Fatherhood, childism, and the creation of society

This essay argues for a new religious ethical approach to fatherhood centered on children and their expanding capabilities for participation in society. Under the notion of "childism"—in analogy to feminism, womanism, humanism, and the like—it takes the perspective of the experiences and concerns of childhood as such. In contrast with a soft patriarchal argument for fatherhood that dominates much religious discourse today, it argues for a larger and more hopeful vision of fatherhood as directed toward the human social good. This requires, methodologically, a richer hermeneutical circle between religion and the social sciences. Substantively, it calls for Christian and other religious ethicists to re-imagine fatherhood as an integrated public–private responsibility that aims to cultivate children’s fully human social creativity as images of their Creator.

Associations between ethnicity and child health factors in New Zealand

OBJECTIVES

To identify associations between material and behavioral factors in relation to health among Mäori, Pacific, and New Zealand European or other (NZEO) children in New Zealand.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional using a two-stage random clustered sampling procedure.

PARTICIPANTS

3,275 children: 37.4% Mäori, 32.3% Pacific, and 30.3% NZEO.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Prevalence of demographic, socioeconomic, food security, physical/lifestyle, dietary, and dental factors by ethnic group.

RESULTS

Proportionally more Mäori and Pacific children, respectively, lived in large households, and approximately one quarter of each group had an annual household income < dollar 20,000. Approximately one fifth of Mäori and Pacific households respectively relied on food banks when they did not have enough money for food, and more Pacific household occupants felt stressed when food could not be provided for social occasions. A higher proportion of Pacific children were obese. Approximately 40% of Mäori and NZEO children did not play physically active games, and almost four fifths of Mäori children had watched television every night the previous week. A higher proportion of Pacific children ate breakfast on the way to school or purchased their school lunch. More than half the Mäori and Pacific children had consumed a chocolate bar or soda > or = 4 times the previous month, and a higher proportion of Pacific children added sugar to hot beverages. Proportionally more Mäori children had received a restoration or experienced dental pain at night, and a higher proportion of Pacific children had received an extraction due to dental caries.

CONCLUSIONS

Marked differences were found in material and behavioral outcomes in relation to child health when ethnicity was considered.

The state of South Dakota's child: 2006

The year 2005 brought an increase in the number of births in South Dakota and a decrease in both low birth weight and infant mortality for both its white and American Indian babies. Paralleling national trends, this report shows that South Dakota has declining rates of smoking during pregnancy, births to women less than 18 years of age, and failure to access prenatal care or to access it during the final months of pregnancy. The South Dakota rates on these indicators of perinatal health, however, are higher for American Indian women than for white women. Relationships between the rates of maternal smoking, youthful mothers, prenatal care and birth weight to infant mortality are discussed. Another positive observation in the South Dakota 2005 data is a decrease in the rate of death due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The current South Dakota SIDS rate reflects a decline that is approaching what is observed nationally.

Malnutrition among children younger than 5 years-old in conflict zones of Chiapas, Mexico

We performed a cross-sectional, community-based survey, supplemented by interviews with community leaders in Chiapas, Mexico, to examine the prevalence and predictors of child malnutrition in regions affected by the Zapatista conflict. The prevalence rates of stunting, wasting, and underweight were 54.1%, 2.9%, and 20.3%, respectively, in 2666 children aged younger than 5 years. Stunting was associated with indigenous ethnicity, poverty, region of residence, and intracommunity division. The results indicate that malnutrition is a serious public health problem in the studied regions.

Socioeconomic gradients in health for white and Mexican-origin populations

OBJECTIVES

We assessed whether the few findings to date suggesting weak relationships between education and health-related variables among Hispanics are indicative of a more widespread pattern.

METHODS

We used logistic regression models to examine education differentials (i.e., education gradients) in health behaviors and outcomes among White and Mexican-origin adults, adolescents, and infants. We gathered information from 3 data sets: the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey, the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, and the National Health Interview Survey.

RESULTS

In contrast with patterns for Whites, education was weakly associated or not associated with numerous health-related variables among the US Mexican-origin population. Among adults, Mexican immigrants were especially likely to have weaker education gradients than Whites.

CONCLUSIONS

The weak relationships between education and health observed among individuals of Mexican origin may have been the result of several complex mechanisms: social gradients in health in Mexico that differ from those in the United States, selective immigration according to health and socioeconomic status, and particular patterns of integration of Mexican immigrants into US society.

