Biased processing of emotional information in girls at risk for depression.

Researchers have documented that children of depressed mothers are at elevated risk for developing a depressive disorder themselves. There is currently little understanding, however, of what factors place these children at elevated risk. In the present study, the authors investigated whether never-disordered daughters whose mothers have experienced recurrent episodes of depression during their daughters' lifetime are characterized by biased processing of emotional information. Following a negative mood induction, participants completed an emotional-faces dot-probe task. Daughters at elevated risk for depression, but not control daughters of never-disordered mothers, selectively attended to negative facial expressions. In contrast, only control daughters selectively attended to positive facial expressions. These results provide support for cognitive vulnerability models of depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modeling parenting stress trajectories among low-income young mothers across the child's second and third years: Factors accounting for stability and change.

This study investigated parenting stress trajectories among low-income young mothers and the factors that are associated with change and stability of parenting stress as children aged from 14 to 36 months old. With a sample of 580 young mothers who applied to the Early Head Start Program, growth mixture modeling identified 3 trajectory classes of parenting stress: a chronically high group (7% of the sample), an increasing group (10% of the sample), and a decreasing group (83% of the sample). Maternal personal resources distinguished between the increasing and decreasing classes, whereas maternal personal resources, child characteristics, and contextual influences explained differences between the chronically high and decreasing trajectory classes. Findings suggest that for interventions to be effective, programs need to assess maternal, child, and contextual factors to better address the particular unique needs of young mothers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teenaged pregnancy and childbearing.

This article reviews recent evidence on the changing patterns of childbearing among adolescents and the impact of premature parenthood on the life course of young mothers and their children. Although adolescent mothers experience conspicuous disadvantages in educational attainment and economic well-being, over time the differences between early and later childbearing appear to diminish somewhat, at least for Blacks. The children of teenage mothers, however, are distinctly worse off throughout childhood than the offspring of older childbearers. The reasons for this disparity are explored. The concluding section discusses a range of preventive and ameliorative strategies for reducing the cost of early childbearing. The evidence supports the need for more integration among services and the importance of increasing the availability of services to those in need. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multiple jeopardy: risk and protective factors among addicted mothers' offspring

Objectives of this study were to ascertain risk and protective factors in the adjustment of 78 school-age and teenage offspring of opioid- and cocaine-abusing mothers. Using a multimethod, multiinformant approach, child outcomes were operationalized via lifetime psychiatric diagnoses and everyday social competence (each based on both mother and child reports), and dimensional assessments of symptoms (mother report). Risk/protective factors examined included the child sociodemographic attributes of gender, age, and ethnicity, aspects of maternal psychopathology, and both mother's and children's cognitive functioning. Results revealed that greater child maladjustment was linked with increasing age, Caucasian (as opposed to African American) ethnicity, severity of maternal psychiatric disturbance, higher maternal cognitive abilities (among African Americans) and lower child cognitive abilities (among Caucasians). Limitations of the study are discussed, as are implications of findings for future research.     

Schizophrenia in high-risk subjects: Prognostic maternal characteristics.

A Danish prospective, longitudinal study of 207 children (average age 15 yrs) at high risk for schizophrenia (they have schizophrenic mothers), begun in 1962, involved assessment of mothers on a number of variables. In 1972 it was found that 17 of the children of these mothers became schizophrenic. The present study sought to identify predictors of schizophrenia among antecedent maternal variables. The mothers (15 Ss) of the children who became schizophrenic (a) had psychosis precipitated by childbirth and (b) exhibited instability in their relations with men as well as antisocial behaviors. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Syme amputation: results in patients with severe forefoot ischemia

Teenage pregnancy has become a serious public health problem, particularly in developing countries with limited obstetric facilities. The condition has often been associated with obstetric and gynaecological risks. The present study which attempts to identify such risks has revealed teenage pregnancy an an important public health problem in Nigeria. Out of 4,649 pregnant mothers followed up in an antenatal clinic of a general hospital, 704 (15.1%) were teenagers. The highest frequency of low birth weight babies was recorded amongst these teenage mothers; so also was anaemia. In addition, the number of stillbirths and the incidence of low birth-weight babies were found to increased with decreasing maternal haemoglobin level. As a result of the identified risk factors associated with teenage pregnancy, it is suggested that teenage pregnant mothers be given more specialised supervision during antenatal period and at delivery; while efforts should be made to reduce the incidence of teenage pregnancy through scholarship programs for the education of girls.     

