PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Kathleen McCartney

Publications and source records attributed to Kathleen McCartney.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Within-child associations between family income and externalizing and internalizing problems.

Within-child associations between family income and child externalizing and internalizing problems were examined using longitudinal data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (2004a, 2004b; N=1,132). Variations in income effects were estimated as a function of whether families were poor, whether mothers were partnered, and the number of hours mothers and their partners were employed. On average, children had fewer externalizing problems during times when their families' incomes were relatively high than during times when their families' incomes were relatively low; the estimated benefits of increased income were greatest for children who were chronically poor. For both externalizing and internalizing problems, income was most strongly associated with problems when chronically poor children's mothers were partnered and employed.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Gene-environment processes in task persistence.

Task persistence is a construct that appears to have broad influence on child competence generally, from self regulation in carrying out tasks, to cognitive performance. In a recent developmental study of task persistence, Deater-Deckard and colleagues report that heritability of task persistence increased over time, whereas the contribution from the shared environment decreased during the transition from early to middle childhood. Two explanations for the developmental shift are discussed here: a choice hypothesis and a schooling hypothesis. An important next step lies in documenting gene-environment processes directly via hybrid research models, combining work in molecular biology with longitudinal observations of behavior.

Attention↗
PubMed2005

"You cannot do nothing in this damn place": sex and intimacy among couples with an incarcerated male partner.

In an effort to deepen our understanding of how circumstances of forced separation and the interdiction of physical contact affect women's sexual behavior, we investigated the development and maintenance of heterosexual couples' intimacy when the male partner is incarcerated. As HIV-prevention scientists who work with women visiting men at a California state prison, we recognize that correctional control extends to these women's bodies, both when they are within the facility's walls visiting their mates and when they are at home striving to remain connected to absent men. This paper analyzes the impact of a peculiar public "place", a penitentiary, on couples' romantic and sexual interactions, drawing out the implications of imprisonment for relationship decision making, sexual health, and HIV risk. Using qualitative interviews with 20 women who visit their incarcerated partners and 13 correctional officers who interact with prison visitors, we examined how institutional constraints such as the regulation of women's apparel, the prohibition of physical contact, and the lack of forums for privacy result in couples forging alternative "spaces" in which their relationships occur. We describe how romantic scripts, the build-up of sexual tension during the incarceration period, and conditions of parole promote unprotected sexual intercourse and other HIV/STD risk behavior following release from prison.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Testing a maternal attachment model of behavior problems in early childhood.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the present study was to test a maternal attachment model of behavior problems in early childhood using phase I data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care, a prospective study of 1,364 children from birth through sixth grade. METHODS: Mothers' and caregivers' ratings of children's internalizing and externalizing problems at age three were regressed separately on a set of fifteen predictors that included security and disorganization scores from 15, 24, and 36 months using hierarchical and logistical modeling. RESULTS: There were three main findings. First, Q-set mother-child attachment security, based on home observations at 24 months, provided the best evidence that attachment was associated with behavior problems, especially above-average levels of problems. Second, insecurity in the 36-month modified Strange Situation predicted mothers' and caregivers' ratings of internalizing problems for boys and girls as well as their ratings of externalizing problems for boys. Third, maternal depressive symptoms predicted mothers' ratings of internalizing and externalizing problems. CONCLUSIONS: There are meaningful associations between attachment insecurity and behavior problems as assessed not only by mothers but also by caregivers.

Child↗
PubMed2004

Implications of family income dynamics for women's depressive symptoms during the first 3 years after childbirth.

OBJECTIVES: We examined within-person associations between changes in family income and women's depressive symptoms during the first 3 years after childbirth. METHODS: Data were analyzed for 1351 women (mean baseline age = 28.13 years) who participated in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care. Nineteen percent of these women belonged to an ethnic minority, and 35% were poor at some time during the study. RESULTS: Changes in income and poverty status were significantly associated with changes in depressive symptoms. Effects were greatest for chronically poor women and for women who perceived fewer costs associated with their employment. CONCLUSIONS: Given that women head most poor households in the United States, our findings indicate that reductions in poverty would have mental health benefits for women and families.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Child care and attachment: a new frontier the second time around.

A review of the research reveals that older studies show no group differences in mother-child attachment between children cared for at home by their mothers and children in substitute child care, and that newer studies do report differences. Along with other methodological limitations, most fail to consider interaction of family and child care systems. An ecological model is considered with suggestions for future research.

Child Day Care Centers↗