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Objectives. We assessed whether the association between low birthweight and early childhood asthma can be explained by an extensive set of individual- and neighborhood-level measures. Methods. A population-based sample of children born in large US cities during 1998-2000 was followed from birth to age 3 years (N=1803). Associations between low birthweight and asthma diagnosis at age 3 years were estimated using multilevel models. Prenatal medical risk factors and behaviors, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, and neighborhood characteristics were controlled. Results. Low-birthweight children were twice as likely as normal birthweight children to have an asthma diagnosis (34% vs 18%). The fully adjusted association (OR= 2.36; P<.001) was very similar to the unadjusted association (OR= 2.48; P<.001). Rates of renter-occupied housing and vacancies at the census tractSlevel were strong independent predictors of childhood asthma. Conclusions. Very little of the association between low birthweight and asthma at age 3 can be explained by an extensive set of demographic, socioeconomic, medical, behavioral, and neighborhood characteristics. Associations between neighborhood housing characteristics and asthma diagnosis in early childhood need to be further explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Half of US women will experience intimate partner violence (IPV), and nearly all children in families experiencing such violence will be exposed. The negative effects of IPV exposure on children's mental and physical health are well-documented; however, less is known about effects on children's sleep health, a key marker of well-being., Objective: This study examines the associations of early childhood exposure to maternal experiences of IPV with sleep health in adolescence, focusing on multiple dimensions of sleep health and differences by child sex., Participants and Setting: We rely on data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a population-based study following 5000 children in large US cities, from birth to age 15. Analyses are based on 2687 adolescents interviewed at the year-15 follow-up., Methods: Early childhood exposure to IPV is based on mothers' reports of her experiences of IPV from the child's birth to age 5. Adolescent sleep health is measured using 6 items approximating the BEARS sleep problem scale, at age 15. We estimate multivariate linear regression models to examine associations of early childhood IPV exposure with adolescent sleep health and stratify models by child sex., Results: Early childhood IPV exposure is associated with worse overall sleep health (β = 0.08; p < 0.001) and multiple dimensions of poor sleep health in adolescence. Associations are notably stronger among girls than boys., Conclusions: The strong and lasting associations of early childhood exposure to IPV with adolescents' sleep health, particularly among girls, has important consequences for addressing adolescent health disparities., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Emerging evidence supports the protective effects of higher childhood socioeconomic status (cSES) on cognition over the life course. However, less understood is if higher cSES confers benefits equally across intersecting social positions. Guided by a situational intersectionality perspective and the theory of Minority Diminished Returns (MDR), this study examined the extent to which associations between cSES and cognition in young adulthood are jointly moderated by racialized identity and region of childhood residence., Methods: Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), we used multilevel modeling to test associations between cSES and delayed recall and working memory 14 years later when participants were ages 25-34. Further, we examined the influence of racialized identity and region of childhood residence on these associations., Results: Higher cSES was associated with higher delayed recall and working memory scores across social positions. However, the strength of the association between higher cSES and working memory differed across racialized subgroups and region of childhood residence. We found a statistically significant three-way interaction between cSES, race and region of childhood residence. Of particular important, a small yet statistically robust association was found in all groups, but was especially strong among White Southerners and especially weak among Black participants from the South., Conclusions: This study contributes to a growing body of research indicating that the protective effects of higher cSES on cognition are not universal across subgroups of intersecting social positions, consistent with the theory of MDR. These findings provide evidence for the importance of considering the role of systemic racism across geographic contexts as part of initiatives to promote equity in life course cognitive aging and brain health., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Black students' school experiences are important for their mental health. The current study explored the link between school connectedness in middle childhood and depressive symptoms and aggressive behaviors among Black adolescents. Participants were Black youth (M age  = 9.36 years, SD = 0.38 at time 1), (M age  = 15.59 years, SD = 0.60 at time 2), and 50.2% female. The findings demonstrated a significant association between school connectedness assessed at age nine and reduced depressive symptoms and aggressive behaviors reported at age fifteen. Notably, gender moderated the relationship between school connectedness and depressive symptoms, with a stronger association found for girls. These results offer valuable insights into how early perceptions of school connectedness impact the mental health of Black adolescents as they grow older. These findings also indicate that girls might be more attuned to the social and emotional aspects of their schools. These findings validate the significance of a sense of connection to school with mental health outcomes among Black adolescents and indicate the possibility of school connectedness interventions to enhance their overall well-being., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Activities of daily living (ADL) limitations and cognitive impairment have been identified as key risk factors for depression among older adults. However, little has been done to compare the strength of these relationships. The current study describes the prevalence and compares the independent and joint associations of ADL and cognitive limitations with depression among older adults in the US. Analyses are based on a sample of 30,923 observations on 13,545 unique respondents from three waves (2012, 2014, and 2016) of the Health and Retirement Study. Linear and logistic multivariate regression models with random and individual fixed effects were estimated. Findings indicate that both cognitive and ADL limitations are associated with depression; however, across all models, ADL limitations have a much stronger association. Further, in our most rigorous models, having both limitations is not significantly different from having just ADL, and not cognitive, limitations.

