Analyzes the effects of the following factors on low birth weight of 103,072 Black and White infants in Chicago: (1) median family income; (2) maternal age; (3) education; and (4) marital status. Concludes that family income shows racial disparity and that traditional risk factors do not completely explain racial differences in neonatal outcome.…

Examined the relations between family characteristics, childhood temperament, and convictions for violent and nonviolent offenses at age 18. Found that family factors were associated with both violent and nonviolent offenses, whereas childhood temperament was associated primarily with convictions for violent offenses. Results suggest potentially…

In this prospective longitudinal study, the authors investigated the association between lifetime tobacco use and subsequent health problems by age 30. The authors interviewed a community group of 749 participants from upstate New York at mean ages of 14, 16, 22, and 27 years. Daily tobacco use during any of the time periods, as well as the number…

Objective: This study examines the unique contribution of five types of maltreatment (sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect) to adult health behaviors as well as the additive impact of exposure to different types of childhood maltreatment. Method: Two hundred and twenty-one women recruited from a VA…

The current investigation examined the role of cumulative risk, family routines, maternal monitoring, mother-child relationship quality, and youth socioemotional competence in adjustment outcomes of 521 10- to 14-year-old low-income Latino early adolescents. Results showed that, as the number of risk factors increased, levels of externalizing and…

Longitudinal data were used to examine pathways taken by 227 adolescent mothers during the transition from adolescence into adulthood. Latent profile analysis identified three sub-groups of adolescent mothers from 6 months to 6 years postpartum: a "problem-prone" profile (15%), a "psychologically vulnerable" profile (42%), and a "normative"…

The Education-Drug Use Connection focused primarily on a nationwide sample of adolescents, first surveyed when they were nearing the end of 8th grade in the years 1991, 1992, and 1993, and followed biennially for eight years thereafter. (Full details on samples and methods are provided in Bachman et al., 2008, and are not repeated here.) The…

In this study, demographic and clinical characteristics of individuals with schizophrenia in a Chinese rural community who had attempted suicide at some time in their lives and those who had not made a suicide attempt were compared. Among individuals with schizophrenia, subjects with (n = 38) and without (n = 472) a lifetime history of suicide…

Objective: To discover the outcomes for children placed late for adoption (between 5 and 11 years old) from public care and to establish which factors predict poorer outcome. Method: Data were collected prospectively (1993-2003) from a representative sample of domestic U.K. adoptive placements (N = 108) at the start of placement, at 1 year, and 6…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among variables that may contribute to poor phonological awareness (PA) skills in preschool-aged children with speech sound disorders (SSD). Method: Ninety-five 4- and 5-year-old children with SSD were assessed during the spring of their prekindergarten year. Linear structural…

This report highlights the important trends in adolescent drug use. Although the focus is on the abuse of alcohol, nicotine, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and inhalants, it is important to remember that adolescents abuse a wide range and combination of drugs. This report also addresses state-of-the-art treatment methods, and summarizes research on…

Compared 100 three-year-olds with speech delay of unknown origin and 539 same-age peers with respect to 6 speech disorder variables; also examined abnormal hearing in a subset of 279 children. Found significant odds ratios only for low maternal education, male sex, and positive family history; a child with all 3 factors was 7.71 times as likely to…

Used prospective life history data from the National Child Development Study of Great Britain to examine family life risk factors and how their effects on teen childbearing risk varied, depending on the childhood age at which they were experienced. Demonstrated that socioeconomic status, family stress, and parental involvement in education during…

Surveyed 5,939 men entering gay bars in 16 American cities to determine predictors of risky sexual practices. Excluding individuals in long-term exclusive relationships, 27 percent of respondents reported engaging in high-risk sex in the past 2 months. Findings indicate an urgent need for HIV prevention efforts for gay men in smaller cities. (RJM)

Children (n=118) were administered a preschool screening battery 6 months before kindergarten entry and then 19 and 24 months later. Measures of phonological awareness, serial naming speed, and orthographic processing were found to make a strong contribution to prediction of first-grade reading. (Author/JDD)