Birthplace Effect Research Articles

Nutrient Intake Across Ethnically Diverse US Adults: Is There a Protective Birthplace Effect?

Nutrient Intake Across Ethnically Diverse US Adults: Is There a Protective Birthplace Effect?

Birth Advantages in Male Italian Soccer: How They Influence Players Youth Career and Their Future Career Status.

Soccer organizations generally adopt deterministic models within their talent pathways. In this framework, early ability and results are emphasized, leading to selection biases, such as birth advantages (i.e., relative age effects and birthplace effects), which research has shown affect both early developmental experiences and continued sporting involvement. Accordingly, this study aimed to (a) provide further test of birth advantages in Italian youth soccer by exploring the birth quarter (BQ) and birthplace (BP) distribution of 1050 male Italian players born between 1999 and 2001 who competed in the national U17 championship throughout the 2015-16 season and (b) investigate how birth advantages influenced selected players' future career status. Chi-square goodness-of-fit tests revealed early born players, and players born in North Italy were overrepresented at the youth level (p-values < 0.0001). Successive prospective analysis revealed only 18% of players developed into professional-level soccer players. Chi-square tests of independence indicated that players' BP was associated with their future career status (p < 0.0001), whereas their BQ was not (p = 0.459). Odds ratios showed players born in North Italy were five times more likely to complete the youth-to-senior transition than those born in South Italy. These findings highlighted environmental factors influence Italian players' early developmental experiences and their future career status.

Does birthplace affect intergenerational social mobility of migrants in urban escalators? Evidence from China

AbstractThere is a growing body of literature on the effects of escalator regions on intergenerational social mobility (ISM) of migrants. Nevertheless, the role of migrant origins in migration outcomes remain neglected. To address this gap, this study attempts to investigate whether migrants' birthplaces continue to have an impact after they move to escalator regions and the mechanism of this impact. Using data from the 2010, 2013, and 2015 Chinese General Social Survey, our findings suggest that the effect of escalator regions on migrants' ISM varies according to the size of their birthplace. Furthermore, the birthplace effect on migrants' ISM when relocating to escalator regions is partially mediated by the birthplace effect on education. Finally, it was found that this birthplace effect varies according to dynamic human capital; migrants with high levels of dynamic human capital can overcome the birthplace effect after relocating to escalator regions.

Place Matters: A Study on the Influence of Birthplace and the Place of Development on Soccer Academy Players' Careers.

The effect of birthplace (the place where a player is born and grows up) is one of the key variables associated with soccer player development and achievement. However, recent studies have questioned the influence of contextual variables on selection and promotion processes related to birthplace. The main purposes of this study were: (1) establish whether there is a difference between the birthplace and sporting growth according to the stages of entry into the academy, (2) to evaluate the influence of geographical and contextual variables on sporting development, and (3) assess the chances of making a professional team debut. Applied logistic regression was used in order to analyse the birthplace and growth of 1411 male soccer players, of which 40.1% are incorporated in the U-12 category from a Spanish First division club, and the results showed a statistically significant association between a change from one's birthplace to the place of sporting growth and later success (79%). Key contextual variables such as number of inhabitants, population density, proximity to sports facilities, average household income and presence of sports clubs have been considered. The analysis of the contextual variables revealed that there was a positive relationship between certain variables, like a higher population, and being selected for the academy (p < 0.01; r = 0.28). Finally, the findings showed that players who experienced a geographical transition were 38% more likely to make a professional debut. The importance of considering the place of sporting growth when analysing the "birthplace effect" has therefore been demonstrated.

Is the quality of public health facilities always worse compared to private health facilities: Association between birthplace on neonatal deaths in the Indian states.

