Family Socioeconomic Position Research Articles

Childhood predictors of adolescent behaviour: The prospective association of familial factors with meeting physical activity guidelines.

Little is known about the longitudinal association of familial socio-demographic factors, behaviours, attitudes, or home environment with meeting physical activity guidelines. Our objective was to a) describe 4-year change in the prevalence of meeting guidelines, and characteristics of participants across categories of physical activity maintenance, and b) identify familial factors in childhood that are longitudinally associated with meeting guidelines in adolescence.Data on 17 parent- and child-reported family variables and objectively measured physical activity (ActiGraph GT1M) were available from 406 children (10.3 ± 0.3 years, 53.5% female) participating in the SPEEDY study. Average duration of week- and weekend day moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA, ≥ 2000 cpm) at baseline and follow-up (14.3 ± 0.3 years) were calculated to determine whether participants met 60 min MVPA/day guidelines at each assessment. Descriptives were calculated across four MVPA change categories. Multi-level logistic regression examined the association of baseline familial factors with meeting guidelines at follow-up, adjusting for sex, baseline physical activity, family socio-economic position, and school clustering.At follow-up, 51.5% and 36.1% of adolescents met guidelines on weekdays and weekend days, respectively (baseline: 68.0%, 67.2%). Girls were less likely than boys to remain sufficiently active, particularly on weekdays. Family social support was positively associated with adolescents meeting guidelines at weekends (OR 1.2; 95% CI 1.0–1.4). The presence of play equipment at home was negatively associated with meeting guidelines on weekdays (OR 0.5; 95% CI 0.3–0.8).Interventions that foster parent's facilitation of physical activity may help to encourage the upkeep of healthy behaviours during the transition from childhood to adolescence.

A Taste of Inequality: Food's Symbolic Value across the Socioeconomic Spectrum

Scholars commonly account for dietary disparities across socioeconomic status (SES) using structural explanations that highlight differences in individuals' wealth, income, or location. These explanations emphasize food’s material value. But food also carries symbolic value. This article shows how food's symbolic value helps drive dietary disparities. In-depth interviews with 160 parents and adolescents and 80 hours of observations with four families demonstrate how a family's socioeconomic position in part shapes the meanings that parents attach to food. These differing meanings contribute to distinct feeding strategies across the socioeconomic spectrum: whereas low-SES parents use food to buffer against deprivation, high-SES parents provision food to fulfill classed values around health and parenting. The findings suggest that an understanding of how families' material circumstances shape food's symbolic value is critical to fully account for dietary differences across SES.

Family socioeconomic position in early life and onset of depressive symptoms and depression: a prospective cohort study

PurposeTo investigate whether low parental socioeconomic position (SEP) at birth is associated only with early-onset depressive symptoms in offspring.MethodsThis prospective cohort study used data on 9193 individuals (4768 females, 4425 males) from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Depressive symptoms during three age periods (10–12, 12–16, 16–20 years) were assessed using the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire, and ICD-10 depression at age 18 was assessed using the Clinical Interview Schedule-Revised.ResultsLow SEP was associated with increased incidence rates of depressive symptoms in all age periods, with indicators of low standard of living showing the strongest associations. For instance, incidence rate ratios for material hardship were 1.75 (95% CI [1.42–2.15]) at 10–12 years, 1.36 (1.16–1.61) at 12–16 years and 1.39 (1.21–1.59) at 16–20 years. Low SEP was also associated with increased odds of ICD-10 depression at 18 years, ranging from OR = 1.20 (95% CI [0.94–1.52]) for manual social class to 1.74 (1.35–2.24) for material hardship.ConclusionsThere was no evidence that depressive symptoms can be “subtyped” by the age of onset, because the association with low SEP was evident for early- and later-onset symptoms. If socioeconomic inequalities in early life have long-term adverse impacts on mental health, policies addressing these inequalities could benefit the mental health of the population.

Siblings of children with life-limiting conditions: psychological adjustment and sibling relationships.

