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Parental Education Level (parental + education_level)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Psychology	40%
Medical Sciences	40%

Selected Abstracts

Exploring differential attrition rates among system of care evaluation participants

JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2004
Kelly N. Rogers
The purpose of the present study is to investigate differential attrition rates in terms of both demographic characteristics and initial levels of child functioning of participants in North Carolina's system of care evaluation. Participants included 303 families (78 dropped out of the study, a 26% attrition rate). Families dropped out of the evaluation for three main reasons: refusal to participate, moving, or inability to contact the family. The majority of families who dropped out of the study did so after completing only the baseline interview. Differential attrition did not exist in terms of demographic characteristics, but there was some support for possible differential attrition indicated by initial levels of child functioning in some cases. Additionally, higher parental education level predicted longer participation in longitudinal evaluation. Recommendations and implications for applied research are offered. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 32: 167,176, 2004. [source]

Changing prevalence of asthma in Taiwanese adolescents: two surveys 6 years apart

PEDIATRIC ALLERGY AND IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 2 2005
Yung-Ling Lee
This study compared the prevalence of asthma among Taiwanese adolescents with individual-level risk factors and municipal-level air pollution and meteorology data to determine whether changes in these factors could explain the observed change in prevalence. We conducted two national surveys of respiratory illness and symptoms in Taiwanese middle-school students in 1995,96 and 2001. The effects of personal and environmental factors were assessed and temporal changes of outdoor monitoring data were also compared with asthma prevalence difference. A total of 44,104 children from the 1995,96 survey and 11,048 children from the 2001 survey attended schools located within 1 km of 22 monitoring stations. Lifetime prevalences of physician-diagnosed and questionnaire-determined asthma increased during this period. After adjustment for potential risk factors, the prevalence differences were statistically unchanged. Although parental education level contributed most, changes in investigated personal and environmental factors might not explain the observed changes in asthma prevalence. Municipalities with higher temperature increase were significantly associated with prevalence difference in questionnaire-determined asthma. We concluded that correlates of the investigated individual-level factors, which have changed over time, still underlie changes in asthma prevalence. Increasing temperature might be the main reason for the rising trends of asthma in Taiwanese adolescents. [source]

Increasing prevalence of atopic eczema in Taiwanese adolescents from 1995 to 2001

CLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL ALLERGY, Issue 4 2007
Y.-L. Lee
Summary Background The prevalence of atopic eczema in adolescents has recently been reported as increasing in many countries, a phenomenon yet to be fully explained. This study compared the prevalence of atopic eczema among Taiwanese adolescents with individual-level risk factors and community-level data of temperature, relative humidity, and air pollutants to determine whether changes in these factors could explain the observed change in prevalence. Methods We conducted two nationwide, cross-sectional surveys of atopic illness and symptoms among Taiwanese 12,15-year-old schoolchildren in 1995,1996 and 2001. The effects of personal and environmental factors were assessed and temporal changes of outdoor monitoring data were also compared with the prevalence difference of atopic eczema. Results A total of 42 919 adolescents from the 1995 to 1996 survey and 10 215 adolescents from the 2001 survey attended schools located within 1 km of 22 monitoring stations. The 12-month prevalence of atopic eczema increased significantly during this period [adjusted prevalence ratio (PR)=1.43, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.21,1.70 in boys; PR=1.77, 95% CI 1.49,2.10 in girls]. After adjustment for potential risk factors, the prevalence differences were statistically unchanged. Although parental education level contributed the most, changes in personal and environmental factors might not explain the observed prevalence increases of atopic eczema. Temporal change in the relative humidity was significantly associated with prevalence increase among boys but its contribution was also small. Conclusion Correlates of the investigated risk factors that have changed over time still underlie the prevalence increases of atopic eczema in Taiwanese adolescents. The exact reasons for the rising trends remain to be elucidated. [source]

Genotype differences in cognitive functioning in Noonan syndrome

GENES, BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR, Issue 3 2009
E. I. Pierpont
Noonan syndrome (NS) is an autosomal-dominant genetic disorder associated with highly variable features, including heart disease, short stature, minor facial anomalies and learning disabilities. Recent gene discoveries have laid the groundwork for exploring whether variability in the NS phenotype is related to differences at the genetic level. In this study, we examine the influence of both genotype and nongenotypic factors on cognitive functioning. Data are presented from 65 individuals with NS (ages 4,18) who were evaluated using standardized measures of intellectual functioning. The cohort included 33 individuals with PTPN11 mutations, 6 individuals with SOS1 mutations, 1 individual with a BRAF mutation and 25 participants with negative, incomplete or no genetic testing. Results indicate that genotype differences may account for some of the variation in cognitive ability in NS. Whereas cognitive impairments were common among individuals with PTPN11 mutations and those with unknown mutations, all of the individuals with SOS1 mutations exhibited verbal and nonverbal cognitive skills in the average range or higher. Participants with N308D and N308S mutations in PTPN11 also showed no (or mild) cognitive delays. Additional influences such as hearing loss, motor dexterity and parental education levels accounted for significant variability in cognitive outcomes. Severity of cardiac disease was not related to cognitive functioning. Our results suggest that some NS-causing mutations have a more marked impact on cognitive skills than others. [source]

Parent Academic Involvement as Related to School Behavior, Achievement, and Aspirations: Demographic Variations Across Adolescence

CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2004
Nancy E. Hill
A longitudinal model of parent academic involvement, behavioral problems, achievement, and aspirations was examined for 463 adolescents, followed from 7th (approximately 12 years old) through 11th (approximately 16 years old) grades. Parent academic involvement in 7th grade was negatively related to 8th-grade behavioral problems and positively related to 11th-grade aspirations. There were variations across parental education levels and ethnicity: Among the higher parental education group, parent academic involvement was related to fewer behavioral problems, which were related to achievement and then aspirations. For the lower parental education group, parent academic involvement was related to aspirations but not to behavior or achievement. Parent academic involvement was positively related to achievement for African Americans but not for European Americans. Parent academic involvement may be interpreted differently and serve different purposes across sociodemographic backgrounds. [source]