Pathways connecting family socioeconomic status in adolescence and sleep continuity in adult Black and White men.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the roles of parenting and adolescent characteristics during ages 13 to 16 in connecting family socioeconomic status (SES) during adolescence with adult sleep in Black and White men. DESIGN: Longitudinal school-based community study beginning in 1987-1988 when participants were enrolled in the first or seventh grade. SETTING: Pittsburgh, PA. PARTICIPANTS: 291 men (54.4% Black, mean age = 33, SD = 2.5) participated in 2012-2014 in a week-long study of sleep measured by actigraphy and diary. MEASURES: In adolescence (ages 13-16), measures of family SES based on occupation, education, income and public assistance; parenting based on monitoring, positive expectations for future, warm parent-child relationship, and communication; and adolescent characteristics based on anxiety, hyperactivity/impulsivity, and peer rejection.  In adulthood, participant SES, minutes awake after sleep onset (WASO), duration, and diary-assessed sleep quality. RESULTS: Structural equation modeling confirmed significant indirect pathways: (1) low family SES in adolescence to negative parenting to low adult SES to greater WASO; (2) low family SES in adolescence to adolescent characteristics to low adult SES to greater WASO; (3) Black race to low family SES in adolescence to negative parenting to low adult SES to greater WASO; and (4) Black race to low family SES in adolescence to adolescent characteristics to adult SES to greater WASO. Similar models for duration and quality were not confirmed. CONCLUSIONS: Parenting and adolescent characteristics may have an indirect association with adult sleep continuity. Parenting and mental health interventions in adolescence may improve adult sleep.

The Direct and Indirect Associations between Childhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Adolescent Gun Violence.

We examined whether childhood socioeconomic disadvantage was associated with adolescent gun violence and whether early symptoms of conduct disorder and/or exposure to delinquent peers accounted for the linkage. Participants were 503 predominately Black and White boys who were recruited in 1st grade from Pittsburgh public schools. Multi-informant assessments were conducted regularly from approximately ages 7 to 20. A latent socioeconomic disadvantage factor was estimated with census-tract and parent-reported data when boys were about age 7½. Latent growth curve models assessed parent/teacher-reported conduct problems and youth-reported peer delinquency from about ages 7½ to 10. The outcome was youth-reported engagement in gun violence by about age 20. We also controlled for race. Analyses examined whether the association between childhood socioeconomic disadvantage and adolescent gun violence was mediated through early conduct problems and/or increased exposure to delinquent peers. Childhood socioeconomic disadvantage was associated with adolescent gun violence, and some of this effect was mediated through peer delinquency and conduct problems. Specifically, childhood socioeconomic disadvantage was associated with greater affiliation with delinquent peers in early childhood, and early peer delinquency promoted a greater increase in conduct problems across childhood, and these conduct problems, in turn, led to an increased risk for adolescent gun violence. In summary, this study found that early socioeconomic disadvantage was directly and indirectly related to adolescent gun violence. Results suggest that interventions that aim to reduce conduct problems and deviant peer group affiliation in childhood might be important windows of opportunity for reducing gun violence in impoverished neighborhoods.

Parental Disengagement in Childhood and Adolescent Male Gun Carrying.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between parental disengagement in childhood and adolescent gun carrying and determine whether this association is accounted for by externalizing problems and affiliation with delinquent peers during early adolescence. METHODS: The sample included 503 boys (55.7% African American, 40.6% white, 3.7% other) recruited from first-grade classrooms in Pittsburgh public schools. Multi-informant assessments were conducted regularly (semiannually then annually) from approximately ages 7.5 to 20 years. Latent factors were constructed by using parent-reported parental disengagement (ie, poor parental involvement, poor parent-son communication, poor parent-son relationship quality) collected from ages 7.5 to 10 years, youth-reported peer delinquency from ages 10.5 to 13 years, and teacher-reported externalizing problems from ages 10.5 to 13 years. The outcome was youth-reported gun carrying from ages 14 to 20 years. RESULTS: Twenty percent of individuals sampled reported carrying a gun during adolescence. Childhood parental disengagement was significantly associated with adolescent gun carrying (ß = .22; 95% confidence interval: 0.08 to 0.36). Furthermore, the association between parental disengagement and gun carrying was partially mediated through peer delinquency and externalizing problems during early adolescence. The 2 indirect paths accounted for ∼29% of the total effect of parental disengagement. CONCLUSIONS: Boys exposed to poorer parental engagement during childhood are more likely to affiliate with delinquent peers and exhibit externalizing problems during early adolescence, which (in turn) increases their risk of carrying a firearm in later adolescence. This suggests that gun violence prevention efforts with children should work to enhance aspects of parental engagement.

Depressive Symptoms During Childhood and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Black and White Men.

