Parental assessment of early childhood development: biological and social covariates

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>This study uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (<jats:italic>N</jats:italic>=8605) to investigate the effects of unfavourable birth outcomes and dimensions of the family environment on the development of Canadian children aged 0–47 months. Among children under 24 months of age, it was found that sex of the child, birth order and low birthweight were significant covariates while the familial environment tended to have little influence. However, among children aged 24–47 months, effects of parenting style, social support, and positive social‐structural conditions of the family supplemented the effects of sex of the child and low birthweight. The results suggest that the cumulative effects of a positive family environment begin to occlude the neonatal disadvantages in the first 47 months of life. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.</jats:p>