The meaning of risk and protective factors in infancy

Developmental Evaluation of Very-low-birthweight Infants: Longitudinal and Cross-sectional Studies

The cognitive development of 83 children of very-low-birthweight (VLBW; birthweight - 1500 grams), ages three to seven years, was evaluated in longitudinal and cross-sectional studies on the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities. In the longitudinal study, head circumference had the strongest association with cognitive scores. Other factors related to cognitive scores included neurological complications during hospitalisation in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), the child's age at the present investigation, and mother's level of education. In the cross-sectional study, the VLBW children were compared with control groups of children from middle class families (MC) and lower class families (LC). The VLBW group scored significantly lower than the MC group on all the McCarthy scales, but did not differ from the LC group. When level of mother's education was partialled out, group differences remained significant, except for the perceptual-performance scale. Evaluation of the increase in VLBW children's raw scores on the subtests, from age three to seven, demonstrated that VLBW advanced significantly less than the MC children in Word Knowledge, Conceptual Grouping, and Numerical Memory Backwards. Furthermore, the gap between the scores of VLBW and MC children increased over time. These results demonstrate that VLBW children with normal levels of IQ score significantly lower than the MC group on many cognitive tasks, and that on some of these the gap increased over age.

The Course of Intellectual Development in Preterm and Fullterm Children: An 8-year Longitudinal Study

A total of 55 preterm children born at low to moderate risk and a comparison group of 100 healthy fullterm children were studied until they reached 8 years of age. Perinatal biomedical data and environmental data were considered as potential contributors to developmental outcome. The Budapest Binet intelligence quotients (IQs) were used as outcome measures. The mean IQs for both groups fell within the normal range at each measurement point. However, the differential patterns of IQ development in the preterm and term group underscore the significance of the age variable. Instead of a gradually declining impact of prematurity, the age effect resulted in a complex pattern. The considerable intra-group variability within the preterm group and the correlates of outcome suggest that biological hazards related to birth may have subtle long-term influences. Variables tapping the quality of home environment, however, clearly outweighed the perinatal risk factors in their ability to predict long-term outcomes. The results suggest a transaction between the two spheres of contributing factors. Long-term follow-up studies with multiple measurement points are essential if we are to understand the developmental implications of premature birth.

Attaining khinem: challenges, coping strategies and resilience among Eveny adolescents in northeastern Siberia

This article examines challenges, coping strategies, and resilience among Eveny adolescents in northeastern Siberia. It explores situations which the study participants associate with challenge and hardship, namely their experiences of transition from life in the family reindeer herding camp to schooling at the age of 7, bullying, boredom, and violence. By situating the data within the Eveny framework of resilience (khinem), the study provides the ethnographic context for coping strategies and efforts (e.g., sharing, inter- and intragenerational support, availability of safe homes) undertaken by the community in order to mitigate the situations of risk and hardship and to facilitate adolescents' resilience. The account emphasizes that instead of identifying adolescents as either resilient or vulnerable, it is necessary to explore culturally specific processes and practices which potentially contribute to their acquisition of resilience.

A long-term program of research on drug use and crime

This paper describes the major findings emanating from a long-term research program conducted in Baltimore, Maryland, on the drugs-crime relationship. It is the compilation of experiences, studies, and findings related to the research career of David N. Nurco, D.S.W., and his colleagues. Covering a period of over 30 years, the program of research, described in the report from the personal perspective of Dr. Nurco, has moved from the study of the nature and correlates of narcotic drug use to the development of data-based interventions. Topics investigated involve many aspects of narcotic addiction, including the relationship between addiction status and crime rates; changes in addict behavior over time; individual variation among addicts in the type, frequency, and severity of crime; and an examination of the early adolescent behavior of males who eventually become narcotic addicts in contrast to that of their never-addicted peers. It concludes with a description of the program's ongoing research, principally dealing with community-based interventions.