BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:
Little is known about the 2% of US children being raised by their grandparents. We sought to characterize and compare grandparent- and parent-headed households with respect ...to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), child temperament, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and caregiver aggravation and coping.
METHODS:
Using a combined data set of children ages 3 to 17 from the 2016, 2017, and 2018 National Survey of Children’s Health, we applied survey regression procedures, adjusted for sociodemographic confounders, to compare grandparent- and parent-headed households on composite and single-item outcome measures of ACEs; ADHD; preschool inattention and restlessness; child temperament; and caregiver aggravation, coping, support, and interactions with children.
RESULTS:
Among 80 646 households (2407 grandparent-headed, 78 239 parent-headed), children in grandparent-headed households experienced more ACEs (β = 1.22, 95% confidence interval CI: 1.07 to 1.38). Preschool-aged and school-aged children in grandparent-headed households were more likely to have ADHD (adjusted odds ratio = 4.29, 95% CI: 2.22 to 8.28; adjusted odds ratio = 1.72, 95% CI: 1.34 to 2.20). School-aged children in these households had poorer temperament (βadj = .25, 95% CI: −0.63 to 1.14), and their caregivers experienced greater aggravation (βadj = .29, 95% CI: 0.08 to 0.49). However, these differences were not detected after excluding children with ADHD from the sample. No differences were noted between grandparent- and parent-headed households for caregiver coping, emotional support, or interactions with children.
CONCLUSIONS:
Despite caring for children with greater developmental problems and poorer temperaments, grandparent caregivers seem to cope with parenting about as well as parents.
BACKGROUND:Breastfeeding is thought to promote healthy cognitive development. A small number of studies have also reported a protective association between breastfeeding and autism spectrum disorder ...(ASD). The National Survey of Children’s Health (2007, 2011), a large nationally representative survey of US children, was examined to determine whether breastfeeding of infants is associated with later development of ASD.
METHODS:Respondents with a child ages 2–5 years (n = 37,901) were queried about whether their child was currently diagnosed with ASD and about their child’s breastfeeding history. Additional information was available about child and family health history and family demographics. Survey-weighted logistic regressions were employed to examine ASD diagnosis as associated with several breastfeeding exposure metrics including a history of partial or exclusive breastfeeding for the first 3 or 6 months, and duration of partial or exclusive breastfeeding.
RESULTS:Across models, a current diagnosis of ASD (n = 391) was unassociated with any measure of breastfeeding history. Adjusted odds ratios for categorical breastfeeding exposures ranged from 0.68 (confidence interval CI = 0.4, 1.3) for any partial breastfeeding to 0.74 (CI = 0.3, 1.7) for 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding. When exposure was measured continuously, adjusted odds ratios were 1.03 (CI = 0.97, 1.10) for each additional month of partial breastfeeding and 1.04 (CI = 0.96, 1.13) for each additional month of exclusive breastfeeding.
CONCLUSION:These findings call into question the results from the small body of research that has examined this issue to date.
