Childhood poverty, early motherhood and adult social exclusion

Childhood poverty and early parenthood are both high on the current political agenda. The key new issue that this research addresses is the relative importance of childhood poverty and of early motherhood as correlates of outcomes later in life. How far are the ‘effects’ of early motherhood on later outcomes due to childhood precursors, especially experience of childhood poverty? Subsidiary questions relate to the magnitude of these associations, the particular levels of childhood poverty that prove most critical, and whether, as often assumed, only teenage mothers are subsequently disadvantaged, or are those who have their first birth in their early twenties similarly disadvantaged? The source of data for this study is the National Child Development Study. We examine outcomes at age 33 for several domains of adult social exclusion: welfare, socio‐economic, physical health, emotional well‐being and demographic behaviour. We control for a wide range of childhood factors: poverty; social class of origin and of father; mother's and father's school leaving age; family structure; housing tenure; mother's and father's interest in education; personality attributes; performance on educational tests; and contact with the police by age 16. There are clear associations for the adult outcomes with age at first birth, even after controlling for childhood poverty and the other childhood background factors. Moreover, we demonstrate that the widest gulf in adult outcomes occurs for those who enter motherhood early (before age 23), though further rein‐forced by teenage motherhood for most adult outcomes. We also show that any experience of childhood poverty is clearly associated with adverse outcomes in adulthood, with reinforcement for higher levels of childhood poverty for a few outcomes.     

Risky Sexual Behaviors and Pregnancy Outcomes in Young Adulthood Following Substantiated Childhood Maltreatment: Findings From a Prospective Birth Cohort Study

Childhood maltreatment is associated with a range of adverse mental and physical health outcomes, including increased rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) later in life. However, the impact on risky sexual behaviors and pregnancy outcomes has not been adequately studied. This is particularly true for physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. We examined associations between prospectively substantiated childhood maltreatment and reports of risky sexual behaviors by men and women, as well as selected pregnancy outcomes in women. We followed up 3,081 (45.7% female) participants from the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy, a prospective Australian birth cohort study. Using logistic regression, we examined the association between substantiated childhood maltreatment from birth to 14 years, and self-reported risky sexual behaviors and youth pregnancy outcomes at the 21-year follow-up. In adjusted analyses, children who had experienced multiple childhood maltreatment exhibited more risky sexual behaviors than their nonmaltreated counterparts. In specific models, those exposed to each form of childhood maltreatment, independent of co-occurring forms of childhood maltreatment, had an increased likelihood of risky sexual behaviors, particularly an early sexual debut and, for women, youth pregnancy. Neglect was also associated with multiple sexual partners, and emotional abuse with higher rates of miscarriage. There was no difference between men and women in how different forms of childhood maltreatment predicted risky sexual behaviors in young adulthood. All forms of substantiated childhood maltreatment, including multiple substantiations, were associated with risky sexual behavior in both sexes as well as higher rates of youth pregnancy in women. Moreover, emotional abuse persistently predicted miscarriages in young adult women. Understanding the association between childhood maltreatment and risky sexual behaviors and youth pregnancy outcomes may help suggest preventive strategies.     

The Intergenerational Consequences of Parental Health Limitations

Scholars have theorized interrelationships between family members' health and well‐being. Though prior research demonstrates associations between parents' and children's health, less is known about the relationship between parental health limitations and children's behavioral and academic outcomes. This article uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Well being Study (N = 3,273) to estimate the relationship between parental health limitations and four aspects of children's well‐being. Findings reveal that mothers' health limitations, especially when they occur in middle childhood or chronically, are independently associated with greater internalizing and externalizing behaviors, lower verbal ability, and worse overall health at age 9. Fathers' health limitations are not associated with children's well‐being. Fathers exert influence in other ways, as the relationship between mothers' chronic health limitations and children's internalizing behaviors is concentrated among children not residing with their fathers. These findings support the development of policies and interventions aimed at families.     

