This study tested the association between multiple prenatal and postnatal early life factors and adolescent sexual orientation in a longitudinal birth cohort. Factors included birth weight, gestational age, parental age at birth, number of older brothers and sisters, breastfeeding, maternal anxiety/depression, family socioeconomic position,…

Purpose: A longitudinal cohort of adolescents who initiated drinking before age 15 were studied to determine which factors distinguished between early initiators who continued to drink (persisters) from those who stopped drinking (desisters). There were 308 early initiators in the total sample (n = 917); 247 were persisters, and 61 were desisters.…

Background: The study of gene-environment interactions (G by E) is one of the most promising strategies to uncover the origins of mental disorders. Replication of initial findings, however, is essential because there is a strong possibility of publication bias in the literature. In addition, there is a scarcity of research on the topic originated…

While the rates of teen childbearing have declined in the United States, adolescents who become pregnant and decide to bear and rear their babies are often from low-income, highly stressed families and communities. This article will describe the psychosocial problems of pregnant urban teens and how exposure to interpersonal trauma and current…

Objective: To evaluate the association between prenatal alcohol exposure and the rate of conduct disorder in exposed compared with unexposed adolescents. Method: Data for these analyses are from a longitudinal study of prenatal substance exposures. Women were interviewed at their fourth and seventh prenatal months, and with their children, at…

The influence of parental and early childhood factors on adolescent obesity was investigated using a longitudinal model of body mass index (BMI) from birth to 14 years. Trajectories of BMI using linear mixed model (LMM) analysis were used to investigate the influence of early parental and childhood factors on BMI at 14 years in the Raine birth…

Background: Inverse associations of fetal growth with behavioural problems in childhood have been repeatedly reported, suggesting long-term effects of the prenatal developmental environment on behaviour later in life. However, no study so far has examined effects on temperament and potential developmental pathways. Temperamental traits may be…

Objective: The main aim of this study was to examine the age-dependent remission from ADHD in girls transitioning through childhood into adolescence and early adulthood. Method: We conducted a 5-year prospective follow-up study of 123 girls with ADHD and 106 non-ADHD control girls aged between 6 and 17 years at ascertainment. ADHD was considered…

Background: Postpartum depression (PPD) is considered a major public health problem that conveys risk to mothers and offspring. Yet PPD typically occurs in the context of a lifelong episodic illness, and its putative effects might derive from the child's exposure to other episodes, in pregnancy or later childhood. The aim of the study is to test…

Discusses the popularity and nutritional effects of food fads for teenagers, particularly for the growing number of teen mothers, and suggests some solutions. (MS)

A multiple regression analysis studied additive effects of maternal age and prenatal and perinatal factors in relation to neonatal behavior. Analysis indicated that the combination of biomedical variables significantly predicted neonatal behavior, in both cultures (Florida and Puerto Rico), suggesting that age effects increased in the presence of…

Associations among adolescent attachment organization, maternal sensitivity, and infant attachment organization were examined prospectively in 72 teenaged mother-infant dyads. Pregnant teenagers' attachment organizations predicted both sensitivity and infant-mother attachments. Associations between maternal sensitivity and infant attachment were…

Used longitudinal sample of 187 mother-child dyads to examine the role of child behavior problems in explaining the effect of maternal prenatal smoking on adolescent daughters' smoking. Found that maternal prenatal smoking retained a unique effect on girls' current smoking with controls for current maternal smoking, child behavior problems, and…

Discusses Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), accepted as leading known cause of mental retardation. Relates chronicity, timing, and severity of alcohol exposure to age-specific developmental and behavioral consequences. Delineates specific interventions with infants, preschoolers, school-age children, and adolescents. Advocates for accurate diagnosis…

This report presents 2000 data on U.S. births, highlighting maternal demographics (e.g., age, race, Hispanic origin, marital status, and educational attainment); maternal characteristics (medical risk factors, weight gain, and tobacco and alcohol use); medical care utilization during pregnancy women (e.g., prenatal care, labor and/or delivery…