Low Birth Weight, Race/Ethnicity, and Developmental Outcomes among Children in the United States

Jason D. Boardman, University of Texas at Austin
Daniel A. Powers, University of Texas at Austin

Using six waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Child Data (1986-1996), we evaluate the dynamic nature of biological and social risk factors from ages 6 to 14. We find the following: (1) birth weight is positively related to developmental outcomes, net of important social and economic controls; (2) the relative significance of moderately low birth weight status (1,500-2,500 grams) vis-à-vis race/ethnicity and mother's education is quite small; and (3) while the observed differential between moderately low birth weight and normal birth weight children decreases, the black-white differential in test scores increases in magnitude as children increase in age.