Socioeconomic Status Girls Research Articles

Socioeconomic differences in permanent teeth mineralization of Portuguese girls and boys from Porto, Portugal.

Purpose: Socioeconomic differences in dental maturation can be used to examine the impact of environmental factors on dental maturation. The purpose of this study is to assess socioeconomic differences in dental maturation of the seven permanent mandibular teeth (I1-M2). Methods: A total of 2114 panoramic radiographs of Portuguese children, adolescents and young adults were studied. The sample was divided into a high socioeconomic status (SES) (n = 925), and a low SES group (n = 1189). Ages ranged between 5 and 26 years. Demirjian's stages were used to assess the maturation of the seven mandibular teeth on the left side. Median-age of attainment of each stage and each tooth was calculated and compared between groups using binary logistic regression. Results: Low SES girls showed a consistent advancement in dental maturation across the entire dentition. Low SES boys, however, showed more often a delayed maturation relative to their high SES counterparts, but this pattern was not consistent and a clear socioeconomic difference seems to be absent in boys. Conclusions: While this study was not able to further explore the causes of the dental advancement in girls, it is hypothesized that it might be related to a higher prevalence of overweight/obesity, and possibly caries, in low SES girls, compared to the SES difference in prevalence in boys.

The influence of socioeconomic status and age on the prevalence of overweight and obesity among 5 to 10-year-old children in Curitiba, Brazil.

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of the socioeconomic status (SES) and age on the prevalence of overweight and obesity among 5 to 10-year-old children from Brazil. The sample consisted of 80 782 (41 063 boys) students aged 5 to 10-year-old. Height and weight were measured and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. SES was self-reported by parents when registering for school in the same year as the assessment. An increasing trend in the prevalence of obesity, for boys and girls, and overweight, for girls, as they got older was observed. The prevalence of obesity was greater among medium SES boys, 18.1% (95% CI: 17.7, 18.6), and girls, 18.1% (95% CI: 17.7, 18.6), compared with low SES. For each year boys and girls get older their odds of being underweight, overweight and obese increase. Medium and high SES boys were 23% (95% CI: 1.14, 1.32) and 25% (95%CI: 1.03, 1.52) more likely to be obese than low SES boys. Girls with high SES were 20% (OR = 1.20; 95% CI: 1.10, 1.31) more likely of being obese than girls with low SES. Furthermore, age and being in the medium SES for both sexes and in the high SES for boys was positively related to the BMI z-score. Both age and SES were factors associated with obesity among Brazilian children. For public health policies to be effective, it is necessary to understand why higher SES children and older children have higher risk and prevalence of obesity and overweight.

Turkish Children's Expression of Negative Emotions: Intracultural Variations Related to Socioeconomic Status

The goal of the present study was to examine intracultural variations in Turkish children's emotion expression in relation to socioeconomic status (SES) characteristics, alone and in combination with child gender and their interaction partners. Children's expectations about outcomes from expressing and their reasons for hiding their felt emotion in situations that involved unfairness, disappointment, public failure and a mishap were also delineated. A total of 123 school‐aged Turkish children responded to hypothetical vignettes. Boys and girls from middle‐high SES families were equally likely to endorse shame expression. However, lower SES boys were more likely to endorse hiding shame than lower SES girls. Middle‐high SES children showed a tendency for expressing anger and sadness more than lower SES children. Turkish children primarily expected interpersonal support from emotion expression. Upon anger, disappointment and sadness expression, Turkish children expected instrumental support more from their parents than their peers. The intracultural differences are discussed in light of sociodemographic changes accompanied by cultural value shifts that differentially impact socialization goals and practices of families with different SES. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Adolescent development of inhibition as a function of SES and gender: Converging evidence from behavior and fMRI