Background and Objective: Studies have confirmed that income inequality is associated with compromised health and well-being. However, much less is known about the effects of county-level income inequality on risk of perpetrating child maltreatment, particularly for distinct types of child maltreatment. By utilizing recent national data over 10 years (2009-2018), our study explored the associations of county-level income inequality (i.e., Gini index and income quantile ratios) with child maltreatment rates, including both overall and specific types of maltreatment rates (i.e., physical, psychological, and sexual abuse and neglect) in the US., Participants and Setting: We utilized data from approximately 902 US counties by linking the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System with the American Community Survey., Methods: Ordinary Least Squares regression models were estimated to examine the relationship between county-level income inequality and child maltreatment rates and the moderating role of poverty rates., Results: Higher scores on county-level Gini index were significantly associated with higher overall child maltreatment rates and neglect, after controlling for county-level characteristics. Income quantile ratios were significantly associated with overall child maltreatment, physical abuse, and neglect. We also found significant interaction effects between income inequality and poverty rates in the associations with physical and psychological abuse rates, suggesting that the effects of inequality were exacerbated by county-level poverty., Conclusions: Given the tremendous increases in inequality in the US over recent decades, this research sheds light on the mechanisms through which inequality impacts parents' caregiving abilities in highly unequal counties., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Extensive research has documented the importance of neighborhood contextual factors in shaping maltreatment risk. Evidence is limited about the role of economic inequality within neighborhoods, which has increased substantially in the US over the past decade., Objective: This study examines the relationship between neighborhood-level inequality and child maltreatment risk, paying particular attention to the cross-level interactions between neighborhood inequality and family income., Participants and Setting: A population-based cohort of 4,898 children born in large US cities was sampled in 1998-2000 and followed up at ages 1, 3, 5, and 9., Method: A set of regression models was analyzed to estimate the associations of family income, neighborhood inequality (operationalized as terciles of the Gini coefficient), and the interaction of these with child maltreatment risk, operationalized as physical abuse, psychological abuse, neglect, CPS involvement, and spanking., Results: Low-income was associated with higher risks of neglect and CPS involvement, but not physical abuse, psychological abuse, or spanking. Among low-income families, higher neighborhood inequality was associated with lower likelihood of spanking. Among higher-income families, higher neighborhood inequality levels were associated with higher risks of physical abuse, yet lower risks of psychological abuse., Conclusion: Our findings align with previous studies showing mixed results on the relationship between neighborhood inequality and health outcomes. Those results may suggest that the effect of low-income itself is more important than the neighborhood context. Further research is needed to identify the determinants of inequality at the neighborhood level and the underlying mechanisms of its association with child maltreatment risks., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To examine associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and teen behavior outcomes and whether the presence of disability moderates this relationship., Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of population-based data from the Fragile Families & Child Wellbeing Study urban birth cohort. Disability status included physical/developmental/behavioral conditions (ages 1-5) using mother-reported child health conditions and cognitive disability (age 9), measured by the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), an assessment of receptive vocabulary. We investigated whether either disability type moderates the relationship between ACEs occurring between ages 5 to 9 and behavior outcomes at age 15, specifically, standardized scales of caregiver-reported externalizing and youth-reported internalizing and delinquent behaviors. Associations were examined using multivariate linear regression models, including interaction effects of ACEs with low PPVT score and disability conditions to assess for potential moderation., Results: Of the 3038 children included, 15% had a cognitive disability and 24% had a disabling health condition. The presence of 2 or more ACEs (compared to none) is associated with more externalizing (by 0.34 standard deviations [SD]), internalizing (0.18 SD), and delinquent (0.18 SD) behaviors. Cognitive disability exacerbates this association for externalizing behaviors and delinquent behaviors while other disabling health conditions do not., Conclusions: ACEs were associated with more behavior problems among urban youth. Cognitive disability, but not other disabling health conditions, compounded this association for externalizing and delinquent behaviors, indicating these children may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of trauma and adversity. Targeted assessment and resources for youth with cognitive disability are critical., (Copyright © 2021 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Using a longitudinal population-based sample ( n = 4,234), this study explored the association of intimate partner violence (IPV) with material hardship. We found that women who experienced IPV are substantially more likely to experience material hardship, even after controlling for a comprehensive set of static and time-varying characteristics, including material hardship at the prior wave and individual fixed effects. Associations were strongest for experiences of physical abuse (the least prevalent type of IPV) and controlling abuse (the most prevalent type of IPV) but were weaker for emotional abuse. Results suggest that IPV increases the probability of material hardship by 10-25%.