Health selection and the process of social stratification: the effect of childhood health on socioeconomic attainment

This study investigates whether childhood health acts as a mechanism through which socioeconomic status is transferred across generations. The study uses data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to track siblings and to estimate fixed-effects models that account for unobserved heterogeneity at the family level. The results demonstrate that disadvantaged social background is associated with poor childhood health. Subsequently, poor health in childhood has significant, direct, and large adverse effects on educational attainment and wealth accumulation. In addition, childhood health appears to have indirect effects on occupational standing, earnings, and wealth via educational attainment and adult health status. The results further show that socioeconomic health gradients are best understood as being embedded within larger processes of social stratification.     

Exploring the Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Hope

ABSTRACT

To explore the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and hope, a convenience sample of caregivers bringing in children for medical investigation of child abuse at a regional child advocacy center were surveyed for adverse childhood experiences and dispositional hope. Hope in this sample had a significant negative correlation to the adverse childhood experiences subscale “abuse” (r = –.19; p < .05). The relationship between hope and the other adverse childhood experiences subscales “neglect” (r = –.14) and “dysfunctional family” (r = –.16) was not statistically significant. An analysis of variance was performed to determine if caregivers who have experienced both sexual and physical abuse (M = 29.67; SD = 15.96) have lower hope scores compared to those caregivers who have experienced neither physical nor sexual abuse (M = 42.64; SD = 18.44). This analysis (F (1, 84) = 5.28; p < 0.05) showed that caregivers who experienced both physical and sexual abuse scored significantly lower on hope compared to their counterparts who experienced no adverse events, with an estimated effect size of moderate strength (d = 0.70). Higher adverse childhood experiences scores are associated with lower hope. This result was especially true for those adult caregivers who reported experiencing both physical and sexual abuse when compared to adults who did not experience either form of child trauma. While the empirical literature continues to demonstrate the negative consequences of adverse childhood experiences across the life span, hope offers a compelling new line of inquiry in child maltreatment research especially for studies targeting prevention or intervention.     

Prevalence, perpetrators, and characteristics of witnessing parental violence and adult dating Violence in Latina, East Asian, South Asian, and Middle Eastern women

The present study describes and compares the prevalence, perpetrators, and characteristics of witnessing parental violence during childhood and experiencing adult relationship violence in 251 college-educated South Asian/Middle Eastern (n = 93), East Asian (n = 72), and Latina (n = 86) women residing in the United States. Results showed that more than 50% of each ethnic group witnessed parental and adult relationship violence. For all three groups, adult psychological violence was more prevalent than physical violence, which, in turn, was more prevalent than injury violence. Significant differences were found for paternal and maternal psychological, physical, and injury violence witnessed within ethnic groups. High prevalence rates and significant differences emerged for psychological, physical, and injury violence experienced as a victim and enacted as a perpetrator within ethnic groups. The implications of college-educated, higher socioeconomic status (SES) women of color being at risk for witnessing and experiencing family violence are discussed.     

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Gambling: Results From a National Survey

Pathological gambling disorder and problem gambling are addictive disorders with severe consequences for individuals, families, and society. Knowledge about associations between childhood adverse experiences (i.e., physical, sexual, and emotional abuse) and gambling pathology in adulthood is limited. Using data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), associations between adverse childhood experiences and lifetime gambling status were tested. Strong bivariate associations between adverse childhood experiences and gambling status were found, which were attenuated with the inclusion of clinical covariates. Adverse childhood experiences might be related to pathological gambling in adulthood, but this relationship might not be gambling-specific.     