This study explored psychological adjustment and sibling relationships of siblings of children with life-limiting conditions (LLCs), expanding on previous research by defining LLCs using a systematic classification of these conditions. Thirty-nine siblings participated, aged 3-16 years. Parents completed measures of siblings' emotional and behavioural difficulties, quality of life, sibling relationships and impact on families and siblings. Sibling and family adjustment and relationships were compared with population norms, where available, and to a matched comparison group of siblings of children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), as a comparable 'high risk' group. LLC siblings presented significantly higher levels of emotional and behavioural difficulties, and lower quality of life than population norms. Their difficulties were at levels comparable to siblings of children with ASD. A wider impact on the family was confirmed. Family socio-economic position, time since diagnosis, employment and accessing hospice care were factors associated with better psychological adjustment. Using a systematic classification of LLCs, the study supported earlier findings of increased levels of psychological difficulties in siblings of children with a LLC. The evidence is (i) highlighting the need to provide support to these siblings and their families, and (ii) that intervention approaches could be drawn from the ASD field.

Racial disparities in sleep: the role of neighborhood disadvantage

ObjectiveDisparities in sleep duration and efficiency between Black/African American (AA) and White/European American (EA) adults are well-documented. The objective of this study was to examine neighborhood disadvantage as an explanation for race differences in objectively measured sleep. MethodsData were from 133 AA and 293 EA adults who participated in the sleep assessment protocol of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study (57% female; Mean Age = 56.8 years, SD = 11.4). Sleep minutes, onset latency, and waking after sleep onset (WASO) were assessed over seven nights using wrist actigraphy. Neighborhood characteristics were assessed by linking home addresses to tract-level socioeconomic data from the 2000 US Census. Multilevel models estimated associations between neighborhood disadvantage and sleep, and the degree to which neighborhood disadvantage mediated race differences in sleep controlling for family socioeconomic position and demographic variables. ResultsAAs had shorter sleep duration, greater onset latency, and higher WASO than EAs (ps < 0.001). Neighborhood disadvantage was significantly associated with WASO (B = 3.54, p = 0.028), but not sleep minutes (B = -2.21, p = 0.60) or latency (B = 1.55, p = 0.38). Furthermore, race was indirectly associated with WASO via neighborhood disadvantage (B = 4.63, p = 0.035), which explained 24% of the race difference. When measures of depression, health behaviors, and obesity were added to the model, the association between neighborhood disadvantage and WASO was attenuated by 11% but remained significant. ConclusionFindings suggest that neighborhood disadvantage mediates a portion of race differences in WASO, an important indicator of sleep efficiency.

Traumatic dental injuries and socioeconomic position – findings from the Children's Dental Health Survey 2013

The aim of this study was to assess whether traumatic dental injuries (TDI) were socially graded among children and adolescents in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, using nationally representative data from the Children's Dental Health Survey (CDHS) 2013. This cross-sectional study used data from the Children's Dental Health Survey 2013 which was conducted among a nationally representative sample of schoolchildren in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Children's family socioeconomic position (SEP) was measured through free school meal eligibility and relative area deprivation using the Indices of Multiple Deprivation. The analytical sample included 6707 schoolchildren aged 8, 12 and 15. Multiple logistic regression was used to model the associations between experience of TDI and the two markers of SEP, after adjusting for sex and age. The overall prevalence of traumatic dental injuries to permanent incisors was 9% (n = 590). There were no statistically significant associations between TDI and either SEP measure. Further subgroup analyses (n = 2650) showed also no significant associations between TDI and additional SEP markers (parental education and social class). The odds of having sustained a traumatic dental injury were higher for boys than for girls and were greater in older age groups. This study found no significant relationships between the experience of traumatic dental injuries and two markers of family socioeconomic position among children living in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This implies that rather than specifically targeting the more deprived sectors of society, TDI prevention policies should use upstream public health strategies incorporating a whole-population approach.

From cradle to grave: tracking socioeconomic inequalities in mortality in a cohort of 11 868 men and women born in Uppsala, Sweden, 1915–1929

BackgroundAmple evidence has shown that early-life social conditions are associated with mortality later in life. However, little attention has been given to the strength of these effects across specific age...