Objectives: We examined whether food insecurity was different for children in cohabiting or repartnered families versus those in single-mother or married-parent (biological) families., Methods: We compared probabilities of child food insecurity (CFI) across different family structures in 4 national data sets: the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics-Child Development Supplement (PSID-CDS)., Results: Unadjusted probabilities of CFI in cohabiting or repartnered families were generally higher than in married-biological-parent families and often statistically indistinguishable from those of single-mother families. However, after adjustment for sociodemographic factors, most differences between family types were attenuated and most were no longer statistically significant., Conclusions: Although children whose biological parents are cohabiting or whose biological mothers have repartnered have risks for food insecurity comparable to those in single-mother families, the probability of CFI does not differ by family structure when household income, family size, and maternal race, ethnicity, education, and age were held at mean levels.

Building on past research suggesting that cohabitation is an ambiguous family form, the authors examined an understudied residential pattern among unmarried parents: cyclical cohabitation, in which parents have multiple cohabitation spells with each other. Using 9 years of panel data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study ( N = 2,084), they found that 10% of all parents with nonmarital births, and nearly a quarter of those living together when the child is 9 years old, are cyclical cohabitors. Cyclically cohabiting mothers reported more material hardships than mothers in most other relationship patterns but also reported more father involvement with children. On all measures of child well-being, except grade retention, children of cyclically cohabiting parents fared no worse than children of stably cohabiting biological parents and did not differ significantly from any other group.

This study compared healthy late-preterm (34-36 week) and healthy full-term (37-41 week) singleton infants on a range of cognitive, motor, and behavioral outcomes at 2 and 4 years. Eighteen developmental outcomes were analyzed using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-Birth Cohort, a nationally representative panel study. Ordinary Least Squares and logistic regressions were performed to estimate unadjusted and adjusted differences in developmental outcomes between late-preterm and full-term children. In unadjusted models, late-preterm children scored more poorly than full-term children on most assessments of cognitive ability at 2 and 4 years. After adjusting for demographic, economic, and obstetrical factors, late-preterm children continued to score lower than full-term children on language use at 2 years and on literacy, language, and math at 4 years, but scored at least one standard deviation below the mean on only one of the eighteen outcomes. Late-preterm birth is associated with subtle deficits in cognitive functioning as early as age 2 years. Although the effects may be too small to have clinical relevance, they suggest a trend toward poorer outcomes that have been documented at older ages and suggest that early testing and intervention may enhance the cognitive development of late-preterm children.

This study examines the effects of nonresident fathers' provision of formal and informal cash child support on children's cognitive skills and behavior at 5 years of age. Taking advantage of the panel structure of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we control for child outcomes at age 3 and a rich set of child and family sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics. We find that fathers' provision of informal cash support (but not formal support), particularly at or above the median, is associated with higher cognitive scores. We also find that provision of formal child support is associated with worse withdrawn and aggressive behaviors. We discuss potential explanations and implications of these results for policy and future research.

Children in single-parent families, particularly children born to unmarried parents, are at high risk for experiencing material hardship. Previous research based on cross-sectional data suggests that father involvement, especially visitation, diminishes hardship. This article uses longitudinal data to examine the associations between nonresident fathers' involvement with their children and material hardship in the children's households. Results suggest that fathers' formal and informal child support payments and contact with their children independently reduce the number of hardships in the mothers' households; however, only the impact of fathers' contact with children is robust in models that include lagged dependent variables or individual fixed effects. Furthermore, cross-lagged models suggest that material hardship decreases future father involvement, but future hardship is not diminished by father involvement (except in-kind contributions). These results point to the complexity of these associations and to the need for future research to focus on heterogeneity of effects within the population.

