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Biomedical subjects

M E Lamb

Publications and source records attributed to M E Lamb.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

Maternal age, sociodemographics, prenatal health and behavior: influences on neonatal risk status.

The effects on neonatal outcome of maternal age, sociodemographic status, and prenatal health and behavior were assessed in a representative national sample of youth (National Longitudinal Survey of Work Experience of Youth). Primiparous women were categorized into four age-at-birth groups: 13 to 15 year old, 16 to 18 year old, 19 to 21 year old, and 22 to 30 year old. Younger mothers were lighter, gained less weight during pregnancy, and sought prenatal care later in their pregnancy. Neonates of the youngest mothers on average had lower birth weights, and shorter gestation periods. There were significant effects of maternal age, race, education, and pregnancy weight gain on the probability of giving birth to a premature or low-birth-weight infant. Our results also implicated the time of first prenatal care in the occurrence of premature delivery. We believe that interventions should emphasize the prevention of pregnancy in young adolescents and amelioration of the adverse prenatal conditions associated with living in lower socioeconomic conditions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Inhibition: its stability and correlates in sixteen- to forty-month-old children.

Inhibition was assessed in 144 Swedish children when they averaged 16 months of age using a composite measure tapping sociability toward strange adults, noninvolvement in peer play, and parental ratings of fearfulness. 91 children entered out-of-home care within 2 weeks of these initial assessments. Children were observed in this setting playing with peers; teachers and parents also rated children's adjustment to the out-of-home care settings. 1 and 2 years later, the children were assessed again, both at home and in the alternative care settings. Results showed that individual differences in inhibition were stable over the 2 years of the study. Inhibited children engaged in less high-quality peer play both at home and in the alternative care settings, and they were less able to play alone in their mothers' absence. On contemporaneous but not subsequent ratings, inhibited children had more difficulty adjusting to out-of-home care. Inhibition was not itself affected by out-of-home care experiences, and there were no sex differences in inhibition.

Child Day Care Centers↗
PubMed1990

Association between parenthood and problem behavior in a national sample of adolescents.

The association between problem behaviors and parental status was studied in a national sample of urban (n = 1263) and rural (n = 388) young women 15 to 17 years of age. When assessed according to age at childbearing, there was a clear association between problem behavior and the birth of a first child prior to age 19 years. The three parental status groups studied appeared ordered in risk, with school-aged mothers having engaged in the most problem behaviors, and followed, in turn, by young adult mothers (ie, those who had a child between 19 and 21 years of age), and then by women who had not had a child by age 21 years. Young urban women who engaged in three or more problem behaviors were more likely than women who claimed no involvement in problem behaviors to subsequently have a child prior to age 19 years. In addition, black adolescents reported fewer problem behaviors than did white adolescents. When individual behaviors were analyzed, school-aged mothers were more likely than either young adult mothers or nonmothers to have reported school suspension, truancy, runaway, smoking marijuana, and fighting. Although similar results were found in both samples, the effects appeared more consistent for young urban women. In future studies, researchers must determine whether adolescent mothers are at risk for parenting difficulties because of their previous involvement in problem behaviors.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Social development.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Child Development↗
PubMed1989

Perceptions of parenthood among adolescent fathers.

To investigate perceptions of parenthood among adolescent fathers, we studied three groups of first-time fathers: adolescent fathers with adolescent partners (n = 21), adult fathers with adolescent partners (n = 14), and adult fathers with adult partners (n = 55). Subjects were interviewed during the immediate postpartum period and then again 3 months later. Group differences were noted concerning items related to paternal involvement, sex stereotypic behaviors, and stress, but not concerning preparation for parenthood. Fathers' perceptions appeared to be influenced by both their ages and those of the mothers as well as an interaction between these two fathers (adult fathers with adolescent partners v adult fathers with adult partners). Our results suggest that fathers with adolescent partners may benefit from interventions designed to promote more active involvement in parenthood.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

The medical and psychosocial impact of comprehensive care on adolescent pregnancy and parenthood.

