Health across early childhood and socioeconomic status: Examining the moderating effects of differential parenting

► Differential maternal negativity between siblings predicts poorer child health 18 months later, controlling for a variety of possible confounding variables. ► The association between maternal education and later child health was strongest when children were also exposed to high differential negativity, suggesting a contingent relationship between predictors. ► Multiple forms of social disadvantage (i.e. between families and between siblings) can operate independently or in combination with one another to predict child health.