Early Childhood Research Quarterly 36 (2016) 190–200 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Early Childhood Research Quarterly Longitudinal associations between residential mobility and early academic skills among low-income children Sara A. Schmitt a,∗ , Shannon T. Lipscomb b a Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Purdue University, 1202 W. State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, United States b College of Public Health and Human Science, Oregon State University – Cascades, 207 Cascades Hall, Bend, OR, United States a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 18 November 2014 Received in revised form 30 December 2015 Accepted 2 January 2016 Available online 12 January 2016 Keywords: Residential mobility Academic achievement Low-income a b s t r a c t The present study examines the direct and indirect relations between residential mobility during the year prior to kindergarten and academic skills (math, letter-word identification, and spelling) in the early elementary years for children from low-income families. Data were obtained from the Head Start Impact Study. The sample included 3627 children (50% male) who were eligible for Head Start. At base- line, children were on average a little over 4-years-old (M = 49.12 months, SD = 6.79). The sample was ethnically/racially diverse and had a range of maternal education levels. Residential mobility was con- ceptualized as either not moving (70% of the sample) or moving one or more times (30% of the sample) during prekindergarten. Data were collected at baseline (fall of 2002) and in the spring of prekindergarten, kindergarten and 1st grade. When controlling for a set of demographic, family, and child covariates, results from three separate path analyses indicated that mobility had consistently negative associations with children’s academic skills but that these links were quite small, especially when looking beyond the prekindergarten year. Mobility during prekindergarten had small direct associations with all three skill areas (math, letter-word identification, spelling) at the end of prekindergarten, and significant but even smaller links with two of the three skills at the end of kindergarten and 1st grade. In addition, mobility had small indirect relations with all three skill areas in kindergarten and 1st grade, mediated through these same skills in prekindergarten and kindergarten. Implications of study findings for supporting low-income families and directions for future research are discussed. © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Residential mobility, also called housing instability or frequent moves, is a relatively common experience for low-income fami- lies in the United States (U.S. Census, 2011). Indeed, children from low-income families move nearly twice as often as their more economically advantaged peers (Cohen & Wardrip, 2011). Extant research suggests that residential mobility is negatively related to a variety of child outcomes, including physical and oral health (Busacker & Kasehagen, 2012), self-regulation (Schmitt, Finders, & McClelland, 2015), and academic achievement (Herbers et al., 2012; Voight, Shinn, & Nation, 2012), although children from families of higher socioeconomic status may not be as susceptible to the nega- tive effects of mobility (Ziol-Guest & McKenna, 2014). The majority ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: saraschmitt@purdue.edu, saschmitt@gmail.com (S.A. Schmitt). of this literature linking residential mobility with poor achieve- ment outcomes has been conducted with school-age children and adolescents; few studies have examined the extent to which mov- ing is related to preschool children’s academic readiness and none have quantified the longitudinal associations between moving dur- ing the prekindergarten year and subsequent academic outcomes in early elementary school for children from low-income families. Identifying the extent to which life experiences, such as mov- ing prior to school entry, are linked with achievement problems in elementary school is important for developing efforts to support low-income families and enhance children’s success. If residen- tial mobility represents a key marker of early life disruptions (e.g., change in family structure or parent employment), it could serve as an indicator to help identify families that could benefit from programs aimed to promote resilience. Interventions and other supports for families may be most effective during the forma- tive preschool year(s), when children are developing the critical foundational skills needed for school success in elementary school and beyond. The present study examines the direct and indi- http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2016.01.002 0885-2006/© 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.