact on child development remains underexplored. We examine the enduring effects
of a generalized maternal belief about returns on investment (Locus of Control, LoC) on
child development by using a value-added model in a nationally-representative cohort study.
Maternal LoC positively shapes socio-emotional skills from early childhood to adolescence,
while it has null and milder impacts on cognitive skills and academic outcomes, respectively.
The socio-economic gradient in maternal LoC contributes to socio-economic disparities in
children’s socio-emotional development. Parental investment acts as a mechanism through
which parental beliefs affect child development.


Note: 
Length: 56
Creation-Date: 2024-01
Revision-Date:
File-URL: https://www.crctr224.de/research/discussion-papers/archive/dp498
File-Format: application/pdf
Handle: RePEc:bon:boncrc:CRCTR224_2024_498