Childhood parental loss and adult depression

Previous research demonstrates convincingly that childhood parental deaths and parental divorces have implications for adult well-being as defined by levels of depression, educational attainment, early age at marriage, and risk of divorce. What this research has failed to examine are the interconnections among these outcomes. Specifically, are the socioeconomic and marital outcomes of parental loss implicated in the observed higher levels of depression? This analysis takes a first step in answering this question. Using data from a sample of 1,755 married men and women, I estimated regression models which examine the extent to which adult socioeconomic status and current marital quality mediate and/or modify the loss-depression relationship. Parental divorce was strongly related to socioeconomic and marital outcomes. Furthermore, current marital quality contributed importantly to understanding the higher levels of depressed mood observed among persons from divorced homes. Parental death was much more weakly related to socioeconomic and marital outcomes, and these outcomes played little role in explaining its relationship to depression. Finally, all of these relationships were stronger among women than men. These findings support the utility of life-course approaches to understanding adult mental health.     

Examining exposure to adverse childhood experiences and later outcomes of poor physical and mental health among South Carolina adults

Recent research on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) has used factor analysis to categorize ACEs. Further research is needed to determine if these previously identified factors are related to specific health outcomes. Using data obtained from the 2014–2015 South Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, this study assessed the association between categories (household dysfunction; emotional and physical abuse; sexual abuse) and combinations of categories of ACEs on mental and physical health outcomes in adulthood (n = 15,638). Respondents who had all three categories of abuse were much more likely to report poor health and mental distress. Sexual abuse in childhood increased the odds of reporting poor health and mental distress; some ACEs may have stronger associations to long term health than others. These findings can help lead to effective and targeted prevention or intervention strategies that incorporate the new insight on the combination of ACE categories that are likely to co-occur.     

Health Outcomes in Individuals with Problem and Pathological Gambling: An Analysis of the 2014 North Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Survey System (BRFSS)

Problem and pathological gambling refers to subclinical and clinical levels of maladaptive gambling, respectively, and is associated with specific sociodemographic characteristics as well as a number of poor health outcomes. We examined such demographic, physical health, mental health, and health-related behaviors in a sample of 7045 low-risk gamblers and 244 problem/pathological gamblers. Participants completed the 2014 North Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System telephone survey. Using the National Opinion Research Center’s Diagnostic Screen for Gambling Disorders-CLiP, participants were categorized as either “problem/pathological gamblers” or “low-risk gamblers.” Problem/pathological gamblers were younger, more likely to be male, of ethnic minority status, unmarried, and of lower education than low-risk gamblers. No physical health variables differentiated the groups but problem/pathological gamblers reported experiencing significantly more adverse childhood experiences and engaging in significantly more tobacco and alcohol use compared to low-risk gamblers. Moreover, gender moderated relationships between gambling group and several of the alcohol use variables such that male problem/pathological gamblers exhibited greater alcohol use behavior than male low-risk gamblers but no such relationship was present in females. Overall, this study expands the current knowledgebase on disordered gambling and highlights the need to assess disordered gambling in public health samples. Clinical implications are discussed.     

Family structure and young adult health outcomes

Previous research finds adverse effects of nontraditional family structures on cognitive and educational outcomes, but less is known about potential impacts on health. We use the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to examine two health statuses (self-reported overall health and depression) and one health behavior (smoking), estimating both static logit models of point-in-time health and discrete-time hazard models of health transitions. Overall, we find adverse associations between nontraditional family structures and health statuses and behavior. There are long-lasting associations of family structure with outcomes well into adulthood, not all of which are evident in adolescence. Dynamic estimates often inform but also provide new information not seen in the static model. “Unpacking” the family structure variables by period of childhood provides insight into how the timing of family break-ups affects the life trajectories of health and health behavior. Our findings differ remarkably by gender. Girls’ health appears more sensitive to family structure than boys’. In combination with prior findings in the literature, our findings intriguingly suggest that family break-ups and changes affect boys mostly through cognitive, educational, and emotional channels, while girls are most affected in their health and health behaviors. A major methodological contribution of this study is better measurement of family structure. We find that many adverse associations are masked by cruder measures in typical use.     

