General health status of youth with autism with and without intellectual disabilities transitioning from special education, and its relationship to personal and family circumstances: longitudinal cohort study.

Objective: Transition from school to early adulthood incurs many changes and may be associated with deterioration in general health in youth with autism. We aimed to investigate this. Method: The National Longitudinal Transitions Study-2 is a USA nationally representative sample of youth receiving special education services, aged 13-17 at wave 1, followed-up over 10 years in five data collection waves. We conducted random-effects ordered logistic regressions to determine the odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals of wave, age, sex, ethnicity/race, additional intellectual disabilities, parental/guardian relationship status, and household income being associated with general health status in youth with autism. Results: Across waves, only between 74.3%-69.6% had excellent/very good health (71.7%-58.8% in those with co-occurring intellectual disabilities), but wave was not associated with health status. Associations were with age OR = 1.18 (1.04, 1.33), co-occurring intellectual disabilities OR = 1.56 (1.00, 2.44), and household income OR = 0.61 (0.40, 0.94) at $30,001-$50,000, OR = 0.44 (0.27, 0.72) at $50,001-$70,000, and OR = 0.34 (0.20, 0.56) at $70,001+. Sex, ethnicity/race, and parental/guardian relationship status were not associated with health status. Conclusion: There was little change in general health status longitudinally across the transitional period, but the proportion with excellent/very good health was low at each wave. Transitional planning should consider co-occurring intellectual disabilities, and the wider socioeconomic context in which children/youth with autism are raised. Lack of other longitudinal studies indicates a need for replication.

Effects of early-life environment and adulthood SES on cognitive change in a multiethnic cohort.

OBJECTIVES: Early-life socioeconomic status (SES) and adversity are associated with late-life cognition and risk of dementia. We examined the association between early-life SES and adversity and late-life cross-sectional cognitive outcomes as well as global cognitive decline, hypothesizing that adulthood SES would mediate these associations. METHODS: Our sample (N = 837) was a racially and ethnically diverse cohort of non-Hispanic/Latino White (48%), Black (27%), and Hispanic/Latino (19%) participants from Northern California. Participant addresses were geocoded to the level of the census tract, and US Census Tract 2010 variables (e.g., percent with high school diploma) were extracted and combined to create a neighborhood SES composite. We used multilevel latent variable models to estimate early-life (e.g., parental education, whether participant ever went hungry) and adult (participant's education, main occupation) SES factors and their associations with cross-sectional and longitudinal cognitive outcomes of episodic memory, semantic memory, executive function, and spatial ability. RESULTS: Child and adult factors were strongly related to domain-specific cognitive intercepts (0.20-0.48 SD per SD of SES factor); in contrast, SES factors were not related to global cognitive change (0.001-0.01 SD per year per SD of SES factor). Adulthood SES mediated a large percentage (68-75%) of the total early-life effect on cognition. CONCLUSIONS: Early-life sociocontextual factors are more strongly associated with cross-sectional late-life cognitive performance compared to cognitive change; this effect is largely mediated through associations with adulthood SES.

The Detrimental Influence of Racial Discrimination on Child Health in the United States.

BACKGROUND: The current literature describing the largely damaging effect of racial discrimination on child health is weakened by several confounding factors. We aimed to: 1) describe the relation between racial discrimination and child health and 2) evaluate the potential mediating role of mental health relating racial discrimination to child health, using methods that mitigate confounding. METHODS: Using the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health (N = 95,677), we performed: 1) propensity score analysis, matching and comparing discrimination-exposed to non-exposed children and 2) structural equation modeling, examining mental health as a mediator of the pathway between discrimination and child health. RESULTS: In the first approach, the proportion of children with excellent health was 5.4% (95% Confidence Interval (CI), 3.6,7.2%) lower with exposure to racial discrimination. Among minority children, those with low income had the greatest decrements in general health associated with racial discrimination. Among white children, those with high income had the greatest decrements. In the structural equation model, minority children had higher odds of experiencing racial discrimination (Odds ratios (ORs) ≥ 5.47, [95% CIs, 4.92,10.6]); meanwhile, children who experienced discrimination were more likely to have anxiety and depression (ORs ≥ 3.58, [95% CIs, 2.87,4.58]), which were linked to lower odds of excellent health (ORs ≤ 0.44, [95% CIs, 0.41.52]). CONCLUSION: The negative health association of racial discrimination may be mediated by mental health and vary by racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic group. This work may stimulate the formation of targeted interventions to address these disparities.

