Table 2. Balance in Covariates Before and After Matching between the Low Maternal Expectations Group and the High Maternal Expectations Group.
| Means | Standardized Mean Differences | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Expectations Group (N = 211) | High Expectations Group (N = 1068) | High Expectations After Matching (N = 124) | Before Matching | After Matching | |
| Distance | 0.46 | 0.11 | 0.45 | 1.320 | 0.037 |
| Family characteristics and parenting | |||||
| Maternal education 1 | 10.40 | 12.47 | 10.40 | −0.974 | −0.001 |
| Paternal education | 9.88 | 12.73 | 9.85 | −1.148 | 0.014 |
| Occupational socioeconomic index (Mothers) | 35.07 | 42.64 | 34.61 | −0.838 | 0.051 |
| Occupational socioeconomic index (Fathers) | 36.43 | 45.87 | 36.40 | −1.207 | 0.005 |
| Income | 6.14 | 8.82 | 6.12 | −1.004 | 0.010 |
| Age mother (at child’s birth) | 26.01 | 27.44 | 25.63 | −0.297 | 0.080 |
| Age father (at child’s birth) | 28.97 | 29.65 | 28.74 | −0.134 | 0.045 |
| Number of children | 2.59 | 2.24 | 2.51 | 0.295 | 0.066 |
| Non-intact family | 0.22 | 0.23 | 0.25 | −0.012 | −0.075 |
| Moving house | 0.43 | 0.36 | 0.48 | 0.141 | −0.088 |
| Falender: stimulation | -1.41 | -1.60 | -1.70 | 0.054 | 0.081 |
| Falender: pleasure | 13.39 | 14.29 | 13.84 | −0.143 | −0.071 |
| Falender: authority | -8.59 | -8.01 | -9.09 | −0.125 | 0.106 |
| Child individual characteristics and medical record | |||||
| Sex | 0.56 | 0.49 | 0.56 | 0.148 | −0.001 |
| Physical abnormalities | 0.04 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.060 | 0.039 |
| Dentist | 1.39 | 1.32 | 1.31 | 0.115 | 0.137 |
| General practitioner or paediatrician | 1.10 | 1.17 | 0.99 | −0.099 | 0.173 |
| Speech therapist | 0.30 | 0.17 | 0.27 | 0.295 | 0.071 |
| Psychologist | 0.25 | 0.11 | 0.17 | 0.311 | 0.164 |
| Psychiatrist | 0.05 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.140 | 0.123 |
| Special needs teacher | 0.31 | 0.13 | 0.27 | 0.386 | 0.098 |
| Child temperament. behaviors and emotions | |||||
| DOTS: Attention | 5.95 | 7.02 | 6.29 | −0.359 | −0.113 |
| DOTS: Rhythmicity | 5.99 | 6.51 | 5.93 | −0.251 | 0.028 |
| DOTS : Reactivity | 3.00 | 2.78 | 2.85 | 0.141 | 0.095 |
| DOTS: Activity | 0.44 | 0.34 | 0.46 | 0.201 | −0.042 |
| Inattention (Teachers) 1 | 3.73 | 1.88 | 3.44 | 0.922 | 0.146 |
| Hyperactivity (Teachers) | 1.02 | 0.61 | 0.97 | 0.381 | 0.047 |
| Physical Aggression (Teachers) | 0.75 | 0.44 | 0.77 | 0.284 | −0.018 |
| Opposition (Teachers) | 1.87 | 1.30 | 1.78 | 0.323 | 0.048 |
| Anxiety (Teachers) | 2.45 | 1.77 | 2.33 | 0.475 | 0.086 |
| Inattention (Mothers) | 3.52 | 2.39 | 3.36 | 0.654 | 0.093 |
| Hyperactivity (Mothers) | 1.79 | 1.39 | 1.73 | 0.356 | 0.048 |
| Physical Aggression (Mothers) | 1.14 | 0.75 | 1.00 | 0.355 | 0.125 |
| Opposition (Mothers) | 3.27 | 2.81 | 3.07 | 0.271 | 0.120 |
| Anxiety (Mothers) | 3.58 | 3.22 | 3.48 | 0.214 | 0.059 |
| Difficulties: behavioral (Teachers) | 0.56 | 0.29 | 0.57 | 0.541 | −0.008 |
| Difficulties: relational (Teachers) | 0.46 | 0.30 | 0.44 | 0.319 | 0.044 |
| Difficulties: behavioral (Mothers) | 0.41 | 0.25 | 0.41 | 0.329 | 0.009 |
| Difficulties: relational (Mothers) | 0.28 | 0.17 | 0.25 | 0.241 | 0.062 |
| Emotional troubles (Mothers) | 0.48 | 0.38 | 0.50 | 0.208 | −0.030 |
| Get along with family | 1.84 | 1.68 | 1.78 | 0.236 | 0.096 |
| Child academic record | |||||
| Grade retention 2 | 0.34 | 0.08 | 0.34 | 0.539 | 0.00 |
| Reading | 2.54 | 3.59 | 2.59 | −1.159 | −0.056 |
| Writing | 2.45 | 3.45 | 2.47 | −1.081 | −0.024 |
| Maths | 2.76 | 3.63 | 2.86 | −1.013 | −0.114 |
| Global performance 1 | 2.58 | 3.56 | 2.64 | −1.144 | −0.069 |
| Get along with teachers | 1.59 | 1.35 | 1.56 | 0.359 | 0.049 |
| Like school | 2.18 | 1.81 | 2.15 | 0.487 | 0.042 |
| Difficulties: academic performance (Teachers) | 0.64 | 0.24 | 0.64 | 0.835 | 0.006 |
| Difficulties: motivation (Teachers) | 0.68 | 0.29 | 0.67 | 0.833 | 0.018 |
| Difficulties: diligence (Teachers) | 0.16 | 0.08 | 0.21 | 0.232 | −0.142 |
| Difficulties: academic performance (Mothers) | 0.47 | 0.19 | 0.44 | 0.547 | 0.046 |
| Difficulties: motivation (Mothers) | 0.60 | 0.27 | 0.59 | 0.665 | 0.024 |
| Difficulties: diligence (Mothers) | 0.12 | 0.06 | 0.13 | 0.198 | −0.015 |
| Average Absolute Standardized Mean Differences 3 | - | - | - | 0.438 | 0.063 |
Note. Each standardized mean difference is obtained by: mean in the low expectation group minus mean in the high expectation group, divided by the standard deviation in the low expectation group.
1Mahalanobis distance used.
2Exact matching used.
3The average absolute standardized mean difference is the average of the absolute values of standardized mean differences for all covariates.