Associations Between Psychological,Physical, and Sexual Intimate Partner Violence and Health Outcomes Among Women Veteran VA Patients

Women veterans experience high rates of lifetime intimate partner violence (IPV) and suffer a variety of trauma-related health conditions. The purpose of this study was to identify health status and health risk behaviors associated with experiences of psychological, physical, or sexual IPV among women veterans receiving care at a Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center. We conducted surveys with 249 women veteran patients and examined health factors associated with each form of violence. Sexual IPV victimization had the most pronounced associations with adverse health. In multivariate analysis, controlling for age, race, and income, women veterans who experienced sexual violence victimization were close to or more than three times as likely as those who experienced no IPV to report poor or fair overall health, a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder or depression, bipolar disorder, or anxiety, difficulty sleeping, cigarette smoking, and problem drinking. Those who reported psychological violence only (without physical or sexual violence) also reported greater odds of self-rated poor or fair health. These findings are consistent with findings from studies with non-veteran populations and serve to further identify the unique contributions of sexual IPV to health outcomes. The integrated VA health care system offers opportunities for IPV identification and response including a coordinated team-based care model with social work integrated within primary care.     

Perceived discrimination,socioeconomic status,and mental health among Latino adolescents in US immigrant families

The association between interpersonal discrimination and mental health among Latino adolescents has been relatively well studied. Less is known about perceived societal discrimination or how discrimination may differentially impact Latino adolescents with recent immigration histories. Further, while personal and family characteristics have often been posited to influence the association between discrimination and health outcomes, little attention has been paid to potentially moderating influences of social status. Using data from the first two rounds of the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS) study, we estimate a series of logit regression models to investigate the association between discrimination (societal and interpersonal) and mental health (depressive symptoms and self-esteem) among Latino adolescents with recent immigration histories, and test how this association differs by parental socioeconomic status (SES). Results show a negative association between perceived societal and interpersonal discrimination and mental health, inconsistent associations between SES and mental health, and some evidence of a moderating role of parental SES. Specifically, higher SES appears to attenuate the detrimental effect of discrimination on depressive symptoms, particularly in contexts of interpersonal discrimination. Our findings support increased attention to measuring the impact of perceived societal discrimination on mental health outcomes as well as further examination of the intervening role of social status.     

Problem Behavior and Heart Rate Reactivity in Adopted Adolescents: Longitudinal and Concurrent Relations

The present longitudinal study examined resting heart rate and heart rate variability and reactivity to a stressful gambling task in adopted adolescents with aggressive, delinquent, or internalizing behavior problems and adopted adolescents without behavior problems (total N=151). Early‐onset delinquent adolescents showed heart rate hyporeactivity to the stress‐eliciting gambling task compared to late‐onset delinquent adolescents and adolescents without behavior problems. Heart rate, heart rate variability, and reactivity to stress were not related to environmental factors such as early‐childhood parental sensitivity, parental socioeconomic status, or adoptee's health status at arrival. We conclude that the distinction between delinquency and aggression and between childhood‐onset and adolescence‐onset delinquency is important for the study of stress reactivity in adolescents.     

Exploring the relationship between poverty,childhood adversity and child abuse from the perspective of adulthood

A recent Australian study of people experiencing poverty, involving in‐depth interviews with 20 participants, suggests that a complex process leading to poverty in adult life can stem from abusive and adverse experiences in childhood. It is considered that these experiences of abuse and adversity may begin a process of ‘negative chain effects’ (Rutter, 2000) resulting in a pathway into poverty caused by ‘accumulated adversity’ (Seth‐Purdie, 2000). The development and maintenance of human capital, defined as the sum of a person's physical, psychological and economic capabilities, are strongly influenced by the extent of adversity experienced over a person's life course, particularly experiences of adversity in early childhood (Seth‐Purdie, 2000). In this paper, the experiences of childhood abuse and adversity reported by the interviewees will be outlined and discussed in the light of theory and research related to development during childhood and adolescence. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Early-life origins of the race gap in men's mortality

Using a life course framework, we examine the early life origins of the race gap in men's all-cause mortality. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Older Men (1966-1990), we evaluate major social pathways by which early life conditions differentiate the mortality experiences of blacks and whites. Our findings indicate that early life socioeconomic conditions, particularly parental occupation and family structure, explain part of the race gap in mortality. Black men's higher rates of death are associated with lower socioeconomic standing in early life and living in homes lacking both biological parents. However these effects operate indirectly through adult socioeconomic achievement processes, as education, family income, wealth, and occupational complexity statistically account for the race gap in men's mortality. Our findings suggest that policy interventions to eliminate race disparities in mortality and health should address both childhood and adult socioeconomic conditions.     

