Residential mobility in early childhood: Household and neighborhood characteristics of movers and non-movers

<b>Background</b>: Understanding residential mobility in early childhood is important for contextualizing influences on child health and well-being. <b>Objective</b>: This study describes individual, household, and neighborhood characteristics associated with residential mobility for children aged 0-5. <b>Methods</b>: We examined longitudinal data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), a nationally representative sample of children born in 2001. Frequencies described the prevalence of characteristics for four waves of data and adjusted Wald tests compared means. <b>Results</b>: 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. <b>Conclusions</b>: Both the high prevalence and unique implications of early childhood residential mobility suggest the need for further research