The role of place of delivery on the neonatal health outcomes are very crucial. Although the quality of care is being improved, there is no consensus about who is the better healthcare provider in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), public or private facilities. The aim of this study is to assess the differentials in neonatal mortality by the type of healthcare providers in India and its states. We used the data from the fourth wave of the National Family Health Survey 2015-16 (NFHS-4). Information on 259,627 live births to women within the five years preceding the survey was examined. Neonatal mortality rates for state and national levels were calculated using DHS methodology. Multi-variate logistics regression was performed to find the effect of birthplace on neonatal deaths. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to evaluate the relationship between place of delivery and neonatal deaths to account for the bias attributable to observable covariates. The rise in parity of the women and purchasing power influences the choice of healthcare providers. Increased neonatal mortality was found in private hospital delivery compared to public hospitals in Punjab, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Goa, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka states using propensity score matching analysis. However, analysis on the standard of pre-natal and post-natal care indicates that private hospitals generally outperformed public hospitals. The study observed a significant variation in neonatal mortality among public and private health care systems in India. Findings of the study urges that more attention be paid to the improve care at the place of delivery to improve neonatal health. There is a need of strengthened national health policy and public-private partnerships in order to improve maternal and child health care in both private and public health facilities.

The birthplace and relative age effects in Brazilian olympic athletes: a cross-national comparison.

Our purpose was to verify the existence of birthplace and relative age effect (RAE), as well as the association between birthplace effect and RAE among Brazilian athletes competing in the Olympic Games. Data included information about Brazilian Summer Olympic athletes from 1920 to 2021. To investigate RAE, athletes' birthdate was distributed into birth quartiles (Q1: Jan-Mar; Q2: Apr-Jun; Q3: Jul-Sep; Q4: Oct-Dec), while birthplace effect was assessed considering the state and the region (Southeast; Northeast; South; North; and Midwest) of birth. The Chi-square test (χ2) was used to verify differences between the birthplace effect and RAE. The sample consisted of 388 Brazilian athletes of both sexes, distributed in 38 sports modalities from 23 Brazilian states (Southeast = 66.5%; South = 14.4%; Northeast = 12.1%; North = 1.5%; Midwest = 5.4%). For both sexes, most of the athletes were from the São Paulo state (37.4%), followed by Rio de Janeiro (18.3%), both from the Southeast region. For birthdate distribution according to birthplace, it was observed that the North region presented the highest frequency of athletes born in Q1 (50%), followed by the Northeast and Southeast regions. No significant differences were found for the birthplace effect (χ2 = 5.69, value of p = 0.128) and RAE between sexes (χ2 = 0.530, value of p = 0.912), nor was shown an association between the birthplace effect and RAE. Most Brazilian Olympic athletes are from the Southeast region, but no RAE was established regarding their birthplace. Results from the present study can guide sports public policies in Brazilian regions, especially in the Midwest, North, and Northeast regions, which are underrepresented in Brazilian high-performance sports.

All roads lead to Rome? Exploring birthplace effects and the ‘southern question’ in Italian soccer

ABSTRACT The expression “southern question” is used in reference to the poverty and economic underdevelopment, less advanced social relations, and clientelist style of politics that characterize South-Italy compared to North and Central Italy. This study aimed to investigate the presence of the “southern question” in Italian soccer. Accordingly, we examined the birthplace distribution of 2,012 Italian soccer players who have played in any national representative team (U15: n = 466; U16-U21: n = 1,939; Senior Team: n = 217). Chi-square analysis revealed an overrepresentation of players born in North and Central Italy, in all cohorts, compared to national norms (all P values < 0.0001). Odds ratios showed that players born in North and Central Italy had the greatest likelihood of representing Italy internationally at both youth and senior levels compared to players born in South Italy (ranging from 2 to 3.2). Factors that negatively impact upon South-Italy players’ soccer developmental journey have been proposed and discussed.

The long shadow of local decline: Birthplace economic adversity and long-term individual outcomes in the UK

Does growing up in a high-economic adversity area matter for individual economic, cultural, and political views? Despite a significant focus upon the effect of birthplace on economic outcomes, there is less evidence on how local economic conditions at birth shape individual attitudes over the long-term. This paper links the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) from English and Welsh respondents with historic localised information on unemployment, our measure of economic adversity. Our results, which control for composition effects, family background, and sorting of people across places, show that being born into a high-unemployment Local Authority has a significant, long-term impact on individuals. Birthplace matters beyond economic outcomes, as being born into a Local Authority of high unemployment makes individuals believe in more government intervention in jobs, less progressive on gender issues, and less likely to support the Conservative Party.