Does Adolescent Affect Impact Adult Social Integration? Evidence from the British 1946 Birth Cohort

Using data from the MRC National Survey of Health and Development (the British 1946 birth cohort), we take a life course approach with a sociology of mental health framework to examine the relationship between adolescent affect and adult social integration. The results suggest that being observed as anxious or sad in adolescence has long-term effect on adult social integration. These associations are not explained by adult mental health or socioeconomic status, for the most part. The results demonstrate support for social selection processes between adolescent mental health and adult social outcomes and suggest a disparate effect of type of adolescent affect on adult social outcomes.     

A multivariate analysis of adverse childhood experiences and health behaviors and outcomes among college students

Objective: This study investigated associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACE) prior to age 18 years and multiple health behaviors (eg, cigarette and other substance use) and outcomes (eg, obesity, depression) for a large college sample. Participants: 2,969 college students from seven universities in the state of Georgia were included in the analysis. Methods: Web-based surveys were completed by students (45–60 minutes) during the spring semester, 2015. Results: Findings indicate that more ACEs are associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms, ADHD symptoms, cigarette use, alcohol use, marijuana use, and BMI, in addition to lower levels of fruit and vegetable intake, and sleep. Conclusion: ACEs may carry forward in the lifespan to influence a range of unhealthy outcomes among college students. College intervention programs may benefit by recognizing the pervasiveness of ACEs and their associations with health behaviors and outcomes, and include interventions across more than one health behavior.     

Socioeconomic Strain,Family Ties,and Adolescent Health in a Rural Northeastern County

In adolescence, vital sources of support come from family relationships; however, research that considers the health‐related impact of ties to both parents and siblings is sparse, and the utility of such ties among at‐risk teens is not well understood. Here we use two waves of panel data from the population of 8th and 12th grade students in a geographically isolated, rural, northeastern U.S. county to assess whether socioeconomic status (SES) moderates the effects of parental and sibling attachments on three indicators of adolescent health: obesity, depression, and problem substance use. Our findings indicate that, net of stressful life events, prior health, and sociodemographic controls, increases in parental and sibling attachment correspond with reduced odds of obesity for low‐SES adolescents, reduced odds of depression for high‐SES adolescents, and reduced odds of problem substance use for low‐SES adolescents. Results suggest also that sibling and maternal ties are more influential than paternal ties, at least with regard to the outcomes considered. Overall, the findings highlight the value of strong family ties for the physical, psychological, and behavioral health of socioeconomically strained rural teens, and reveal the explanatory potential of both sibling and parental ties for adolescent health.     

Does childhood family structure help create stratification in adult education and labor market attainment?: An argument for the selectivity perspective

Stratification in opportunities for and attainment of educational credentials, stable and well‐paying jobs, wealth, and socioeconomic status causes problems for both individuals and the societies they live in. It is unclear, however, the extent to which important childhood experiences, such as family structure and transitions, shapes opportunity paths and eventual attainment later in adulthood. The intergenerational transmission literature suggests little if any role of family structure in later attainment, while family scholars and demographers find more compelling evidence that childhood family structures and transitions are influential in adulthood. We argue that both perspectives may be identifying selectivity processes that help explain potential links between families of origin and differences in opportunities to attain education, careers, and status. We then provide suggestions for future work in each of these scholarly traditions to help untangle both the degree to which family structure does or does not affect adult attainment and whether selectivity is the key explanation for any such relationships.