The ability to adaptively inhibit responses to tempting/distracting stimuli in the pursuit of goals is an essential set of skills necessary for adult competence and wellbeing. These inhibitory capacities develop throughout childhood, with growing evidence of important maturational changes occurring in adolescence. There also has been intense interest in the role of social adversity on the development of executive function, including inhibitory control. We hypothesized that the onset of adolescence could be a time of particular opportunity/vulnerability in the development of inhibition due to the large degree of maturational changes in neural systems involved in regulatory control. We investigated this hypothesis in a longitudinal study of adolescents by examining the impact of socioeconomic status (SES) on the maturation of inhibition and concurrent brain function. Furthermore, we examined gender as a potential moderator of this relationship, given evidence of gender-specificity in the developmental pathways of inhibition as well as sex differences in adolescent development. Results reveal that lower SES is associated with worse behavioral inhibition over time and a concurrent increase in anterior cingulate (ACC) activation, but only in girls. We also found that lower SES girls exhibited decreased ACC ↔ dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) coupling over time. Our findings suggest that female adolescents with lower SES appear to develop less efficient inhibitory processing in dlPFC, requiring greater and relatively unsuccessful compensatory recruitment of ACC. In summary, the present study provides a novel window into the neural mechanisms by which the influence of SES on inhibition may be transmitted during adolescence.

FURTHER EVIDENCE ON THE "COSTS OF PRIVILEGE": PERFECTIONISM IN HIGH-ACHIEVING YOUTH AT SOCIOECONOMIC EXTREMES.

This study involved two academically-gifted samples of 11th and 12th grade youth at the socioeconomic status (SES) extremes; one from an exclusive private, affluent school, and the other from a magnet school with low-income students. Negative and positive adjustment outcomes were examined in relation to multiple dimensions of perfectionism including perceived parental pressures to be perfect, personal perfectionistic self-presentation, and envy of peers. The low-income students showed some areas of relative vulnerability, but when large group differences were found, it was the affluent youth who were at a disadvantage, with substantially higher substance use and peer envy. Affluent girls seemed particularly vulnerable, with pronounced elevations in perfectionistic tendencies, peer envy, as well as body dissatisfaction. Examination of risk and protective processes showed that relationships with mothers were associated with students' distress as well as positive adjustment. Additionally, findings showed links between (a) envy of peers and multiple outcomes (among high SES girls in particular), (b) dimensions of perfectionism in relation to internalizing symptoms, and

GENDERED LEISURE ACTIVITY BEHAVIOR AMONG NORWEGIAN ADOLESCENTS ACROSS DIFFERENT SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS GROUPS

The present paper explores gendered behavior based on participation patterns of leisure activities among adolescents across socio-economic status (SES) groups, aiming to increase knowledge and understanding of how gender socialization processes are expressed through boys’ and girls’ participation in leisure activities. Furthermore, the aim is to investigate whether such gendered behavior is associated with general levels of participation, and if there may be differences between low, middle, and high SES groups. The study used Norwegian nationally representative data of 15- and 16-year-olds from the World Health Organization's cross-sectional survey, <em>Health Behaviour in School-aged Children 2005/06</em> (<em>n</em> = 3,273). Logistic regression analysis and propensity scores showed that adolescent boys and girls had clear gendered behavior patterns based on leisure activity participation in 27 different activities, and that boys and girls had about equal distributions on what was classified as typical (“boyish” or “girlish”), atypical, and neutral gender behavior. Furthermore, gendered behavior was correlated with higher levels of participation for both sexes, and it was more or less similar for boys and girls and for different socio-economic status groups. However, when investigating differences in distributions between SES groups, high SES girls were found to have a significantly higher prevalence of both “boyish” and “girlish” activity behavior, but less “gender-neutral” compared with girls in medium and low SES groups. There were no such differences for boys.