Introduction: According to the CDC's National Survey of Non-Parental Care (NSNPC), more than 3% of children live apart from their parents. Approximately two-thirds of children in non-parental care ...are being raised by one or more grandparents. Children in non-parental care have a greater incidence of developmental and behavioral disorders. At the same time, parenting grandparents may feel isolated from peers and may not take advantage of local/online supports. Although the NSNPC provides important insights into the health, parenting, and social support issues of the grandparent-child dyad, it did not include a contemporaneous cohort of children living with parents. The 2016 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) provides the opportunity to compare children in households being raised by one/both grandparents (GP-HH) with children being raised by one/both parents (P-HH). Objective: To assess the extent of differences between grandparent caregivers (GP-Cs) and parent caregivers (P-Cs) in managing day-to-day parenting demands and to examine several discrete child characteristics and parenting behaviors in a large, nationally representative sample of US children. Methods: Data from the 2016 NSCH reflects 50,212 completed interviews, and survey results are adjusted and weighted to reflect the demographic composition of non-institutionalized children/adolescents ages 0-17. Rao-Scott chi square tests were done to assess between-group differences, and adjusted odds ratios were then calculated for NSCH items regarding: child temperament, child behavior, caregiver health status, caregiver support, and quality of caregiver-child interaction. Results: The NSCH data set consisted of 1,250 GP-HH (276 single GP-C; 974 2GP-CG) and 44,807 P-HH (4,812 single P-C; 39,995 2P-C). There were no differences in child sex or age, or respondent sex between GP-HH and P-HH. GP-HH had a greater proportion of non-Hispanic black children, household income at or below the federal poverty line, lower level of education, and were more likely to be single-parent households (all p < 0.0001). GCs reported worse physical health and mental health. Children in GP-HH were somewhat more argumentative, more likely to become angry/anxious with transitions, and to lose their temper. GP-C and P-C did not differ when asked if the child "does things that really bother" them, is "harder to care for" than peers, or if they "felt angry with this child". Grandparents and parents did not differ on most measures of parent coping, parenting stress, or caregiver-child interactions when stratified by child health and child age. (Figure 1a-c). A substantial proportion of GP-C (31%) and P-C (24%) noted they did not have anyone "to turn to for day-to-day emotional support with parenting". Conclusion: In spite of raising seemingly more difficult children and despite having greater physical and mental health issues, grandparents raising their grandchildren appear to be coping with the stresses of parenting just as well as biological/adoptive parent caregivers.
Adolescent electronic vapor product (EVP) usage continues to increase and is associated with heightened engagement in other risk behaviors. However, there is limited research on associations between ...youth EVP use and sexual risk behaviors (SRBs). In this study, we examined how current youth EVP and/or cigarette usage, as well as EVP usage frequency, is related to several SRBs.
Respondents (
= 12 667) of the 2017 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey were categorized by previous 30-day EVP and/or cigarette usage: nonuse, EVP use only, cigarette use only, or dual use. Separately, respondents were categorized by previous 30-day EVP usage frequency: 0, 1 to 9, 10 to 29, or 30 days. Ten SRBs were identified as dependent variables. Adjusted prevalence ratios were calculated by using modified Poisson regression to determine associations between SRBs and both current EVP and/or cigarette usage and EVP usage frequency. Linear contrasts compared adjusted prevalence ratios across usage and frequency categories.
Youth EVP-only users and dual users were more likely than nonusers to engage in 9 of 10 SRBs. Prevalence proportions did not differ between EVP-only users and dual users for 7 of 10 behaviors. Occasional EVP users were more likely than nonusers to engage in 9 of 10 SRBs and were similarly as likely as frequent and daily users to engage in all 10 SRBs.
EVP usage among US high school students, with or without concurrent cigarette use, was associated with heightened engagement in several SRBs. Prevalence of engagement in most SRBs did not differ among occasional, frequent, and daily EVP users.
Electronic vapor products (EVPs) have gained popularity among adolescents despite the health risks. This study aimed to evaluate whether sports team participation, a well-established protective ...factor against cigarette use, is similarly associated with decreased EVP use.
This cross-sectional study analyzed the 2015-2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey cohorts. Survey-weighted logistic regressions investigated associations between sports team participation and past 30-day exclusive cigarette use, exclusive EVP use, and dual cigarette/EVP use among US high school students, adjusting for sex, grade, and survey year.
The analytic cohort included 16 790 sports team participants (1.7% exclusive cigarette users, 18.3% exclusive EVP users, 5.5% dual users) and 13 972 nonparticipants (3.1% exclusive cigarette users, 13.4% exclusive EVP users, 7.6% dual users). Sports team participation was associated with lower odds of cigarette use (adjusted odds ratio aOR, 0.58; 95% confidence interval CI, 0.48-0.71) and dual use (aOR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.63-0.88) and higher odds of EVP use (aOR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.25-1.54). Among exclusive cigarette users and exclusive EVP users, sports team participation was associated with lower odds of frequent (≥20 days in the past month) than intermittent (1-19 days in the past month) cigarette use (aOR, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.19-0.49) and EVP use (aOR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.61-0.91), respectively.
