Child Well-Being

Overview

Research in Progress   Recent Publications   NICHD-Funded Activities Press Releases  Education Slowing AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa (March 2009)  Race May Play a Role in Children's Asthma Care (February 2007) Researcher Says Childhood Obesity May Be More Prevalent in Rural Areas (January 2007)  Identifying Risk for Obesity in Early Childhood (September 2006)  Archives Contacts NICHD Population Centers DBSB Programs PRB Staff

(April 2009) Children remain a substantial proportion of the U.S. population. The population ages 18 and younger is 25 percent in 2003 of the U.S. population in 2007 and projected to be 23 percent of the population in 2050. One overall composite indicator of child well-being in the U.S. (CWI) suggests that children's circumstances have improved since 1995 (Land 2005). However, several indicators show that disparities across racial and ethnic groups have persisted over time. In addition, although most children do well in any number of different family structures, some positive outcomes are significantly more likely in certain types of families.

As the U.S. population becomes more racially and ethnically diverse, so too does the population of children, with 21 percent of U.S. children in 2007 being of Hispanic origin, and 20 percent being Hispanic and non-Hispanic blacks and Asians. Disparities across racial and ethnic groups have persisted over time. Notably, infant mortality (before age 1), child mortality (ages 1-4, ages 5-14 and ages 15-17), and low birth-weight babies are much more prevalent in the non-Hispanic black population.

•  Trends
•  Disparities Across Population Groups and Space
•  Research Highlights and Policy Initiatives
•  Sources and Notes

Available Data

•  National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health)
•  Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study
•  Panel Study of Income Dynamics-Child Development Supplement
•  National Longitudinal Survey of Youth
•  Welfare, Children and Families: A Three City Study
•  Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey

Recent PRB Publications

•  New Orleans—Key Indicators of Child Well-Being, 2004 (PDF: 17KB)
•  American Indian and Alaska Native Children: Results From the 2000 Census (PDF: 301KB)
•  Children in Immigrant Families: U.S. and State-Level Findings... (PDF: 1.7M)
•  The Growing Number of Kids in Severely Distressed Neighborhoods... (PDF: 347KB)
•  The Risk of Negative Child Outcomes in Low-Income Families (PDF: 514KB)
•  The Concentration of Negative Child Outcomes in Low-Income Neighborhoods  (PDF: 443KB)