Ecological predictors of traumatic stress symptoms in caucasian and ethnic minority children exposed to intimate partner violence

Traumatic stress symptoms were assessed for 218 children ages 5 to 13 following exposure to intimate partner violence: 33% of Caucasian and 17% of minority children were diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder. A risk and protective factors model was used to predict traumatic stress symptoms. For Caucasian children, the best predictors were mothers' mental health and low self-esteem. For minority children, the amount of violence, mothers' low self-esteem, and low income predicted traumatic stress. Social support to the mother, inclusive of friends, relatives, and religion, was a protective element. Implications for assessment and intervention are discussed in light of each group's experiences.

Polygyny, reproductive success and child health in rural Ethiopia: why marry a married man?

This study examines the reproductive success of men and women in rural Ethiopia as a function of their marital status, specifically by comparing polygamously and monogamously married individuals. In line with predictions from evolutionary theory, polygamy is beneficial to male reproductive success (i.e. producing larger numbers of surviving offspring). The success of polygamously married females depends on wife rank: the first wives of polygamous husbands do better than monogamously married women and much better than second or third wives. These effects are mirrored in child nutritional status: the children of second and third wives have lower weight for height. Due to potential, largely unmeasurable differences in marriageability (quality) between individuals, it was not possible to support a model of either resource-holding polygyny combined with female choice or female coercion into unwanted marriages. First wives of polygamously married men marry at a younger age and attract a higher brideprice, suggesting that both the males and females in the marriage are likely to be of higher quality (due to wealth, family status or some other factor such as beauty). Unions that end up monogamous are likely to be between slightly lower quality individuals; and second and third wives, who marry at the oldest ages and attract the lowest brideprice, may be 'making the best of a bad job'. The relatively long gap between first and second marriages may mean that first wives of highly marriageable males can enjoy considerable reproductive success before their husbands marry again.

Validation of an English version of the Child-OIDP index, an oral health-related quality of life measure for children

BACKGROUND

To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Child-OIDP for use among children in the UK and report on the prevalence of oral impacts in a sample of schoolchildren in Westminster.

METHODS

Children aged 10-11 years in the final year of primary school (year 6) were selected from seven schools where annual screenings are carried out. A total of 228 children participated (99% response rate). A clinical examination was conducted followed by a questionnaire designed to measure oral health-related quality of life in children, namely the Child-OIDP. The psychometric properties of the Child-OIDP were evaluated in terms of face, content and concurrent validity in addition to internal and test-retest reliability.

RESULTS

The Child-OIDP revealed excellent validity and good reliability. Weighted Kappa was 0.82. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.58. The index showed significant associations with perceived oral treatment needs and perceived satisfaction with mouth and oral health status (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

This study has demonstrated that the Child-OIDP is a valid and reliable index to be used among 10-11 year old schoolchildren in the UK.

Gradients in the Health Status and Developmental Risks of Young Children: The Combined Influences of Multiple Social Risk Factors

OBJECTIVES

To analyze child vulnerability as a profile of multiple risk factors for poorer health based on race/ethnicity, social class (maternal education and family poverty status), child health insurance coverage, and maternal mental health. Profiles are examined in relation to disparities in the health status and developmental risks of young children.

DATA SOURCES

Cross-sectional data on 2,068 children ages 4-35 months from the 2000 National Survey of Early Childhood Health.

STUDY DESIGN

Multiple logistic regression models are used to examine risk profiles in relation to child health status and developmental risk (based on parent concerns about development). The profiles are also examined in relation to three measures of basic access to health care: telephone contact with a physician, well-child visit in the past year, and missed or delayed needed care.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

About one-third of (or 3.1 million) young children in the United States have two or more risk factors (RF) for poor health. Controlling for other family factors, having more RFs is associated with poorer health status (i.e., percent reported "good/fair/poor" vs. "excellent/very good") and being higher risk for developmental delays. For example, the likelihood of having either poorer health or higher developmental risk increases with each RF (vs. zero): 1 RF (OR = 1.70, CI: 1.20-2.38), 2 RFs (OR = 3.28, CI: 2.27-4.73), 3 RFs (OR = 4.69, CI: 2.84-7.73), 4 RFs (OR = 14.58, CI: 4.98-42.64). Higher RFs were also associated with poorer health care access.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates a dose-response relationship of higher risk profiles with poorer child health status and higher developmental risk. Because children with higher profiles of risk are also more likely to lack access to care, this suggests that children who most need care have the greatest difficulty obtaining it. Addressing health gradients for vulnerable children will require explicit attention to these multiple, overlapping risk factors.