Early school-based parent involvement, children’s self-regulated learning and academic achievement: An Australian longitudinal study

Parent involvement is widely accepted as being associated with children’s improved educational outcomes. However, the role of early school-based parent involvement is still being established. This study investigated the mediating role of self-regulated learning behaviors in the relationship between early school-based parent involvement and children’s academic achievement, using data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (N=2616). Family socioeconomic position, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status, language background, child gender and cognitive competence, were controlled, as well home and community based parent involvement activity in order to derive a more confident interpretation of the results. Structural equation modeling analyses showed that children’s self-regulated learning behaviors fully mediated the relationships between school-based parent involvement at Grade 1 and children’s reading achievement at Grade 3. Importantly, these relationships were evident for children across all socio-economic backgrounds. Although there was no direct relationship between parent involvement at Grade 1 and numeracy achievement at Grade 3, parent involvement was indirectly associated with higher children's numeracy achievement through children’s self-regulation of learning behaviors, though this relationship was stronger for children from middle and higher socio-economic backgrounds. Implications for policy and practice are discussed, and further research recommended.

Socioeconomic position and childhood-adolescent weight status in rich countries: a systematic review, 1990-2013.

BackgroundChildhood obesity is a major problem in rich countries due to its high prevalence and its harmful health consequences. An exploratory analysis conducted in the PubMed database highlighted that the number of papers published on the relationship between socioeconomic position (SEP) and childhood-adolescent weight status had risen substantially with respect to an earlier review which had covered the period 1990–2005.MethodsTo describe the findings on the relationship between SEP and childhood-adolescent weight status in papers published in rich countries from 1990 through 2013, studies were identified in the following databases: PubMed; Web of Knowledge (WOK); PsycINFO; Global Health; and Embase. We included observational studies from the 27 richest OECD countries, which covered study populations aged 0 to 21 years, and used parental education, income and/or occupation as family SEP indicators. A total of 158 papers met the inclusion criteria and reported 134 bivariable and 90 multivariable analyses.ResultsExamination of the results yielded by the bivariable analyses showed that 60.4 % of studies found an inverse relationship, 18.7 % of studies did not found relationship, and 20.9 % of studies found a relationship that varied depending on another variable, such as age, sex or ethnic group; the corresponding percentages in the multivariable analyses were 51.1, 20.0 and 27.8 %, respectively. Furthermore, 1.1 % found a positive relationship.ConclusionThe relationship between SEP and childhood-adolescent weight status in rich countries is predominantly inverse and the positive relationship almost has disappeared. The SEP indicator that yields the highest proportion of inverse relationships is parents’ education. The proportion of inverse relationships is higher when the weight status is reported by parents instead using objective measurements.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12887-015-0443-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Multilingualism and speech-language competence in early childhood: Impact on academic and social-emotional outcomes at school

This large-scale longitudinal population study provided a rare opportunity to consider the interface between multilingualism and speech-language competence on children’s academic and social-emotional outcomes and to determine whether differences between groups at 4–5 years persist, deepen, or disappear with time and schooling. Four distinct groups were identified from the Kindergarten cohort of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) (1) English-only+typical speech and language (n=2012); (2) multilingual+typical speech and language (n=476); (3) English-only+speech and language concern (n=643); and (4) multilingual+speech and language concern (n=109). Two analytic approaches were used to compare these groups. First, a matched case-control design was used to randomly match multilingual children with speech and language concern (group 4, n=109) to children in groups 1–3 on gender, age, and family socio-economic position in a cross-sectional comparison of vocabulary, school readiness, and behavioral adjustment. Next, analyses were applied to the whole sample to determine longitudinal effects of group membership on teachers' ratings of literacy, numeracy, and behavioral adjustment at ages 6–7 and 8–9 years. At 4–5 years, multilingual children with speech and language concern did equally well or better than English-only children (with or without speech and language concern) on school readiness tests but performed more poorly on measures of English vocabulary and behavior. At ages 6–7 and 8–9, the early gap between English-only and multilingual children had closed. Multilingualism was not found to contribute to differences in literacy and numeracy outcomes at school; instead, outcomes were more related to concerns about children’s speech and language in early childhood. There were no group differences for socio-emotional outcomes. Early evidence for the combined risks of multilingualism plus speech and language concern was not upheld into the school years.