To assess the medical and psychosocial effects of services provided by a comprehensive adolescent pregnancy and parenthood program, 125 adolescents who received care from a comprehensive program were compared with 135 adolescents who received care from community health providers. Few differences were found in pregnancy outcome measures. At 12 and 26 months after delivery, however, the intervention group scored significantly better on composite measures encompassing medical, psychosocial, and parenting events than did the comparison group, even after accounting for possible confounding factors. This suggests that comprehensive care has little effect on pregnancy outcomes for those adolescents who are already receiving prenatal and nutritional services, but does have a significant effect on events occurring during the first and second postpartum years.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Association between behavioral and school problems and fatherhood in a national sample of adolescent youths.

The relation between fatherhood and behavioral and school problems was studied in a nationally representative sample of adolescent youths. Data were obtained from the National Longitudinal Survey of Work Experience of Youth (NLSY). Of the 6400 youths interviewed in 1980, 367 (5.7%) reported that they had fathered a child before the age of 19 years. This group was compared with 1000 non-fathers selected at random from the same data set. The groups differed by race and family socioeconomic characteristics. Academic, drug, and conduct problems were significantly more common among adolescent fathers than among non-fathers. Race and family income, and fatherhood status were independently related to various problem behaviors. These results confirm previous findings demonstrating a relation between delinquency and adolescent fatherhood.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Judicial involvement and conduct problems of fathers of infants born to adolescent mothers.

Data were obtained from retrospective review of 191 patient records to determine the extent and types of conduct problems among fathers of infants born to adolescent mothers. Ninety-eight fathers (51%) reported having committed a legal offense prior to the pregnancy. This rate appears substantially greater than rates of arrests of adolescents in the general population. When paired data for couples were analyzed, there was great similarity for severity of offense. Fathers, however, had committed more severe crimes than their partners. Male offenders came from families of lower socioeconomic status backgrounds and more single-parent families and were less frequently employed or in school (or graduated) than nonoffenders. They also had been more involved with various other problem behaviors, such as a previous pregnancy, drinking behavior, and behavior problems at school. There was a clustering of problem behaviors among offenders suggesting psychosocial maladjustment prior to the pregnancy. Our results suggest an association between fatherhood and delinquency among partners of adolescent mothers. It appears that these fathers form a heterogeneous group. Although some young fathers may be well adjusted, others have significant psychologic problems.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Parental behavior of adolescent mothers.

The results of the studies reviewed lead to the conclusion that some adolescent parents are faced with excessive stress, have an inadequate social support network, lack adequate knowledge of child development, are developmentally immature, and possess inappropriate child-rearing attitudes. The lack of rigorous, well-controlled studies, however, makes these conclusions tentative at best. Each of the socioeconomic and psychological factors listed above, in addition to innate infant characteristics, affects parental behavior. Too few studies have been done to state conclusively which of these factors have major effects on adolescent parenting. Preliminary results would suggest, however, that adolescent and adult mothers interact differently with their children. The reasons why this occurs and the significance of this difference are not presently known. Although there are conflicting results, it appears as though children of adolescent parents are at a slightly increased risk for child abuse, but not suboptimal intellectual development, when compared to children of adult mothers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Effects of paternal involvement on infant preferences for mothers and fathers.

45 Swedish infants were observed at home interacting with their mothers and fathers when they were 8 and 16 months old. 15 of the fathers had spent at least 1 month (X=2.8 months) as primary caretakers. Analyses revealed that degree of paternal involvement had no effect on preferences displayed on measures of attachment and affiliative behaviors. At both ages, infants showed clear preferences for their mothers over their fathers, which contrasts with the lack of preference evident in previous studies of American infants. It is suggested that the failure to replicate earlier findings is attributable to the fact that Swedish fathers are not distinguished by an involvement in play and so are less affectively salient to their infants.

Adult↗