There are well-documented and as yet unexplained disparities in birth outcomes by race in the USA. This paper examines the sources of disparities in low birth weight between blacks and whites in the US, by focusing on differences in disparities between two very distinct geographic areas, the Deep South and the rest of the country. Two findings from prior research drive the analyses: first, health overall is worse in the Deep South states; second, race disparities are smaller in the Deep South than in the rest of the nation. A number of potential explanations for these findings are examined using nationally representative data on approximately 8,000 children born in the US in 2001. Results suggest that, first, almost all of the increased burden of low birth weight in the Deep South states may be explained by differences in race composition and socioeconomic status between the Deep South and rest of the nation. Second, the slightly lower race disparities found in the Deep South states are being driven not by better outcomes for black mothers, but by two other factors: higher returns to socioeconomic status for black mothers and much worse outcomes for poor white mothers in the Deep South compared with the rest of the country., (2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study examines the total package of child support that mothers receive from the nonresident fathers of their children, by focusing on three components of total support: formal cash, informal cash, and in-kind support. Using the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, this article considers how contributions change over time and the effects of child support enforcement on these contributions. Findings suggest that total cash support received drops precipitously over the first 15 months of living apart (as informal support drops off) and then increases slightly after 45 months (as the increase in formal support overtakes the decrease in informal support). While the study finds no effect of enforcement on total support received in the first 5 years after a nonmarital birth, the substantial differences in total cash support received by the length of time that parents have not been cohabiting suggest that strong enforcement may be efficacious over time.

We investigate the widely held premise that welfare participation causes women to refrain from marriage. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study (N = 3,219), we employ an event history approach to study transitions to marriage among mothers who have had a non-marital birth. We find that welfare participation reduces the likelihood of transitioning to marriage (hazard ratio is .67, p < .01), but only while the mother is receiving benefits. Once the mother leaves welfare, past receipt has little effect on marriage. We infer that the negative association between welfare participation and subsequent marriage reflects temporary economic disincentives rather than an erosion of values.

The objective of this study was to examine socioeconomic (SES) gradients in infant health across a number of racial and ethnic groups in the United States. The study was based on data from a new nationally representative sample of children born in the US in 2001 (N = 8,650). The data include oversamples of several minority groups and a rich set of socioeconomic indicators, as well as demographic, health, and health behavior characteristics. Proportion of low birth weight (LBW) and small for gestational age (SGA) (and 95% CIs) across categories of several indicators of SES (maternal education, income, income adjusted for family size, and wealth) was presented for the full sample of children and disaggregated by race/ethnicity: non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander (A/PI), and American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN). A graded relationship was found between all measures of SES and infant health for white mothers, and between adjusted income and LBW for Asian and Hispanic mothers. There was no relationship between any indicator of SES and either LBW or SGA for either black or AI/AN mothers. The finding that some minority racial/ethnic groups do not reap the same health benefits from higher levels of SES as do whites suggests that approaches to reducing health disparities must address not only the structural barriers that lead some minority groups to have fewer resources but also barriers that prevent these groups from taking advantage of those resources to improve the health of their families.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between maternal pre-pregnancy obesity and a diagnosis of asthma in offspring at age 3 years., Methods: A population-based sample of children born in large U.S. cities in 1998-2000 was followed since birth (N=1971). The main outcome measure was whether the mother reported at 3 years that the child had ever been diagnosed with asthma. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between maternal pre-pregnancy obesity and child asthma diagnosis, as well as the extent to which the association can be explained by sociodemographic, medical, obstetric, and behavioral factors associated with both conditions., Results: Children with obese mothers had 52% higher odds of having an asthma diagnosis by age 3 (OR=1.52; 95% CI: 1.18-1.93). Sociodemographic, medical, obstetric, and behavioral factors explained some, but not all, of the association., Conclusions: Maternal pre-pregnancy obesity is associated with diagnosis of asthma in offspring at age 3 years. The results from this study are preliminary and need to be replicated and further explored, but are suggestive of a complex intergenerational linkage between obesity and asthma.

I use three waves of panel data to examine the relationship between child support payments and fathers' contact with their nonmarital children. I disaggregate support into fathers' formal and informal payments and incorporate cross-lagged effects models to identify the direction of causality between payments and contact. After including the behavior from the prior wave (lagged term) and a rich set of family characteristics, I find a marginally significant effect of paying formally at Time 1 on the likelihood of contact at Time 2 but no effect of contact at Time 1 on formal payments at Time 2. In the first examination of the relationship between informal support and father-child contact, I find a strong, positive reciprocal relationship between the likelihood and frequency of father-child contact and the likelihood and amount of informal support, with slightly stronger and more consistent effects of contact on payments than of payments on contact.