Biomedical subjects

Felton Earls

Publications and source records attributed to Felton Earls.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Behavioral profiles in 4-5 year-old children: normal and pathological variants.

Normal and psychopathological patterns of behavior symptoms in pre-school children were described by a classification approach using cluster analysis. The behavior of 406 children, average age 4 years 9 months, from the general population was evaluated at home visits. Seven clusters were identified based on empirically defined dimensions: attention, hyperactivity, aggressiveness, social relationship problems, sleeping problems, eating problems, depression and anxiety. Clusters scoring high in inattention, hyperactivity, aggressiveness, and social relationship problems but low in depression and anxiety were found and could indicate early onset conduct disorder. The approach of analysing patterns of symptoms expands the basis on which normal and psychopathological patterns are distinguished.

Aggression↗

PubMed2004

Links between pubertal timing and neighborhood contexts: implications for girls' violent behavior.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate links between girls' violent behavior, pubertal timing, and neighborhood characteristics. METHOD: A total of 501 Hispanic, black, and white adolescent girls and their parents were interviewed twice over a 3-year period (1995-1998). Violent behavior was assessed using the Self-Report of Offending Scale and pubertal timing was measured via menarche. This probability sample was drawn from Chicago. To characterize neighborhoods, neighborhood clusters were created. U.S. Census data were mapped onto each neighborhood cluster to represent levels of concentrated disadvantage, immigrant concentration, and residential mobility. The response rate was approximately 70%. RESULTS: More than 25% of girls engaged in violent behavior at the second interview. Controlling for demographic indicators, previous violence, and other psychological factors, no differences were found in violent behavior as a function of menarcheal timing or neighborhood characteristics. Instead, results revealed that early maturers engaged in violent behavior only if they lived in neighborhoods characterized by high concentrated disadvantage. Early maturers in neighborhoods characterized by high concentrated disadvantaged engaged in three times the number of violent acts as early maturers in less disadvantaged neighborhoods. Depressive symptoms and previous violent behavior were also associated with girls' subsequent violent behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicated that girls who experience a double vulnerability--early maturation and neighborhoods of disadvantage--are susceptible to engaging in violent behavior. This suggests the need for clinical evaluation to examine the implications of pubertal timing and the context of girls' behavior.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Neighborhood support and the birth weight of urban infants.

Differences in maternal characteristics only partially explain the lower birth weights of infants of African-American women. It is hypothesized that economic and social features of urban neighborhoods may further account for these differences. The authors conducted a household survey of 8,782 adults residing in 343 Chicago, Illinois, neighborhoods to assess mean levels of perceived social support and used US Census data to estimate neighborhood economic disadvantage. Data on birth weight and maternal risk factors were gathered from 95,711 birth certificates (1994-1996). Before statistical adjustment of the data, infants born to African-American mothers were found to be, on average, 297 g lighter than those born to White mothers. After adjustment for individual-level risk factors, this difference was reduced to 154 g. For African-American mothers only, mean birth weight decreased significantly as the neighborhood level of economic disadvantage increased. For White mothers only, a significant positive association was found between perceived levels of neighborhood social support and infant birth weight. Adding these neighborhood-level predictors to the model reduced the adjusted White versus African-American difference in birth weight to 124 g. Results support the hypothesis that neighborhood-level factors are significantly associated with infant birth weight.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Diverging associations of maternal age with low birthweight for black and white mothers.

BACKGROUND: In the US, the risk of low birthweight appears to increase more quickly with maternal age for black women than it does for white women. Our aim was to investigate correlates and causes of the racial/ethnic divergence in low birthweight by maternal age. METHODS: We analysed birth certificate data from 96 887 singleton births to black and white mothers in Chicago from 1994 to 1996 to determine if the association between maternal age and low birthweight differed by maternal ethnicity, marital status, and socioeconomic disadvantage. The association of maternal age with risk of low birthweight was examined, considering especially the interactions of maternal age with maternal race/ethnicity, marital status, education, and neighbourhood poverty. RESULTS: In unadjusted data, the risk of low birthweight rose steeply with maternal age for black, but not white, mothers. Adjustment for the main effects of maternal education, marital status, adequacy of prenatal care, cigarette smoking, and neighbourhood poverty accounted for some of the age-related excess risk of black mothers. Further adjustment for interactions of maternal age with these risk factors eliminated the ethnic divergence in age slopes. The fully adjusted analysis indicated that the risk of low birthweight rises more quickly with maternal age for disadvantaged women, regardless of race/ethnicity. CONCLUSION: This analysis suggests that hardships act cumulatively to threaten reproductive health. The particularly steep increase in risk of low birthweight with increasing maternal age for black women is explained by the high prevalence of disadvantage in this population.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

A multilevel study of neighborhoods and parent-to-child physical aggression: results from the project on human development in Chicago neighborhoods.

The majority of children in the United States experience parent-to-child physical aggression (PCPA), a disciplinary strategy out of favor with many experts. Several decades of research have documented a link between community characteristics and severe child maltreatment. None have taken a multilevel approach to study whether neighborhoods affect the amount of corporal punishment and/or physical abuse used by individual families. Data for this article come from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods and were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling. An interval scale of PCPA was developed. Values obtained show that several neighborhood characteristics were associated with PCPA. Immigrant concentration remained significant after controlling for family composition. A cross-level interaction was found between neighborhood social networks and Hispanic race/ethnicity. The article's conclusion is that neighborhood characteristics may influence the amount of PCPA used by families. Neighborhood intervention strategies hold promise.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1980

Precocious fathers.

Based on available evidence, it appears reasonable to assume that the psychological and social consequences of becoming a father during adolescence are the same as those more traditionally associated with adolescent motherhood. Guidelines for research to enhance knowledge of this important but relatively neglected area are outlined.

Adaptation, Psychological↗