Social Inequalities in Young Children's Meal Skipping Behaviors: The Generation R Study.

BackgroundRegular meal consumption is considered an important aspect of a healthy diet. While ample evidence shows social inequalities in breakfast skipping among adolescents, little is known about social inequalities in breakfast skipping and skipping of other meals among young school-aged children. Such information is crucial in targeting interventions aimed to promote a healthy diet in children.MethodsWe examined data from 4704 ethnically diverse children participating in the Generation R Study, a population-based prospective cohort study in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Information on family socioeconomic position (SEP), ethnic background, and meal skipping behaviors was assessed by parent-reported questionnaire when the child was 6 years old. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the associations of family SEP (educational level, household income, employment status, family composition) and ethnic background with meal skipping behaviors, using high SEP children and native Dutch children as reference groups.ResultsMeal skipping prevalence ranged from 3% (dinner) to 11% (lunch). The prevalence of meal skipping was higher among low SEP children and ethnic minority children. Maternal educational level was independently associated with breakfast skipping ([low maternal educational level] OR: 2.21; 95% CI: 1.24,3.94). Paternal educational level was independently associated with lunch skipping ([low paternal educational level] OR: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.06,2.20) and dinner skipping ([mid-high paternal educational level] OR: 0.39; 95% CI: 0.20,0.76). Household income was independently associated with breakfast skipping ([low income] OR: 2.43, 95% CI: 1.40,4.22) and dinner skipping ([low income] OR: 2.44; 95% CI: 1.22,4.91). In general, ethnic minority children were more likely to skip breakfast, lunch, and dinner compared with native Dutch children. Adjustment for family SEP attenuated the associations of ethnic minority background with meal skipping behaviors considerably.ConclusionLow SEP children and ethnic minority children are at an increased risk of breakfast, lunch, and dinner skipping compared with high SEP children and native Dutch children, respectively. Given these inequalities, interventions aimed to promote regular meal consumption, breakfast consumption in particular, should target children from low socioeconomic groups and ethnic minority children. More qualitative research to investigate the pathways underlying social inequalities in children’s meal skipping behaviors is warranted.

Effects of the X:IT smoking intervention: a school-based cluster randomized trial.

Uptake of smoking in adolescence is still of major public health concern. Evaluations of school-based programmes for smoking prevention show mixed results. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of X:IT, a multi-component school-based programme to prevent adolescent smoking. Data from a Danish cluster randomized trial included 4041 year-7 students (mean age: 12.5) from 51 intervention and 43 control schools. Outcome measure 'current smoking' was dichotomized into smoking daily, weekly, monthly or more seldom vs do not smoke. Analyses were adjusted for baseline covariates: sex, family socioeconomic position (SEP), best friend's smoking and parental smoking. We performed multilevel, logistic regression analyses of available cases and intention-to-treat (ITT) analyses, replacing missing outcome values by multiple imputation. At baseline, 4.7% and 6.8% of the students at the intervention and the control schools smoked, respectively. After 1 year of the intervention, the prevalence was 7.9% and 10.7%, respectively. At follow-up, 553 students (13.7%) did not answer the question on smoking. Available case analyses: crude odds ratios (OR) for smoking at intervention schools compared with control schools: 0.65 (0.48-0.88) and adjusted: 0.70 (0.47-1.04). ITT analyses: crude OR for smoking at intervention schools compared with control schools: 0.67 (0.50-0.89) and adjusted: 0.61 (0.45-0.82). Students at intervention schools had a lower risk of smoking after a year of intervention in year 7. This multi-component intervention involving educational, parental and context-related intervention components seems to be efficient in lowering or postponing smoking uptake in Danish adolescents.