Socioeconomic variation in the growth status of urban school children 6–13 years in Oaxaca, Mexico, in 1972 and 2000

Socioeconomic variation in the growth status of urban school children 6-13 years of age in 1972 and 2000 was compared. The children were resident in the city of Oaxaca and were students in the same primary school in each year. Socioeconomic status (SES) was based on parental occupation. Height, sitting height, estimated leg length, weight, and the body mass index in 218 boys and 191 girls in 1972 and 173 boys and 166 girls in 2000 were compared. Sex-specific MANCOVA was used to evaluate SES differences within each year, while sex- and SES-specific MANCOVA was used to evaluate differences between years. The prevalence of stunting, overweight and obesity was estimated. There were no SES differences among boys and girls in 1972 and boys in 2000; low-middle and middle SES girls were significantly taller and heavier with longer legs than low SES girls in 2000. Within each SES group, children in 2000 were significantly larger in body size and segment lengths except for sitting height in low SES children of both sexes. Estimated secular gains increased from low to low-middle to middle SES in both sexes. Inequitable gains by SES contributed to an increase in the magnitude of differences between SES groups, especially between low SES children on one hand and low-middle and middle SES children on the other hand. The prevalence of stunting declined while the prevalence of overweight and to a lesser extent in obesity increased from 1972 to 2000, more so in low-middle and middle SES than in low SES children.

Skeletal maturity and socio-economic status in Portuguese children and youths: the Madeira growth study

Background: Skeletal maturity is used to evaluate biological maturity status. Information about the association between socio-economic status (SES) and skeletal maturity is limited in Portugal.Aims: The aim of this study is to document the skeletal maturity of youths in Madeira and to evaluate variation in maturity associated with SES.Subjects and methods: The study involved 507 subjects (256 boys and 251 girls) from the Madeira Growth Study, a mixed-longitudinal study of five cohorts (8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 years of age) followed at yearly intervals over 3 years (1996–1998). A total of 1493 observations were made. Skeletal age was estimated from radiographs of the hand and wrist using the Tanner–Whitehouse 2 method (TW2). Social class rankings were based on Graffar's (1956) method. Five social rankings were subsequently grouped into three SES categories: high, average and low.Results: Median for the radius, ulna and short finger bones (RUS scores) in the total sample of boys and girls increased curvilinearly across age whereas median for the 7 (without pisiform) carpal bones (Carpal scores) increased almost linearly. The 20-bone maturity scores demonstrated distinctive trends by gender: the medians for boys increased almost linearly while the medians for girls increased curvilinearly. SES differences were minimal. Only among children aged 10–11 years were high SES boys and girls advanced in skeletal maturity. Madeira adolescents were advanced in skeletal maturity compared with Belgian reference values.Conclusion: The data suggests population variation in TW2 estimates of skeletal maturation. Skeletal maturity was not related to SES in youths from Madeira.

The small child: anthropometric and physical performance characteristics of short-for-age children growing in good and in poor socio-economic conditions.

To ascertain whether individuals whose short stature is caused by poor living conditions differ in their other biological characteristics from those individuals who grow short, supposedly due to their genetic endowment, under favourable environmental conditions. From the growth survey of nearly 4000 children of the 'Cape Coloured' community aged 6-18 y half of whom lived in the middle-class suburbs of Cape Town [high socio-economic status (SES)], the other half who lived in poor rural settlements (low SES), boys and girls of similarly short stature were selected. Average body height by sex and age in each selected sample was close to the 5th percentile of height distribution among all high SES individuals surveyed. Cape Town and neighbouring rural settlements in South Africa. Four thousand children of the Cape Coloured community aged 6-18 y. Among these were 109 high SES boys, 123 high SES girls, 302 low SES boys and 344 low SES girls selected for short stature study. Anthropometric measurements in public schools with appropriate permissions. Both short stature males and females from the low SES group tended to be significantly (P < 0.05) different from the high SES group of comparable stature in having lower body weights, shorter limbs, longer trunks, narrower shoulders, hips and chests, thinner skinfolds, smaller arm circumferences, and were very notably weaker and had poorer neuromuscular reaction times. Biepicondylar widths and pulse rates were little different between groups. Genetically short children do differ in various anthropometric and functional traits from those who are small from environmental causes.

Socioeconomic differences in growth of metacarpal II during adolescence in females: Interactions with sexual and skeletal maturity.