Associations between urban birth or childhood trauma and first-episode schizophrenia mediated by low IQ

Exposure to urban birth, childhood trauma, and lower Intelligence Quotient (IQ) were the most well-established risk factors for schizophrenia in developed countries. In developing countries, whether urban birth is a risk factor for schizophrenia and how these factors are related to one another remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether IQ mediates the relationship between urban birth or childhood trauma and first-episode schizophrenia (FES) in China. Birthplace, childhood trauma questionnaire (CTQ), and IQ were collected from 144 patients with FES and 256 healthy controls (HCs). Hierarchical logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the associations between birthplace, childhood trauma, IQ, and FES. Furthermore, mediation analysis was used to explore the mediation of IQ in the relationship between birthplace or childhood trauma and FES. After adjusting for age, sex and educational attainment, the final model identified urban birth (odds ratio (OR) = 3.15, 95% CI = 1.54, 6.44) and childhood trauma (OR = 2.79, 95% CI = 1.92, 4.06) were associated an elevated risk for FES. The 52.94% total effect of birthplace on the risk of FES could be offset by IQ (indirect effect/direct effect). The association between childhood trauma and FES could be partly explained by IQ (22.5%). In total, the mediation model explained 70.5% of the total variance in FES. Our study provides evidence that urban birth and childhood trauma are associated with an increased risk of FES. Furthermore, IQ mediates the relationship between urban birth or childhood trauma and FES.

The geography of talent development.

Geography (i.e., birthplace) is one of many factors that influence talent development. When one's birthplace leads to advantages in sport participation or performance, it is called a birthplace effect. Nearly two decades of committed research has revealed that birthplace effects are pervasive across sports and countries. Recently, researchers have attempted to better understand birthplace effects by considering various metrics that serve as proxies for birth advantages; for instance, population size, population density, and proximity to sport clubs. Underlying mechanisms that explain birthplace effects include infrastructure (e.g., environment and facilities) and social structure (e.g., family and safety), though contextual differences across existing research (e.g., sports and countries) make it difficult to fully explain the effects. Herein, we provide more depth regarding these elements of birthplace effects, while also presenting new data on “talent hotspots”; that is, communities with optimal population and density for talent development.

Prevalence of Primary Liver Cancer is Affected by Place of Birth in Hispanic People Residing in the United States: All of Us Research Program Report.

Hispanic individuals have a disproportionately higher incidence and mortality for stomach, cervix, and liver cancers compared to Non-Hispanic White people. Since disparities in cancer incidence are influenced by multiple factors including immigration, elucidating the effect of birthplace and exposure to risk factors on the prevalence of these cancers is crucial for identifying high-risk populations and target risk reduction interventions. The National Institutes of Health All of Us Research Program is a prospective, multidimensional biomedical data resource of underrepresented, minoritized people. The Registered Tier Dataset v5 was utilized to evaluate the prevalence and risk of stomach, cervix, and liver cancers among United States (US) born and non-US born Hispanic participants. Of over 434000 current participants, 60540 are Hispanic; 30803 (50.9%) reported being US born and 29294 (48.4%) non-US born. Non-US born Hispanic participants had significantly higher prevalence (.39% vs .21%, P < .001) and associated risk (OR 1.84, 95% CI 1.29-2.64, P < .001) of liver cancer, and trend towards higher prevalence of stomach (.14% vs .09%, P = .076) and cervix cancers (.27% vs .20%, P = .083) compared to US born counterparts. US born Hispanic patients with these 3 cancers were significantly younger than non-US born cohort (mean age 56.8 vs 61.7years, P < .001). This is the first report using All of Us data to show that non-US born Hispanic participants have a higher risk of liver cancer compared to US born participants. Further analyses, including genomic studies, are necessary to understand these differences and identify targets for risk reduction interventions.

The Birthplace Effect in 14-18-Year-Old Athletes Participating in Competitive Individual and Team Sports.