Effects of social mobility from childhood to adolescence on BMI.

Little is known about the contribution of childhood socio-economic position (SEP) and social mobility to weight change. The present study evaluated the effect of family SEP during the pre-school years and social mobility on BMI between birth and adolescence. Longitudinal. The SEP of each child's family was classified according to an asset-based wealth index as low, medium or high. Four different categories of childhood-adolescence SEP groups were created in order to examine social mobility: low-medium/high, medium-medium, medium-high and high-high/medium. For each of these categories, BMI was tracked from birth to adolescence. Linear mixed-effects models were used to analyse the data. Cuiabá-MT, Brazil. A population-based cohort of children born between 1994 and 1999 was assessed between 1999 and 2000, and again between 2009 and 2011. A total of 1716 adolescents were followed from childhood to adolescence (71·4 % of baseline). The prevalence of overweight/obesity was 20·4 % in childhood and 27·7 % in adolescence. A higher SEP in childhood was associated with a greater prevalence of overweight in adolescence. Expressive upward social mobility occurred, mainly in the lowest SEP group. There was a greater rate of change in BMI between birth and adolescence among children with a higher SEP in childhood and children who remained in the higher SEP from childhood to adolescence. Individuals from a higher SEP in childhood and those who remained in the higher social classes showed greater rate of change in BMI. Thus, initial SEP was the major determinant of changes in BMI.

Family socioeconomic status and nutrition habits of 7-8 year old children: cross-sectional Lithuanian COSI study.

BackgroundNutritional habits are a useful way to characterize whole diets and they are also known to be influenced by a wide range of social and economic factors. The above factors in each country may have different effect on children’s eating habits. In Lithuania the data of children nutrition in association with socio-economic status of family is poor. There are few studies done, where links between nutrition habits of children and socio-economic status of family was evaluated. The aim of this paper is to evaluate association among nutrition habits of first-formers and family socio-economic status in Lithuania.MethodsData were obtained participating in the international study, which was performed in all ten districts of Lithuania. A cross-sectional study was carried out in 2010, using the protocol and methodology prepared by the experts from the WHO and countries participating in the Initiative. The data were collected by means of COSI standardized questionnaire, which was filled out by parents of selected first-formers’. In this paper a part of questions regarding children nutrition habits and parents’ socio-economic status is presented. Statistical analysis was performed by using SPSS 20.0 software for Windows. Correlation among variables was evaluated by χ2. Links among nutrition habits of first-formers and family socioeconomic status were determined using binary logistic regression to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). For all tests p < 0.05 was considered significant.ResultsIt was established that the majority (76%) of Lithuanian first-formers eat breakfast every day or 4–6 times a week. Significant differences were found between breakfast consumption and gender – girls eat breakfast less frequently than boys. Odds ratio of children daily breakfast consumption were 1.3 times higher in families where fathers’ were older than 30 years comparing with younger fathers. Meanwhile mothers’ age had significant influence just on children daily soft drinks with sugar consumption.ConclusionsResults from the national survey of primary school age children of Lithuania reveals that family socio-economic position plays one of the major role in breakfast, fresh fruit and soft drinks with sugar consumption among younger school age children.

Family Socioeconomic Position as a Moderator of the Association Between Parental Psychopathology and Children's Outcomes: Data From France

Parental psychopathology is a known risk factor of psychological and behavioral difficulties in the offspring, however several questions regarding the nature of this relationship are yet unanswered. First, it is not clear whether the timing of parental psychopathology is relevant and particularly whether pregnancy is a period of particular vulnerability. Second, the age when the relationship between parental psychopathology and children's behavior can be observed is not yet determined. Third, the association between parental psychopathology and children's outcomes is heterogeneous, and may vary with other factors including family socioeconomic position. Based on data from the French EDEN cohort study (2000 mother-child pairs followed from pregnancy onwards, since 2004-2006), this presentation will examine the longitudinal association between maternal depression and tobacco use and children's temperament (assessed by the EAS scale at age 18 months) and psychological difficulties (assessed by the SDQ at age 3 and 5 years), as well as the moderating role of familial socioeconomic factors. Findings show that maternal tobacco use in pregnancy as well as maternal depression in pregnancy or persistent over time are associated with children's difficult temperament and behavioral difficulties (particularly symptoms of hyperactivity and inattention). Associations between maternal addictive behaviors and depression and children's outcomes may be stronger in case of family socioeconomic difficulties. These results highlight the importance of tobacco use in pregnancy and depressive symptoms that may be of subclinical level with regard to children's behavioral outcomes. The intergenerational transmission of psychopathology may be heightened in case of socioeconomic difficulties.