Longitudinal Relations of Economic Hardship and Effortful Control to Active Coping in Latino Youth.

How Latino youth cope with stressors may have implications for their adjustment. We examined how a temperamental characteristic (effortful control) and a contextual factor (economic hardship) were associated with Latino youth's coping. Individual differences in effortful control, a core facet of self-regulation, may contribute to coping as effortful control is consistently linked to adaptive behaviors during adolescence. We examined relations of effortful control and economic hardship to active coping in a sample of Mexican-origin youth (N = 674) across three time points (fifth to ninth grades). Although economic hardship negatively predicted coping and effortful control, effortful control positively predicted coping (controlling for prior levels). Findings support a resilience perspective by suggesting that effortful control may contribute to coping and thus counteract the negative effects of economic hardship.

A Potential Tool for Clinicians; Evaluating a Computer-Led Dietary Assessment Method in Overweight and Obese Women during Weight Loss.

Many Americans are attempting to lose weight with the help of healthcare professionals. Clinicians can improve weight loss results by using technology. Accurate dietary assessment is crucial to effective weight loss. The aim of this study was to validate a computer-led dietary assessment method in overweight/obese women. Known dietary intake was compared to Automated Self-Administered 24-h recall (ASA24) reported intake in women (n = 45), 19-50 years, with body mass index of 27-39.9 kg/m². Participants received nutrition education and reduced body weight by 4%-10%. Participants completed one unannounced dietary recall and their responses were compared to actual intake. Accuracy of the recall and characteristics of respondent error were measured using linear and logistic regression. Energy was underreported by 5% with no difference for most nutrients except carbohydrates, vitamin B12, vitamin C, selenium, calcium and vitamin D (p = 0.002, p < 0.0001, p = 0.022, p = 0.010, p = 0.008 and p = 0.001 respectively). Overall, ASA24 is a valid dietary assessment tool in overweight/obese women participating in a weight loss program. The automated features eliminate the need for clinicians to be trained, to administer, or to analyze dietary intake. Computer-led dietary assessment tools should be considered as part of clinician-supervised weight loss programs.

Development and Standardization of the Diagnostic Adaptive Behavior Scale: Application of Item Response Theory to the Assessment of Adaptive Behavior.

The Diagnostic Adaptive Behavior Scale (DABS) was developed using item response theory (IRT) methods and was constructed to provide the most precise and valid adaptive behavior information at or near the cutoff point of making a decision regarding a diagnosis of intellectual disability. The DABS initial item pool consisted of 260 items. Using IRT modeling and a nationally representative standardization sample, the item set was reduced to 75 items that provide the most precise adaptive behavior information at the cutoff area determining the presence or not of significant adaptive behavior deficits across conceptual, social, and practical skills. The standardization of the DABS is described and discussed.

Social and economic antecedents and consequences of adolescent aggressive personality: Predictions from the interactionist model.

The present study examined the development of a cohort of 279 early adolescents (52% female) from 1990 to 2005. Guided by the interactionist model of socioeconomic status and human development, we proposed that parent aggressive personality, economic circumstances, interparental conflict, and parenting characteristics would affect the development of adolescent aggressive personality traits. In turn, we hypothesized that adolescent aggressiveness would have a negative influence on adolescent functioning as an adult in terms of economic success, personality development, and close relationships 11 years later. Findings were generally supportive of the interactionist model proposition that social and economic difficulties in the family of origin intensify risk for adolescent aggressive personality (the social causation hypothesis) and that this personality trait impairs successful transition to adult roles (the social selection hypothesis) in a transactional process over time and generations. These results underscore how early development leads to child influences that appear to directly hamper the successful transition to adult roles (statistical main effects) and also amplify the negative impact of dysfunctional family systems on the transition to adulthood (statistical interaction effects). The findings suggest several possible points of intervention that might help to disrupt this negative developmental sequence of events.

Parent and child fluency in a common language: implications for the parent-child relationship and later academic success in Mexican American families.

The current study tested elements of the theoretical model of Portes and Rumbaut (1996), which proposes that parent-child differences in English fluency in immigrant families affect various family processes that, in turn, relate to changes in academic success. The current study of 674 Mexican- origin families provided support for the model in that parent-child fluency in a common language was associated with several dimensions of the parent-child relationship, including communication, role reversal, and conflict. In turn, these family processes predicted child academic performance, school problems, and academic aspirations and expectations. The current findings extend the Portes and Rumbaut (1996) model, however, inasmuch as joint fluency in either English or Spanish was associated with better parent-child relationships. The findings have implications for educational and human service issues involving Mexican Americans and other immigrant groups.