OBJECTIVE: Depressive symptoms and major depression predict cardiovascular disease (CVD) and CVD risk factors in adulthood. Evidence regarding the role of depression in the development of CVD risk in youth is minimal. The study evaluated the prospective relationship of depressive symptoms in childhood and adolescence with adult CVD risk factors in black and white men. METHODS: Health behaviors and medical history were measured in 165 black and 146 white men (mean age = 32); a subset in the Pittsburgh area had a fasting blood draw to measure metabolic syndrome and inflammation. Adult CVD risk factors were related to depressive symptoms and childhood socioeconomic status (SES) prospectively measured annually from ages 7 to 16 years, followed by adjustments for adult SES and depressive symptoms. RESULTS: Men with higher depressive symptoms ages 7 to 16 smoked more cigarettes, B = 0.28 (standard error = 0.12), p = .015, and ate fewer servings of fruits and vegetables, B = -0.08 (0.04), p = .040, as adults. The association for smoking was independent of adult depressive symptoms (concurrent) and childhood and adult SES as well as race. Depressive symptoms during childhood were unrelated to the metabolic syndrome or biomarkers of inflammation in adulthood. CONCLUSIONS: Depressive symptoms in childhood may predict later adverse health behaviors in black and white men. No evidence was found for an association between childhood depressive symptoms with metabolic syndrome or inflammation markers at ages approximately 32 years. The nature of the sample and lack of measurement of depressive disorder diagnosis tempers the conclusions, and future research is needed to determine associations with biological measures at later life span phases.

Pathways Linking Childhood SES and Adult Health Behaviors and Psychological Resources in Black and White Men.

Background: Exposure to low socioeconomic status (SES) in childhood predicts increased morbidity and mortality. However, little prospective evidence is available to test pathways linking low childhood SES to adult health. Purpose: In the current study, indirect effects through positive parenting in adolescence and adult SES were tested in the association between childhood SES and adult health behaviors and psychological resources. Methods: Men (n = 305; 53% Black) were followed longitudinally from ages 7 to 32. SES was measured annually in childhood (ages 7-9) and again in adulthood (age 32) using the Hollingshead index. Parenting was assessed annually (ages 13-16) using caregivers' and boys' self-report of supervision, communication, and expectations for their son's future. Health behaviors (cigarette and alcohol use, fruit and vegetable consumption, and physical activity) and psychological resources (optimism, purpose in life, self-mastery, and self-esteem) were assessed in adulthood (age 32). Results: Structural equation modeling showed that higher childhood SES was associated with more positive parenting in adolescence and higher adult SES. Higher childhood SES was indirectly associated with healthier behaviors and higher psychological resources in adulthood through pathways involving positive parenting during adolescence and SES in adulthood. Findings were consistent in both racial groups. Conclusions: Positive parenting in adolescence was an important pathway in understanding associations among childhood SES and health behaviors and psychological resources in adulthood. Low childhood SES was prospectively associated with healthier behaviors and greater psychological resources in part through more positive parenting in adolescence.

Socioeconomic status and parenting during adolescence in relation to ideal cardiovascular health in Black and White men.

OBJECTIVE: American Heart Association (AHA) developed a new metric to evaluate ideal cardiovascular health based on optimal levels of 7 cardiovascular risk factors and health behaviors. We evaluated the relationships of parenting characteristics and academic achievement in adolescence in relation to ideal cardiovascular health in midlife men. METHOD: We measured cardiovascular risk factors in 171 Black and 136 White men and their ideal cardiovascular health score was constructed based on AHA guidelines. When the participants were 13-16 years old, annual measures of parent-child communication, positive relationship, parental monitoring, family cohesion, boys' involvement in family activities, and academic achievement were recorded and averaged. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis of adolescent parenting measures revealed a single Parenting Composite. Multiple linear regressions showed a significant Race by Parenting Composite interaction term, ß = -.19, p = .03; better parenting was significantly related to more ideal cardiovascular health in Blacks only, ß = -.23, p = .004, which remained after adjustments for adolescent and adult socioeconomic status (SES). Academic achievement was related to ideal cardiovascular health, ß = -.13, but was no longer significant after controls for adult SES. Adult SES was a strong correlate of ideal cardiovascular health in Black and White men. CONCLUSIONS: Black men exposed to positive parenting during adolescence had more ideal cardiovascular health based on AHA guidelines. Improving academic achievement in adolescence may indirectly benefit adult cardiovascular health through improving adult SES. This is the first study of adolescent family predictors of the extent of ideal cardiovascular health. (PsycINFO Database Record

Bullying and Being Bullied in Childhood Are Associated With Different Psychosocial Risk Factors for Poor Physical Health in Men.

Bullying and being bullied in childhood are both linked with later adjustment problems. The impact of childhood bullying on risk for poor physical health in adulthood is understudied. Black and White men ( n = 305; mean age = 32.3 years) enrolled in the Pittsburgh Youth Study since the first grade underwent a comprehensive assessment of psychosocial, behavioral, and biological risk factors for poor health. Indices of bullying and being bullied were created by averaging annual ratings collected from participants and their caregivers when the participants were 10 to 12 years old. Results showed that being a bully in childhood was associated with greater stress and aggression and poorer health behaviors in adulthood, whereas being a victim of bullies in childhood was associated with lower socioeconomic resources, less optimism, and greater unfair treatment in adulthood. Unexpectedly, neither bullying nor being bullied in childhood was related to inflammation or metabolic syndrome. Bullying and being bullied in childhood were associated with distinct domains of psychosocial risk in adulthood that may later lead to poor physical health.