Negative events in childhood predict trajectories of internalizing symptoms up to young adulthood: an 18-year longitudinal study.

BackgroundCommon negative events can precipitate the onset of internalizing symptoms. We studied whether their occurrence in childhood is associated with mental health trajectories over the course of development.MethodsUsing data from the TEMPO study, a French community-based cohort study of youths, we studied the association between negative events in 1991 (when participants were aged 4–16 years) and internalizing symptoms, assessed by the ASEBA family of instruments in 1991, 1999, and 2009 (n = 1503). Participants' trajectories of internalizing symptoms were estimated with semi-parametric regression methods (PROC TRAJ). Data were analyzed using multinomial regression models controlled for participants' sex, age, parental family status, socio-economic position, and parental history of depression.ResultsNegative childhood events were associated with an increased likelihood of concurrent internalizing symptoms which sometimes persisted into adulthood (multivariate ORs associated with > = 3 negative events respectively: high and decreasing internalizing symptoms: 5.54, 95% CI: 3.20–9.58; persistently high internalizing symptoms: 8.94, 95% CI: 2.82–28.31). Specific negative events most strongly associated with youths' persistent internalizing symptoms included: school difficulties (multivariate OR: 5.31, 95% CI: 2.24–12.59), parental stress (multivariate OR: 4.69, 95% CI: 2.02–10.87), serious illness/health problems (multivariate OR: 4.13, 95% CI: 1.76–9.70), and social isolation (multivariate OR: 2.24, 95% CI: 1.00–5.08).ConclusionsCommon negative events can contribute to the onset of children's lasting psychological difficulties.

Social inequalities in young children's sports participation and outdoor play.

BackgroundResearch on social inequalities in sports participation and unstructured physical activity among young children is scarce. This study aimed to assess the associations of family socioeconomic position (SEP) and ethnic background with children’s sports participation and outdoor play.MethodsWe analyzed data from 4726 ethnically diverse 6-year-old children participating in the Generation R Study. Variables were assessed by parent-reported questionnaires when the child was 6 years old. Low level of outdoor play was defined as outdoor play <1 hour per day. Series of multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to assess associations of family SEP and ethnic background with children’s sports participation and outdoor play.ResultsSocioeconomic inequalities in children’s sports participation were found when using maternal educational level (p < 0.05), paternal educational level (p < 0.05), maternal employment status (p < 0.05), and household income (p < 0.05) as family SEP indicator (less sports participation among low SEP children). Socioeconomic inequalities in children’s outdoor play were found when using household income only (p < 0.05) (more often outdoor play <1 hour per day among children from low income household). All ethnic minority children were significantly more likely to not to participate in sports and play outdoor <1 hour per day compared with native Dutch children. Adjustment for family SEP attenuated associations considerably, especially with respect to sports participation.ConclusionLow SEP children and ethnic minority children are more likely not to participate in sports and more likely to display low levels of outdoor play compared with high SEP children and native Dutch children, respectively. In order to design effective interventions, further research, including qualitative studies, is needed to explore more in detail the pathways relating family SEP and ethnic background to children’s sports participation and outdoor play.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12966-014-0155-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Risk behaviors and sports facilities do not explain socioeconomic differences in childhood obesity: a cross-sectional study.