Cesarean delivery in the United States, 1990

Information now available on method of delivery from birth certificates confirms past findings on the groups at highest risk of cesarean delivery and greatly expands our knowledge of the demographic and health characteristics associated with cesarean delivery. Mothers who live in the South, who are in the oldest years of childbearing, having their first birth, married, or who have high educational attainment are all at increased risk of a cesarean delivery. Very short gestations, low or high birthweights, multiple delivery, the presence of certain complications of pregnancy, labor and/or delivery, abnormal conditions of the newborn, and the use of some obstetric procedures are also associated with elevated cesarean rates. Several recent studies (28,29) have concluded that advanced maternal age in and of itself may be an independent risk factor for cesarean delivery, due to physician and patient concern over pregnancy outcome for older women. Many of the characteristics examined in this study are highly related to maternal age (for example, marital status and educational attainment). Therefore, for these variables, mother's age is also taken into account to determine if age itself is the underlying reason for differences in rates of cesarean delivery. The importance of the role of maternal age in the risk of cesarean delivery is clearly demonstrated throughout this report: Older mothers are more likely to deliver by cesarean regardless of race, Hispanic origin, parity, marital status, or educational attainment. The overall rate of cesarean delivery is only slightly lower for black than for white mothers (22.1 percent compared with 23.0 percent), despite the generally lower educational attainment of black mothers and the higher percentage who are unmarried or in their teen years, all factors that tend to substantially lower the risk of cesarean delivery. However, there are many offsetting factors that tend to raise the cesarean rate for black mothers. A relatively high proportion of black births occur in the South, which has the highest cesarean rate of all regions; the incidence of low and very low birthweight is far higher for black births; and premature delivery is twice as frequent for black babies. Also, although rates of cesarean delivery for most medical risk factors, complications of labor and or delivery, and abnormal conditions of the infant are about the same for both races, the incidence of a number of these conditions is substantially higher for black mothers and babies, and that has the effect of increasing the overall cesarean rate for black mothers.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Développement langagier et cognitif de l'enfant durant les trois premières années en relation avec la durée des vocalisations maternelles et les jouets présents dans l'environment: étude longitudinale auprès de populations á risque.

This study compares language and cognitive development of children from different socio-economic backgrounds, during the first three years of their life, in relation to the duration of maternal vocalizations and to the number of toys available to the child in his/her environment. A total of 209 mother–child dyads participated in the study. The sample was divided in three groups of mothers: 65 teenage mothers (aged 14–19 yrs), 91 mothers of low socioeconomic status (LSES; aged 20–37 yrs), and 53 mothers of higher socioeconomic status (HSES; aged 22–37 yrs). Results showed that children of teenage mothers and children of LSES mothers had a language development and a cognitive development inferior to those of children of HSES mothers. The duration of maternal vocalization at 6 and at 18 mo of age was related to measures of child development, particularly to child language development at 18 and 24 mo. Furthermore, the number of linguistic and social toys in the child's environment was correlated with some measures of language and cognitive development. Variability in children's language and cognitive development is related to environmental factors which seem more significant at certain times than others in the child's development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Proinflammatory cytokines regulate antigen-independent T-cell activation by two separate calcium-signaling pathways in multiple sclerosis patients

OBJECTIVE: The study examined the prevalence of low birth weight among biracial infants of black and white parents, by region of the United States. METHODS: Using the national linked live birth-death infant file for 1991, low birth weight (<2,500 g) was examined among 50,980 biracial singleton infants according to parental race (black mother-white father vs. white mother-black father). RESULTS: Nationally, the rate of low birth weight was 31% higher in the black mother-white father group (8.4%) than in the white mother-black father group (6.4%). The difference was smaller in the Northeast, reflecting a high rate (9.8%) for biracial infants of Puerto-Rican white mothers. The difference in the West was larger (75%), due to both a high rate in the black mother-white father group (9.1%) and a low rate for the white mother-black father group (5.2%), and persisted after controlling for parental education and a variety of maternal risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Further studies are needed to identify the maternal factors involved in the regional differences in the prevalence of low birth weight among biracial infants.     

Adolescent pregnancy and parenthood: Recent evidence and future directions.

An overview of recent research on adolescent sexual activity, pregnancy, and parenthood is presented, with a focus on the dearth of knowledge concerning psychological precursors and consequences. Although the rate of teenage childbearing has decreased substantially this century, increasing rates of sexual activity, illegitimacy, and welfare receipt raise public concerns. New research is discussed that suggests that many negative outcomes previously ascribed to mothers' age are as much causes or correlates of teenage pregnancy as effects of it, although this claim is less substantiated regarding effects on children of teenage mothers. Literature on fathers and grandmothers is summarized, and suggestions are made for furthering this research. An overview is given of recent successes among intervention programs, and policy implications of the new federal welfare law are considered for teenage mothers and their children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mothers' differential treatment of their adolescent childbearing and nonchildbearing children: Contrasts between and within families.