A nationwide population-based study identifying health disparities between American Indians/Alaska Natives and the general populations living in select urban counties

OBJECTIVES

Despite their increasing numbers, little is known about the health of American Indians/Alaska Natives living in urban areas. We examined the health status of American Indian/Alaska Native populations served by 34 federally funded urban Indian health organizations.

METHODS

We analyzed US census data and vital statistics data for the period 1990 to 2000.

RESULTS

Disparities were revealed in socioeconomic, maternal and child health, and mortality indicators between American Indians/Alaska Natives and the general populations in urban Indian health organization service areas and nationwide. American Indians/Alaska Natives were approximately twice as likely as these general populations to be poor, to be unemployed, and to not have a college degree. Similar differences were observed in births among mothers who received late or no prenatal care or consumed alcohol and in mortality attributed to sudden infant death syndrome, chronic liver disease, and alcohol consumption.

CONCLUSIONS

We found health disparities between American Indians/Alaska Natives and the general populations living in selected urban areas and nationwide. Such disparities can be addressed through improvements in health care access, high-quality data collection, and policy initiatives designed to provide sufficient resources and a more unified vision of the health of urban American Indians/Alaska Natives.

Alcohol, drug, and mental health specialty treatment services and race/ethnicity: a national study of children and families involved with child welfare

We used data on a national sample of children involved with child welfare systems to compare American Indian caregivers with White, Black, and Hispanic caregivers in their need for, and receipt of, specialty alcohol, drug, and mental health treatment. American Indian caregivers were significantly less likely to receive services than were Hispanic caregivers (P<.05) but not significantly less likely than were White or Black caregivers. Child placement, child age, and caregiver psychiatric comorbidity were significantly associated with service receipt.

Virginity testing in South Africa: re-traditioning the postcolony

Umhlanga is a ceremony celebrating virginity. In South Africa, it is practiced, among others, by the Zulu ethnic group who live mainly in the province of KwaZulu Natal. After falling into relative disuse in the Zulu community, the practice of virginity testing made a comeback some 10 years ago at around the time of the country's first democratic election and coinciding with the period when the HIV pandemic began to take hold. In July 2005 the South African Parliament passed a new Children's Bill which will prohibit virginity testing of children. The Bill has been met with outrage and public protest on the part of Zulu citizens. Traditional circumcision rites are also addressed in the new bill but are not banned. Instead, male children are given the right to refuse to participate in traditional initiation ceremonies which include circumcision. This paper asks why the practice of virginity testing is regarded as so troubling to the new democratic order that the state has chosen to take the heavy-handed route of banning it. The paper further asks why the state's approach to traditional male circumcision has been so different to its approach to virginity testing. Finally, the paper asks what these two challenging cases in the country's new democracy tell us about the nature of liberal democratic citizenship in South Africa 10 years after apartheid's formal demise.

Algerian orphans and colonial Christianity in Algeria, 1866-1939

This article considers the exceptional fate of the orphan survivors of the great Algerian demographic crisis of the late 1860s who subsequently converted to Catholicism. Using a prosopographical approach, this study seeks to highlight the complexities of national identity in France and to explore some of the racial tensions emerging in Algeria in the late nineteenth century.

Anthropometric status in Palestinian children living in refugee camps in Lebanon

OBJECTIVE

To study the relationship between anthropometric measurements and living conditions in infants and children living in refugee camps.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Four Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.

SUBJECTS

Thirty-three infants younger than two years of age and 234 children (106 males) younger than 15 years of age.

METHODS

Weight and height were measured. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated as weight (kg)/length squared (m2). A parent of the subject answered a questionnaire on employment status, household size, food, and financial assistance as well as child's food consumption.

RESULTS

Anthropometric measurements were standardized to the National Center of Health Statistics (NCHS) growth data as age- and sex-specific Z scores. No significant difference was seen between males and females. For all sites studied, the Z scores for weight (WAZ) and height (HAZ) of infants were not significantly different from zero. Among older children, WAZ, HAZ, and Z scores for BMI (BMIZ) were significantly less than zero. In infants, exclusive breast feeding, in addition to receiving financial help, correlated positively while meat and fruit consumption of less than three times per week correlated negatively with WAZ and HAZ. In older children, a mixed relationship was seen among the number of children younger than 10 years of age in a household, the child's meat, vegetable, and fruit consumption less than three times per week, and WAZ and HAZ.

CONCLUSION

Living conditions and socioeconomic restrictions on Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon do not appear to influence growth of infants younger than two years of age but may contribute to the growth deficit in older children.