The birthplace (the place where an athlete was born) effect (BPE) has been found to be one of the environmental variables associated with early talent development and the achievement of a high level of proficiency in sport. The purpose of the current study is twofold: (1) to calculate the BPE in 14–18-year-old athletes who participated in individual and team sports and (2) examine how coaches perceived this effect. The participants were 1397 athletes (390 females and 1007 males) who competed in 5 individual (gymnastics, judo, swimming, tennis, and track and field) and 5 team (basketball, soccer, team handball, volleyball, and water polo) sports, as well as 147 coaches who provided their preliminary thoughts about the BPE. Data analyses revealed that although the BPE was not found to be associated with cities of a similar size, it was observed that growing up in cities of small and medium sizes was more beneficial than growing up in towns or cities of other sizes. Most of the coaches believed that certain characteristics of the place or city where the athlete grew up (e.g., proximity to sport facilities) could contribute positively to the athlete’s development. We discuss how the BPE data can aid policymakers in developing a sport policy associated with early phases of talent development.

Breast cancer screening among Hispanic and non-Hispanic White women by birthplace in the Sister Study.

BackgroundHispanic/Latina women are less likely to be diagnosed with local stage breast cancer than White women. Additionally, foreign‐born women have lower mammography rates than US‐born women. We evaluated the combined effect of birthplace and race/ethnicity on screening habits of women at higher‐than‐average risk of breast cancer.MethodsMultinomial logistic regression was used to evaluate breast cancer screening in 44,524 women in the Sister Study cohort. Screening methods ascertained at enrollment (2003–2009) included mammography, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging. Timing of screening was assessed as recently (≤2 years ago), formerly (>2 years ago), and never screened. Adjustments included sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and health variables.ResultsMost women in the sample were US‐born non‐Hispanic/Latina White (92%), were ≥50 years old (73%), had one first‐degree female relative with breast cancer (73%), and were screened in the past two years (97%). US‐born Hispanic/Latina women had higher odds (odds ratio [OR] = 1.47, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.08–2.00) than US‐born non‐Hispanic/Latina White women of not having received a breast cancer screening in the past 2 years, relative to a recent screening. Similarly, foreign‐born Hispanic/Latina women had higher odds (OR = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.10–2.41) than US‐born non‐Hispanic/Latina White women of never having received a breast cancer screening.ConclusionWe observed that Hispanic/Latina women have higher odds of never and dated breast cancer screenings compared to US‐born White women. Birthplace and race/ethnicity each contribute to disparities in who receives preventative health care in the United States. It is critical to include birthplace when evaluating health behaviors in minority groups.

The interacting effects of religion and birthplace on the labour market outcomes of Asian immigrants in Australia

The interacting effects of religion and birthplace on the labour market outcomes of Asian immigrants in Australia

The Influence of Contextual Aspects in Talent Development: Interaction Between Relative Age and Birthplace Effects in NBA-Drafted Players.

The aims of this study were two-fold: (1) to inspect separately for the relative age and birthplace effects for players selected in the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft; (2) to explore the interaction among these factors and analyse this interaction in players' career performance. The database was obtained from the official records of the players (n = 1,738), who were selected during the annual editions of the NBA Draft from 1990 to 2019. The participants' date of birth was analyzed according to the month of birth and divided into four quartiles. The place of birth was compared to the distribution of the general population' places of birth based on different communities' sizes. Chi-square analysis were used to determine if the relative age and birthplace of the players drafted differed in any systematic way from official census population distributions. Cluster analysis and standardized residuals were calculated to analyse the interaction among the contextual factors and the players' career performance. The data revealed that early-born players (Q1 and Q2) were over-represented. Moreover, players born in smaller cities (<100,000) were over-represented. The interaction analysis revealed that the players born in the bigger communities relate mainly with relatively younger players, and clusters that correspond to players born in smaller communities integrated the relatively older players. No differences were found in the players' career performance. Researchers, coaches and practitioners should be aware of the interaction between contextual factors to help nurture the development of sport talent regardless of age-related issues or communities' size.