This study examined mothers' differential treatment of adolescent sibling pairs in 2 family contexts: families with and without an adolescent childbearing daughter. Results based on mothers' ratings and children's ratings revealed that the mothers of childbearing daughters treated all of their children less affectionately than did the mothers of nonchildbearing adolescents. In families with a childbearing daughter, mothers expected a brighter future for and treated their never-pregnant daughter(s) more favorably than their childbearing daughter, and mothers' harsh treatment toward their children was correlated with high financial stress, excessive time spent caring for their daughter's child, and younger children's sexual behavior and drug and alcohol use. Findings highlight the preferential parenting that occurs within the families of childbearing teens and suggest its ramifications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aging mothers' and their adult daughters' perceptions of conflict behaviors.

Aging parents tend to perceive greater compatibility between themselves and offspring than do offspring, but there is little research examining differences in perceptions of conflicts. Ninety-six older mothers (M age?=?76) and their daughters (M age?=?44) together selected a conflictual incident, then individually rated the degree to which they and the other person had engaged in destructive, constructive, or avoidant conflict behaviors. Mothers and daughters reported using constructive approaches more than other approaches. Mothers claimed to engage in constructive behaviors more than daughters recognized. Daughters reported engaging in destructive and avoidant behaviors more than mothers realized. Mothers also thought daughters felt better about the incident than daughters reported feeling about it. Findings suggest older mothers' underestimate daughters' negative behaviors and feelings in conflict situations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex ratios: are there natural variations within the human population?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate on a population basis the suggestion that certain factors naturally alter the odds of having a boy or a girl, and that some women are predisposed towards having children of one particular gender. DESIGN: Routine data analysis. POPULATION: Routinely collected data on singleton infants born in Scotland from 1975 to 1988, linked so that births (live and still) to the same mother could be identified. The analyses relate to 549,048 first to fifth order births occurring to 330,088 women whose records were complete from the first delivery onwards. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Gender of infant. RESULTS: Of 549,048 births, 51.4% were male. Apart from random variation, the sex ratio of 1.06 remained constant at all birth orders (P = 0.18). The probability of a male infant appeared unrelated to the genders of the preceding siblings (P > 0.20 in second to fifth deliveries), and there was no evidence of variation with maternal age (P = 0.31), maternal height (P = 0.69), paternal social class (P = 0.12), maternal social class (P = 0.57), year of delivery (P = 0.84) or season of birth (P = 0.41). Whilst mothers whose children were all the same gender were more likely to continue childbearing than those with children of different genders, there was no evidence that those with daughters were more likely to continue than those with sons. CONCLUSIONS: The suggestion that some women have a natural predisposition towards having children of a particular gender is not supported by these data. On a population basis there is no evidence to suggest that gender determination is anything other than a chance process.     

Adjustment of Mothers of Children With Obstetrical Brachial Plexus Injuries: Testing a Risk and Resistance Model.

Objective: To investigate direct and moderating effects of risk and resistance factors on the adjustment of mothers of children with obstetrical brachial plexus injuries (OBPI). Participants: Fifty-three mothers of children with OBPI recruited from an OBPI clinic in an Australian pediatric hospital. Measures: OBPI Severity Scale, Parents of Children With Disabilities Inventory, Family APGAR, Short Form Social Support Questionnaire-6, Life Orientation Test-Revised, Perceived Control of Internal States Scale, General Health Questionnaire-12. Results: The factors explained 30% of maternal adjustment variation. Resistance factors explained a unique 18%. Optimism was the only significant moderator. Conclusions: Findings confirm the importance of risk and resistance factors in maternal adjustment and enhance understanding by identifying optimism as a moderator of the risk/adjustment relationship. Interventions promoting optimism may facilitate maternal adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social connectedness and mothering: Effects of maternal employment and maternal absence.

We conducted two separate studies to test N. Chodorow's (1978) theory concerning the relationship between mothering and social connectedness, that is, a sense of self in relation to others. In two correlational studies, we examined the effects of maternal employment and maternal absence (because of death or divorce) on young adults' social connectedness, as measured by the Interpersonal Orientation (IO) Scale (W. C. Swap and J. Z. Rubin; see record 1983-22471-001). Although differences in maternal employment were not related to IO, maternal absence was related to IO. Daughters whose mothers had been absent since the daughters' early childhood rated themselves lowest on IO; this was especially true of daughters who did not report having a mother substitute. This finding provides support for Chodorow's theory because it documents a predicted sex difference, a predicted effect of "mothering" versus "fathering," and a predicted difference between early (i.e., preoedipal) and later absence. Future empirical work on moderators of child-rearing experience is warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Epidemiologic paradox in multiple births among Asians in Illinois. Correlation between risk factors and outcomes

