Inner-city Black Children Research Articles

Use of Asthma Specialist Care in High-Risk Inner-City Black Children

Innercity Black children are at high risk for asthma morbidity. Asthma specialists may improve asthma outcomes. Understanding specialist use among innercity Black children may provide insight into asthma care in this population. We hypothesized that increased asthma morbidity would be associated with increased use of and parental desire for specialist care. Participants were recruited from Baltimore City health plans. Parents of children (2–6 years of age) with asthma were surveyed about their child's asthma, including use of or desire for asthma specialist care. We compared asthma specialist care status (yes or no) and desire for specialist care to asthma morbidity and criteria for specialist referral based on national asthma guidelines. Of 135 children, 23% had severe asthma, but 9% had seen a specialist and 43% met criteria for asthma specialist referral. Forty percent of parents of children not seen by a specialist expressed a desire to see one. Compared to children of parents who did not desire a spe...

The role of parental perspectives in the school adjustment of innercity black children

This study investigated the relative influence of parent attitudes and behaviors on the scholastic and social adjustment of 729 low-income, black sixth graders in the Longitudinal Study of Children at Risk. Data were collected from parent questionnaires on attitudes toward education, expectations for children's educational attainment, and several indicators of behaviors with or on behalf of their children. Results indicated that parents had generally positive attitudes toward their children's schooling, had high expectations for their educational attainment, and were moderately involved in their education at home and in school. Multiple regression analyses indicated that only parents' educational expectations and satisfaction with the quality of schooling were significantly associated with reading achievement, math achievement, and teacher ratings of competence and problem behaviors above and beyond family/child background factors (e.g., parent education and SES, family structure, employment status, sex). Attitudinal factors also contributed significant variance (2.4%–9.1%) to differences in cognitive and social adjustment outcomes and, to lesser degrees, changes in social adjustment from Grades 4–6 (2.2%–5.7%). Behavioral measures had negligible influences on school adjustment outcomes. Findings suggest that affective characteristics of parents deserve special attention in educational reform and intervention efforts.

Dentine lead concentration as a predictor of neuropsychological functioning in inner-city children

Cumulative lead exposure in 193 inner-city Black children was evaluated by measuring lead concentrations in the primary dentine and the circumpulpal dentine of their deciduous teeth. The children's dentine lead levels were comparable to those reported in population studies of low-income children living in inner-city areas. The results of neuropsychological tests administered at age 7 were available for children in the sample; we performed further neuropsychological assessments when their teeth were shed (10-14 yr of age). Higher dentine lead concentrations were associated with deficits in neuropsychological test performance at both testings, with performance abilities more strongly affected than verbal abilities. Moreover, the negative effects of lead on neuropsychological functioning were more evident when lead concentrations in circumpulpal dentine, rather than in primary dentine, was used as the index of lead exposure. Based on this finding, we suggest that circumpulpal dentine and primary dentine should be assayed separately in order to yield a more sensitive estimate of exposure to lead.

Low-level lead exposure in childhood influences neuropsychological performance.

Cumulative lead exposure in 193 inner-city black children was assessed by measuring lead concentrations in the primary and circumpulpal dentine of their deciduous teeth. Lead concentrations for these children were comparable to the concentrations reported in population studies of low-income children living in inner-city areas. Analysis of the children's neuropsychological test performance showed that elevated lead levels were associated with deficits in visual-motor functioning and perceptual integration, right-left orientation, and verbal abstraction; other verbal abilities and motor functioning were not affected. Possible alternative explanations for these findings were evaluated by examining the relationships between lead and maternal intelligence, family socioeconomic status, and perinatal indicators of neurological impairment. None of these relationships was significant. It was concluded that, even at levels usually regarded as asymptomatic, lead in the environment represents a hazard to inner-city children.

Inner-city black children at high risk to lead

Inner-city black children at high risk to lead

What do effective teachers of inner-city children have in common?

This paper investigates the extent to which variables describing the classroom behavior of teachers and variables describing teachers' backgrounds and training explain differences in the effectiveness of teachers in improving the vocabulary skills of inner-city black children in four elementary grade levels. The results indicate that both types of variables explain significant portions of the variation in student achievement. In other words, teachers' choices of techniques matter; and the characteristics of teachers provide some information about their effectiveness. However, the pattern of results indicates that great care must be taken in interpreting individual coefficients. The paper concludes with an interpretation of the results and with suggestions for new directions for research on teaching that follow from this interpretation.

Inner-City Housing and Respiratory Disease in Children : A Pilot Study

This cross-sectional pilot study, designed to examine problems and methodology of studies on the relationship of housing and health, focused on respiratory disease in inner-city black children in Baltimore. Public housing was contrasted to the older row private housing. History of illness, familial, and demographic characteristics were obtained by questionnaire, and a small subsample of children received physical examinations. The condition of the indoor environment was evaluated and measurements of indoor temperature, volume, relative humidity, and carbon monoxide were made. Children in public housing had higher illness rates than those in private housing. Evidence of self-selection into housing type was found. Carbon monoxide levels were found to be greater inside than outside the homes. Preliminary analysis suggests public housing-private-housing classification is less important than other variables, including socioeconomic variables.

Spirometric standards for healthy inner-city black children.

Spirometric standards have been established for healthy inner-city black children ages 6-14. These are expected to provide better comparisons during pulmonary function testing by hospitals, clinics, and neighborhood health centers during the current decade than previously published values. Since both age and height together, correlated best with vital capacity, minute volume, and maximum voluntary ventilation, regression formulae were constructed from these variables. These standards are intended to be used when testing black children. Comparisons were made with available data for children, and ethnic differences were attributed to both anthropologic as well as socioeconomic factors.

Assessment of individual functioning through classroom observation. The clinician in the preschool setting.

THE Work of the child psychiatrist focuses primarily upon the direct observation of children's behavior in 1:1 interviews or play sessions. Recently, with increasing interest in community psychiatry and the emergence of consultative relationships with schools, there is greater need for rapprochement between the insights afforded by the clinical interview and those arrived at through observation of classroom behavior. Can clinicians develop economically feasible methods for assessing the psychosocial functioning of large numbers of school children? Such methods, if they are to have wide applicability, must be relevant to educational settings, and must facilitate interdisciplinary communication between clinicians and educators. The present study was initiated to begin answering the question posed above. It was conducted in a research preschool whose primary mission was the study of factors which bear upon the development of competence in inner-city black children. Over the last four years, experience has led us to focus on

Parental potency and the achievements of inner-city black children.

Seventy-two working class mothers of inner-city black kindergarten children were administered an Educational Attitude Survey. The variable, Futility, or sense of powerlessness with regard to the educational system, was not found to be significantly correlated with children's achievements. Other data suggest mothers' preparatory teaching behaviors are more predictive; implications for parental involvement in schools are discussed.