BackgroundTo assess whether the relationship between neighborhood socioeconomic context of residence and childhood obesity is explained by family socioeconomic position, risk behaviors and availability of sports facilities.MethodsBased on the income and educational level of residents in the neighborhoods of the city of Madrid, two indicators of socioeconomic context were calculated using the information about income and education and grouped into quartiles. In a sample of 727 children aged 6–15 years, the relationship of these indicators with overweight and obesity was studied using multilevel logit models.ResultsWith respect to children and adolescents living in neighborhoods having higher per capita incomes or higher population percentages with university education those living in neighborhoods having lower per capita incomes or lower population percentages with university education had age- and sex-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of overweight that were 1.84 (95% CI, 1.03-3.29) and 1.68 (0.95-2.94) times higher, respectively. After adjustment for family socioeconomic position, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity, these ORs fell to 1.80 (0.99-3.29) and 1.56 (0.87-2.79), respectively. In the case of obesity, the age- and sex-adjusted ORs in these quartiles of both indicators of socioeconomic context were 3.35 (1.06-10.60) and 3.29 (1.03-10.52), respectively, rising to 3.77 (1.12-12.70) and 3.42 (1.00-11.68) after adjustment for the remaining variables. The highest OR was observed in the third quartile, except in the case of the relationship between per capita income and obesity. No relationship between the number of sport facilities per 1,000 population and physical inactivity was observed.ConclusionThe socioeconomic context is associated with obesity but not with overweight children in Madrid. The relationship is not explained by family socioeconomic position, risk behaviors and availability of sports facilities.

Changing patterns of parent–teacher communication and parent involvement from preschool to school

This study investigated the nature of parent involvement and parent–educator communication in prior-to-school early childhood settings and school, to explore relations to social capital variables and consistencies and changes in practices over time. Parent interview and teacher questionnaire data from two waves of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children were analysed. Results indicated that parental involvement and communication decreased as children moved from prior-to-school settings to school. Educators in both settings reported using similar strategies to promote parent involvement and communication, but there were setting differences for parents' ratings of communication effectiveness. Using regression analyses, family socio-economic position (SEP), home language (English versus other), Indigenous status and home educational activities were examined as predictors of parent involvement and communication strategies, and effectiveness. Results showed that parents who were more engaged in education activities at home were more involved in their child's early childhood and school settings, had more frequent communication with educators and rated educator communication effectiveness more highly. SEP and home language were less consistent predictors, and Indigenous status was not associated with any of the measures.

Parental Death During Childhood and Subsequent School Performance

Parental death during childhood has been linked to increased mortality and mental health problems in adulthood. School failure may be an important mediator in this trajectory. We investigated the association between parental death before age 15 years and school performance at age 15 to 16 years, taking into account potentially contributing factors such as family socioeconomic position (SEP) and parental substance abuse, mental health problems, and criminality. This was a register-based national cohort study of 772,117 subjects born in Sweden between 1973 and 1981. Linear and logistic regression models were used to analyze school performance as mean grades (scale: 1-5; SD: 0.70) and school failure (finished school with incomplete grades). Results are presented as β-coefficients and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Parental death was associated with lower grades (ORs: -0.21 [95% CI: -0.23 to -0.20] and -0.17 [95% CI: -0.19 to -0.15]) for paternal and maternal deaths, respectively. Adjustment for SEP and parental psychosocial factors weakened the associations, but the results remained statistically significant. Unadjusted ORs of school failure were 2.04 (95% CI: 1.92 to 2.17) and 1.51 (95% CI: 1.35 to 1.69) for paternal and maternal deaths. In fully adjusted models, ORs were 1.40 (95% CI: 1.31 to 1.49) and 1.18 (95% CI: 1.05 to 1.32). The higher crude impact of death due to external causes (ie, accident, violence, suicide) (OR: -0.27 [90% CI: -0.28 to -0.26]), compared with natural deaths (OR: -0.16 [95% CI: -0.17 to -0.15]), was not seen after adjustment for SEP and psychosocial situation of the family. Parental death during childhood was associated with lower grades and school failure. Much of the effect, especially for deaths by external causes, was associated with socially adverse childhood exposures.