Moving up matters: Socioeconomic mobility prospectively predicts better physical health.

OBJECTIVE: Low socioeconomic status (SES) in childhood confers risk for poor physical health later in life. This study prospectively examines whether improvements in family SES protect youth from developing physical health problems by adulthood and whether such effects differ by race or age. METHOD: Participants are a school-based sample of urban Black (53%) and White (47%) men (N = 311). Using latent growth curve modeling, we prospectively examined whether changes in family SES measured annually between Ages 7 and 16 predicted physical health diagnoses in adulthood (Age 32). Family SES was assessed as a weighted composite of parental education and occupational status. Physical health diagnoses were assessed as a count of self-reported medical conditions from a health history interview. RESULTS: Consistent with macroeconomic trends, on average, family SES increased until the early 1990s, then remained flat until rising again in the mid-1990s. During each of 3 independent developmental periods, boys raised in families who experienced more positive changes in SES reported fewer physical health diagnoses in adulthood. These effects did not vary significantly by race and remained after controlling for initial childhood SES, childhood health problems, concurrent adult SES, and weight (Body Mass Index or reported overweight). CONCLUSIONS: Initial childhood SES did not predict physical health, whereas relative improvements in SES over a 10-year period did. If the families of Black and White boys were upwardly mobile, it appeared to protect them from developing physical disease, and upward mobility was additively protective across developmental periods examined here. (PsycINFO Database Record

Why is young maternal age at first childbirth a risk factor for persistent delinquency in their male offspring? Examining the role of family and parenting factors.

BACKGROUND: Children born to mothers who were younger than average at their first childbirth are at increased risk for future persistent delinquent behaviour, but explanations for this remain unclear. AIMS: Our aim was to identify possible family and parenting variables that may help explain this relationship. We hypothesised that parental stress, large number of children in the home, low socioeconomic status (including neighbourhood problems) and poor parenting would account for the link between early first motherhood and their offspring's delinquency. METHODS: Four hundred and sixty-two boys were selected from the Pittsburgh Youth Study, a longitudinal study of a random sample of school boys in Pittsburgh, initially assessed half-yearly and then annually from 7 to 19 years of age, using self-reporting and other reporting methods. Indirect effect models were used to test relationships between variables. RESULTS: Higher levels of parental stress, poorer parent-child communication and caring for a larger number of children all mediated the relationship between maternal youth and persistent delinquency by their boys, but only explained about 20% of it. DISCUSSION: At least partial explanations of the relationship between a mother's age at first childbirth and persistent delinquency in her male offspring suggest that future research should test whether early interventions with younger mothers to decrease their sense of stress in parenting and improve their capacity for communication with their child(ren) may help to prevent persistent delinquency in their boys. Programmes designed to help young women make more informed and planned decisions about their pregnancies should also be evaluated. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Who are those "risk-taking adolescents"? Individual differences in developmental neuroimaging research.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has illuminated the development of human brain function. Some of this work in typically-developing youth has ostensibly captured neural underpinnings of adolescent behavior which is characterized by risk-seeking propensity, according to psychometric questionnaires and a wealth of anecdote. Notably, cross-sectional comparisons have revealed age-dependent differences between adolescents and other age groups in regional brain responsiveness to prospective or experienced rewards (usually greater in adolescents) or penalties (usually diminished in adolescents). These differences have been interpreted as reflecting an imbalance between motivational drive and behavioral control mechanisms, especially in mid-adolescence, thus promoting greater risk-taking. While intriguing, we caution here that researchers should be more circumspect in attributing clinically significant adolescent risky behavior to age-group differences in task-elicited fMRI responses from neurotypical subjects. This is because actual mortality and morbidity from behavioral causes (e.g. substance abuse, violence) by mid-adolescence is heavily concentrated in individuals who are not neurotypical, who rather have shown a lifelong history of behavioral disinhibition that frequently meets criteria for a disruptive behavior disorder, such as conduct disorder, oppositional-defiant disorder, or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. These young people are at extreme risk of poor psychosocial outcomes, and should be a focus of future neurodevelopmental research.

Scaling up from convictions to self-reported offending.

AIM: The main aims of this article are to estimate the number of offences that are committed for every one that leads to conviction, and to estimate the probability of an offender being convicted. METHOD: In the Pittsburgh Youth Study, 506 boys were followed up from age 13 to age 24 years, in interviews and criminal records. Self-reports and convictions for serious theft, moderate theft, serious violence and moderate violence were compared. RESULTS: On average, 22 offences were self-reported for every conviction. This scaling-up factor increased with age and was the highest for moderate theft and the lowest for serious theft. The probability of a self-reported offender being convicted was 54%. This percentage increased with the frequency and seriousness of offending and was always higher for African American boys than for Caucasian boys. These race differences probably reflected differences in exposure to risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: More research is needed on scaling-up factors, on frequent and serious offenders who are not convicted, on self-reported non-offenders who are convicted and on why African American boys are more likely than Caucasian boys to be convicted.