Inequality in Brazilian basketball: the birthplace effect

abstract This study aimed to investigate the birthplace effect in Brazilian basketball athletes of both sexes according their states and geographical regions. Our hypothesis is that the São Paulo (SP) state is the leading player in the Southeastern region and stands out from the other regions. The birthplace of Brazilian athletes participating in the FIBA World Cup and in two national leagues were collected from open-access websites. Three hundred and fifteen athletes’ birthplaces were included. The absolute and relative frequencies of athletes’ birthplaces per state and geographical region were calculated. Chi-Square tests were used to compare the expected and the observed frequencies of birthplaces among regions and states. Odds Ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated to indicate the probability of a high-level athlete to be born in a certain region or state. The results completely confirmed our hypothesis, showing higher frequencies of athletes born in the Southeastern region, especially in the SP state. We concluded that the uneven participation in basketball in Brazil is caused by the continental dimensions of the country and the modality historical context. Concentrating basketball clubs on a single region or state (SP) leads to an underuse of the sporting potential in the country.

Mechanisms explaining the birthplace effect for male elite football players

ABSTRACT Earlier research shows that wide regional variations exist in the success of athletes’ talent development but is divided with respect to the role of urbanity: both low and high urbanity have been identified as settings that contribute to the presence of talent hotspots. In this article, we intend to provide more insight into the role of urbanity in talent development in Dutch football. We used public data on the regional background of male elite players (N = 825) and combined this with public data on municipal characteristics from Statistics Netherlands and other sources: urbanity, football participation, instructional resources and population composition effects (migration background and income of inhabitants). Linear regression analysis showed that football participation, the proportion of non-western migrants and median income predict “talent yield”, i.e., the proportion of young people that reach an elite level in a municipality. Urbanity does not have an independent influence when the proportion of non-western migrants in the municipality is taken into account. The presence of instructional resources does not have an independent influence. The results suggest that characteristics of the built environment, such as indoor and outdoor play opportunities, may be less influential in talent development than previously assumed.

Almost identical but still treated differently: hiring discrimination against foreign-born and domestic-born minorities

ABSTRACT Focusing on birthplace (foreign vs. domestic) and origin group (European vs. Middle Eastern or African), this article examines the effects of cultural distance signals on discrimination against ethnic minority job applicants. Drawing on a cross-nationally harmonised correspondence test (N = 5780), we investigate how employers in five Western European destination countries (Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and the U.K.) respond to job applications from majority and minority group members, with minority job applicants being either very similar (domestic-born and/or European origin) to the majority population or rather different (foreign-born and/or Middle Eastern/African). Our results are generally consistent with taste-based discrimination theory. Employers pay attention to signals of cultural distance, which results in particularly high levels of discrimination against foreign-born minorities and against minorities originating from Middle Eastern and African countries. Although origin group has a stronger effect on employer responses than birthplace, they jointly exert an additive effect. This results in particularly low labour market chances for foreign-born minorities of Middle Eastern and African origin. Separate country analyses, however, reveal important country differences, both with respect to the size of the minority penalty and the joint effect of birthplace and origin group.

It’s cold and there’s something to do: The changing geography of Canadian National Hockey League players’ hometowns

Set within the framework of the birthplace effect literature and the seminal work of Curtis and Birch, this paper draws information from the publicly available database www.hockeydb.com and from the Census to examine the hometowns of Canadian National Hockey League (NHL) players from 1970 to 2015. It found that from a regional perspective, the distribution of players’ hometowns remained fairly stable over the 46-year period with Ontario and the three Prairie provinces being prominent. Players from small centres have been well represented in the NHL. While larger urban areas have historically produced the most players, there has been a marked increase in ‘big city’ players while the odds of making it are low. However, when the analysis is adjusted according to the population aged 10-19, boys growing up in small and mid-sized centres were at advantage in reaching the NHL until 2009. Finally, we discuss whether the growing presence of big city players in the NHL will affect the image of hockey as a national sport, as for many, small-town hockey remains at the heart of Canadian sporting culture.

The Determinants of Intragroup Conflicts in Public Sector Organizations: Focusing on the network effects of college alumni and birthplace, gender similarity

The Determinants of Intragroup Conflicts in Public Sector Organizations: Focusing on the network effects of college alumni and birthplace, gender similarity