Our findings suggest that risk profiles for cigarette and EVP use differ with respect to sports team participation. Given the health risks associated with EVP use, aggressive efforts must be taken to educate student athletes about the health risks of EVP use.
This paper describes the epidemiologic evidence linking parent–child relationships, self-regulation, and weight status with a focus on early childhood. The emotional quality of parent–child ...interactions may influence children’s risk for obesity through multiple pathways. Prospective studies linking observer ratings of young children’s self-regulation, particularly inhibitory control, to future weight status are discussed. Although findings are preliminary, promoting positive relationships between parents/caregivers and young children holds promise as a component of efforts to prevent childhood obesity. Multi-disciplinary collaborations between researchers with training in developmental science and child health should be encouraged.
To quantify microbial contamination of human milk purchased via the Internet as an indicator of disease risk to recipient infants.
Cross-sectional sample of human milk purchased via a popular US ...milk-sharing Web site (2012). Individuals advertising milk were contacted to arrange purchase, and milk was shipped to a rented mailbox in Ohio. The Internet milk samples (n = 101) were compared with unpasteurized samples of milk donated to a milk bank (n = 20).
Most (74%) Internet milk samples were colonized with Gram-negative bacteria or had >10(4) colony-forming units/mL total aerobic count. They exhibited higher mean total aerobic, total Gram-negative, coliform, and Staphylococcus sp counts than milk bank samples. Growth of most species was positively associated with days in transit (total aerobic count log10 colony-forming units/mL β = 0.71 95% confidence interval: 0.38-1.05), and negatively associated with number of months since the milk was expressed (β = -0.36 95% confidence interval: -0.55 to -0.16), per simple linear regression. No samples were HIV type 1 RNA-positive; 21% of Internet samples were cytomegalovirus DNA-positive.
Human milk purchased via the Internet exhibited high overall bacterial growth and frequent contamination with pathogenic bacteria, reflecting poor collection, storage, or shipping practices. Infants consuming this milk are at risk for negative outcomes, particularly if born preterm or are medically compromised. Increased use of lactation support services may begin to address the milk supply gap for women who want to feed their child human milk but cannot meet his or her needs.
Although caffeine is commonly consumed during pregnancy, there are few reports on the association of in utero caffeine exposure with offspring cognition or behavior during childhood. We evaluated the ...association of maternal serum paraxanthine, caffeine's primary metabolite, at <20 and ≥26 weeks' gestation with the child's intelligence quotient (IQ) and problem behaviors at ages 4 and 7 years among 2,197 mother-child pairs. The mothers were controls from a case-control study of caffeine metabolites and spontaneous abortion that was nested within the Collaborative Perinatal Project (multiple US sites, 1959-1974). Associations of paraxanthine (adjusted for maternal age, race, education, smoking, prepregnancy weight, gestational age at blood draw, and child sex) with mean IQ were assessed by linear regression and associations with problem behaviors by logistic regression. Paraxanthine concentration at ≥26 weeks' gestation manifested an inverted-J-shaped association with child's IQ at age 7 years, with a peak difference (vs. undetectable) of 0.65 points at 750 µg/L (66th percentile) and a decrement thereafter. Paraxanthine at <20 weeks was linearly associated with internalizing behavior at age 4 years (for a 500-µg/L increase, odds ratio = 1.3, 95% confidence interval: 1.1, 1.5). None of the remaining 12 associations approached statistical significance. We conclude that over a range of values applicable to most pregnant women, there was no meaningful association of serum paraxanthine level with childhood IQ or problem behaviors.
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