Dispositional optimism: a psychological resource for Mexican-origin mothers experiencing economic stress.

Dispositional optimism is believed to be an important psychological resource that buffers families against the deleterious consequences of economic adversity. Using data from a longitudinal study of Mexican-origin families (N = 674), we tested a family stress model specifying that maternal dispositional optimism and economic pressure affect maternal internalizing symptoms, which, in turn, affects parenting behaviors and children's social adjustment. As predicted, maternal optimism and economic pressure had both independent and interactive effects on maternal internalizing symptoms, and the effects of these variables on changes over time in child social adjustment were mediated by nurturant and involved parenting. The findings replicate and extend previous research on single-parent African American families (Taylor, Larsen-Rife, Conger, Widaman, & Cutrona, 2010), and demonstrate the generalizability of the positive benefits of dispositional optimism in another ethnic group and type of family structure.

Life stress, maternal optimism, and adolescent competence in single mother, African American families.

Although research demonstrates many negative family outcomes associated with single-parent households, little is known about processes that lead to positive outcomes for these families. Using 3 waves of longitudinal data, we examined how maternal dispositional optimism and life stressors are associated with parenting and child outcomes in 394 single mother African American families. Confirming prior research, we found that mothers' childhood adversities, current economic pressure, and internalizing problems were associated with lower levels of maternal warmth and child management and with lower child school competence. Extending previous studies, we found that maternal optimism was a positive resource, predicting lower levels of maternal internalizing symptoms and higher levels of effective child management and moderating the impact of economic stress on maternal internalizing problems. These findings highlight the need for further investigation of processes and resources that promote positive outcomes for African American mother-headed families and single mother families in general.

Evaluation of the interactionist model of socioeconomic status and problem behavior: a developmental cascade across generations.

The current multigenerational study evaluates the utility of the interactionist model of socioeconomic influence on human development (IMSI) in explaining problem behaviors across generations. The IMSI proposes that the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and human development involves a dynamic interplay that includes both social causation (SES influences human development) and social selection (individual characteristics affect SES). As part of the developmental cascade proposed by the IMSI, the findings from this investigation showed that Generation 1 (G1) adolescent problem behavior predicted later G1 SES, family stress, and parental emotional investments, as well as the next generation of children's problem behavior. These results are consistent with a social selection view. Consistent with the social causation perspective, we found a significant relation between G1 SES and family stress, and in turn, family stress predicted Generation 2 (G2) problem behavior. Finally, G1 adult SES predicted both material and emotional investments in the G2 child. In turn, emotional investments predicted G2 problem behavior, as did material investments. Some of the predicted pathways varied by G1 parent gender. The results are consistent with the view that processes of both social selection and social causation account for the association between SES and human development.

Longitudinal effects of egoistic and fraternal relative deprivation on well-being and protest.

According to the social justice literature, fraternal relative deprivation causes protest, but has little impact on well-being. We consider this view incomplete and predict that fraternal relative deprivation can impair well-being if it is enduring and difficult to ameliorate. As part of a longitudinal study of the German unification process, measures of egoistic relative deprivation, fraternal relative deprivation, life satisfaction, mental health, and protest were obtained on three occasions of measurement (1996, 1998, 2000) from a demographically heterogeneous sample of 1276 East German citizens. Model tests and parameter estimation were performed with LISREL. In line with our predictions, unique longitudinal effects of fraternal relative deprivation on well-being were identified. No longitudinal effect of fraternal relative deprivation on protest was identified.

Economic stress, parenting, and child adjustment in Mexican American and European American families.

To assess the impact of economic hardship on 111 European American and 167 Mexican American families and their 5th-grade (M age=11.4 years) children, a family stress model was evaluated. Structural equation analyses revealed that economic hardship was linked to indexes of economic pressure that were related to depressive symptoms for mothers and fathers of both ethnicities. Depressive symptoms were linked to marital problems and hostile parenting. Paternal hostile parenting was related to child adjustment problems for European Americans, whereas marital problems were linked to child adjustment problems for Mexican Americans. Maternal acculturation was associated with both higher marital problems and lower hostile parenting. The utility of the model for describing the effects of economic hardship in Mexican Americans is noted.