OBJECTIVE: To determine if the plural birth rate, maternal risk factors and neonatal outcomes among Asian American populations residing in Illinois are homogeneous or heterogeneous with regard to maternal risk factors and neonatal outcomes and to attempt to establish correlations between maternal risk factors and neonatal outcomes. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 1,145,962 computerized birth certificate files were analyzed for 11 Asian subgroups giving birth in Illinois in the years 1989-1994. RESULTS: The multiple birth rates varied between 6 per 1,000 (Vietnamese) to 15 per 1,000 (Cambodian) (heterogeneity among all groups, P < .005). The percent of neonates born at gestational ages 22-33 weeks varied between 0 (Cambodian) to 28 (Thai). Japanese women showed the highest rate of neonates with birth weight less than 2,500 g after adjustment for race: 15.38 per 1,000. Women from Cambodia and Laos had the highest sum of maternal risk factors; those from the Philippines and Thailand had the least. The lowest collective adverse neonatal outcomes were in infants born to women from Cambodia and Laos. CONCLUSION: The 11 subgroups of Asians living in Illinois demonstrate heterogeneity with respect to multiple birth rate, selected maternal risk factors and adverse neonatal outcomes. After considering all maternal risk factors and neonatal outcomes, the two groups (Cambodians and Laotians) with the poorest maternal risk factors had the lowest rate of poor neonatal outcomes. This is the first time that this epidemiologic paradox has been observed in twins of Asian ancestry.     

Declines in teenage birth rates, 1991-97: national and state patterns

This report presents data on the numbers of teenage births and teenage birth rates for the United States for the period 1950-97 and State-specific birth rates for teenagers for 1991-96. After increasing sharply in the late 1980's, birth rates declined for American teenagers from 1991 through 1997. Rates fell overall by 16 percent for teenagers 15-17 years and by 11 percent for teenagers 18-19 years. Declines were reported for all race and ethnic origin groups, with the largest declines found for black teenagers, especially those aged 15-17 years. Particularly noteworthy has been the 21-percent decline in the rate of second births for teenagers who have had one child. Rates have fallen for first births as well, but the reductions are more modest, about 6 percent. Teenage mothers and their babies continue to be at greater risk of adverse health consequences compared with older mothers, including higher rates of preterm birth and low birthweight. While teenage birth rates vary considerably by State, rates fell in all States in the 1990's with nearly all declines statistically significant. Rates for black and non-Hispanic white teenagers dropped in most States from 1991 to 1996. Birth rate trends for Hispanic teenagers by State were not consistent. The proportion of second and higher order births among all teenage births declined substantially in most States. Data are from the National Center for Health Statistics' (NCHS) National Vital Statistics System.     

Fetal thrombocytopenia and its relation to maternal thrombocytopenia

BACKGROUND: Neonates with severe thrombocytopenia can have bleeding leading to death or lifelong residual defects. The predictors, frequency, and consequences of fetal thrombocytopenia are not known, nor is it known if there are maternal clinical features that could predict fetal thrombocytopenia. METHODS: We conducted a seven-year cross-sectional study in which platelet counts were determined in newborns' umbilical-cord blood and blood obtained from their mothers at consecutive deliveries in one obstetrical unit. The relations of the umbilical-cord platelet count to maternal risk factors were determined. RESULTS: Platelet counts were determined in blood samples from 15,471 mothers and 15,932 newborn infants. The cord-blood platelet count was less than 50,000 per cubic millimeter in 19 infants (0.12 percent; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.07 to 0.19 percent), whereas the platelet count was less than 150,000 per cubic millimeter in 6.6 percent of the mothers (95 percent confidence interval, 6.2 to 7.0 percent). One infant among those born to 756 mothers with incidental thrombocytopenia, 5 infants among those born to 1414 mothers with hypertension, and 4 infants among those born to 46 mothers with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura had cord-blood platelet counts between 20,000 and 50,000 per cubic millimeter. Only 6 infants (0.04 percent; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.01 to 0.08 percent) had cord-blood platelet counts of less than 20,000 per cubic millimeter; all their mothers were among the 18 whose 19 fetuses were at risk for neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia. Two of these infants had in utero intracranial hemorrhage. In addition, 3 infants born to these 18 women had cord-blood platelet counts between 20,000 and 50,000 per cubic millimeter; there was 1 stillbirth due to intracranial hemorrhage. CONCLUSIONS: Moderate-to-severe fetal thrombocytopenia is a rare event. The only severely affected neonates with morbidity or mortality due to this condition are those born to mothers with antiplatelet alloantibodies.