Residential Mobility in Early Childhood: Household and Neighborhood Characteristics of Movers and Non-Movers.

BACKGROUND Understanding residential mobility in early childhood is important for contextualizing influences on child health and well-being. OBJECTIVE This study describes individual, household, and neighborhood characteristics associated with residential mobility for children aged 0-5. METHODS We examined longitudinal data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), a nationally representative sample of children born in 2001. Frequencies describe the prevalence of characteristics for four waves of data and adjusted Wald tests compared means. RESULTS Moving was common for these families with young children, as nearly three-quarters of children moved at least once. Movers transitioned to neighborhoods with residents of higher socioeconomic status but experienced no improved household socioeconomic position relative to non-movers. CONCLUSION Both the high prevalence and unique implications of early childhood residential mobility suggest the need for further research.