In order to study the role of socioeconomic status (SES) in growth of the second metacarpal (MC) during adolescence in females, 352 cross-sectional observations of 34 girls from high SES 11-17 years of age were compared with 876 cross-sectional observations of age-matched low to middle SES Turkish girls. Values for MC length (L), L/outer diameter (D), total cortical thickness (C), C/L, C/D%, stature, weight, stages of secondary sexual development (SSD), and skeletal age (SA) were significantly greater in the high SES, while outer (D) and medullary diameter (M), C-area, M-area, and MC-volume were significantly smaller. The estimated total average increase in C/year was 0.21 versus 0.22 mm in low-middle and high SES girls, respectively, being twice as high before 14 years compared with at 14-17 years. The decrease in M started earlier and was steeper in the high SES. M was significantly smaller in the high SES when SSD or years before and after menarche was controlled, and also after SA of 14 years, while C was not significantly different under these conditions. M and D values for a given L were significantly greater in low-middle SES girls, while differences in C were not significant. It was concluded that reduced C for age in low-middle SES girls is a reflection of their overall slower growth relative to high SES girls, and once they catch up in growth the difference in C between groups is no longer significant. However, there still is a greater D for a given L, which is mainly due to significantly greater M for L, which was present at the beginning of the study. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 9:439-448, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Personal and family effects on loneliness

A loneliness scale was administered to a sample of 876 kindergarten through fourth- grade children; and age level, sex, and reading level were recorded. Data on family structure, maternal employment, and after-school care were obtained on a subsample of 582 children, and a sociometric rating scale was administered to a subsample of 354 children. A significant difference in loneliness was found between popular and rejected children, and the correlation between loneliness and the sociometric measure was significant, but modest. A 2 (Age Level) × 2 (School SES) × 2 (Sex) × 3 (Reading Level) ANOVA indicated that age affected loneliness, with older children reporting loneliness to a greater extent than younger children. Children from schools in lower socioeconomic status (SES) neighborhoods did not differ from children in middle SES schools, and boys and girls did not differ in loneliness. Reading level influenced loneliness, with superior readers being least lonely and below-grade level readers being loneliest. A 3 (Family Structure) × 2 (Maternal Employment) × 4 (After-School Care) ANOVA indicated that family structure affected loneliness, with children in two-parent and single-parent families being less lonely than children in other configurations. Maternal employment had no effect. Children who went home to mothers after school and children who went to organized after-school day-care programs did not differ, but these two groups differed from latchkey children and from children who had other types of after-school care.

The Frequency with Which the Mentally Retarded Participate in Recreation Activities

Abstract This investigation attempted to ascertain the types of recreation activities in which the mentally retarded participated and the frequency of such participation. The frequency of recreation participation of 36 lower socioeconomic status (SES), mentally retarded, elementary age boys and girls was compared to the frequency of 36 nonretarded lower SES and 36 nonretarded middle SES elementary age boys and girls. All children were from a school district in central Pennsylvania. Mothers (or female guardians) of these children were interviewed using a questionnaire devised for this study. A two by two by four within subjects factorial design denoting with whom and where recreation activity clusters took place was used. Of the 16 dependent measures for the three groups, 11 proved to be nonsignificant and 5 significant among groups at the .05 level. One of these differences was attributed to mental retardation, two to SES, and two to mental retardation and SES. It was concluded essentially that the mental...

Sixth Graders’ Attitudes Toward School and Interpersonal Conditions in the Classroom

Analyses of data from fourteen sixth grade classrooms in a Midwestern metropolitan school system showed that: (1) Attitudes toward school were not related to the extent of friendship involvement but were affected in unexpected ways by sex and socioeconomic status (SES). (2) There was a positive relationship between “popularity” and school attitudes. (3) Interpersonal attraction and similarity of attitudes were generally positively related, particularly for high SES girls. Two kinds of classroom peer influences on the individual pupil were suggested: (1) Those emanating from direct interaction with peers who tend to be of similar (favorableor unfavorable) school attitudes and (2) modeling after high status peers who are likely to have favorable school attitudes.