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Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a research team from Northwestern University, University of California-Irvine, and Boston College, studied the effect of fatherhood on paternal mental health. The research team of Craig F. Garfield, Greg Duncan, Joshua Rutsohn, Thomas W. McDade, Emma K. Adam, Rebekah Levine Coley, and P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, analyzed depressive symptoms among three groups of young adult men, nonfathers, nonresident fathers, and resident fathers. They found that depressive symptoms are highest for resident fathers and lowest for nonfathers in this age group.

Read the USA Today story here: Depression risks increase for young dads (released on April 14, 2014 by Michelle Healy).

Excerpt: “Symptoms of depression increased on average by 68% over the first five years of fatherhood for men who were around 25 years old when they became fathers and lived with their children, according to the study published online today in the journal Pediatrics.

Garfield’s previous research has shown depressed dads will use more corporal punishment, read less and interact less with their children, and are more likely to be stressed and neglect their children. Compared with the children of non-depressed dads, these children are at risk for having poor language and reading development and more behavior problems and conduct disorders. ‘The next question is why are there these differences and how can we avoid making a one-size-fits-all approach to paternal depression and actually tailor something to fit individual needs?’ he says.”

Craig F. Garfield is an Associate Professor at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in the Departments of Pediatrics and Medical Social Sciences, who is also affiliated with the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, and Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research in Evanston, Illinois.  Greg Duncan is a Distinguished Professor at the University of California-Irvine’s School of Education.  Joshua Rutsohn is a researcher at Northwestern University’s Department Medical Social Sciences. Thomas W. McDade is a Professor at Northwestern University’s Department of Anthropology and the Director of Cells to Society at Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research.  Emma K. Adam is Professor at Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy. Rebekah Levine Coley is a Professor of Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology at Boston College’s Lynch School of Education. P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale is an Associate Provost for Faculty at Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research and Frances Willard Professor of Human Development and Social Policy.

Scholarly source:  Garfield CF, Duncan G, Rutsohn J, McDade TW, Adam EK, Coley RL, Chase-Lansdale PL. A longitudinal study of paternal mental health during transition to fatherhood as young adults. Pediatrics 2014. Article available online.

Published in

Behavior Genetics (June 2014). doi: 10.1007/s10519-014-9662-x

Abstract:

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are one of the earliest available forms of genetic variation available for analysis and have been utilized in studies of neurological, behavioral, and health phenotypes. Although findings from these studies have been suggestive, their interpretation has been complicated by a variety of factors including, among others, limited power due to small sample sizes. The current report details the availability, diversity, and allele and genotype frequencies of six commonly examined SSRs in the ethnically diverse, population-based National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. A total of 106,743 genotypes were generated across 15,140 participants that included four microsatellites and two di-nucleotide repeats in three dopamine genes (DAT1, DRD4, DRD5), the serotonin transporter, and monoamine oxidase A. Allele and genotype frequencies showed a complex pattern and differed significantly between populations. For both di-nucleotide repeats we observed a greater allelic diversity than previously reported. The availability of these six SSRs in a large, ethnically diverse sample with extensive environmental measures assessed longitudinally offers a unique resource for researchers interested in health and behavior.

View or download complete article at Springer Link.

Authors

• Brett C. Haberstick, Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder

• Andrew Smolen, Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder

• Gary L. Stetler, Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder

• Joyce W. Tabor, Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

• Taylor Roy, Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder

• H. Rick Casey, Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder

• Alicia Pardo, Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder

• Forest Roy, Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder

• Lauren A. Ryals, Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder

• Christina Hewitt, Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder

• Eric A. Whitsel, Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health; Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Medicine

• Carolyn T. Halpern, Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health

• Ley A. Killeya-Jones, Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

• Jeffrey M. Lessem, Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder

• John K. Hewitt, Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder

• Kathleen Mullan Harris, Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

 

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a research team from Northwestern University, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of California-Irvine studied the effect of birth weight and breastfeeding on early adulthood inflammation. The research team of Thomas W. McDade, Molly W. Metzger, Laura Chyu, Greg J. Duncan, Craig Garfield, and Emma K. Adam assessed birth weight and length of breastfeeding as predictors of C-reactive protein (an inflammation biomarker) in adults aged 24-32. They found that C-reactive protein concentrations were lower among breastfed individuals than individuals not breastfed, and that the longer an individual was breastfed, the lower their CRP concentration was in young adulthood.  The authors also reported that for birth weights of 2.8 kg and higher, birth weight was negatively associated with C-reactive protein in young adulthood.

Read the Huffington Post story here:  Breastfeeding may protect against heart disease, study (released on April 23, 2014). 

Excerpt:  “The study found that breastfeeding had ‘the same or greater effect’ as medicines on reducing CRP levels in young adults. Chronic inflammation had long been linked to cardiovascular disease, but the causes of the little-understood condition remain unclear.

‘The results suggest that breastfeeding may reduce a major risk factor for heart disease well into adulthood,’ said Alan Guttmacher, director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.”

Thomas W. McDade is a Professor at Northwestern University’s Department of Anthropology and the Director of Cells to Society at Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research.  Molly W. Metzger is an Assistant Professor at the Washington University in St. Louis George Warren Brown School of Social Work. Laura Chyu is a Fellow at Cells to Society at Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research. Greg Duncan is a Distinguished Professor at the University of California-Irvine’s School of Education.  Craig F. Garfield is an Associate Professor at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in the Departments of Pediatrics and Medical Social Sciences, who is also affiliated with the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, and Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research in Evanston, Illinois.  Emma K. Adam is Professor at Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy.

Scholarly source:  McDade TW, Metzger MW, Chyu L, Duncan GJ, Garfield C, Adam EK. Long-term effects of birth weight and breastfeeding duration on inflammation in early adulthood. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 2014. Article available online.

Published in

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Citation

Hsin A, Xie Y. Explaining Asian Americans’ academic advantage over whites. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2014 June 10;111(23): 8416-842.  doi: 10.1073/pnas.1406402111

Abstract

The superior academic achievement of Asian Americans is a well-documented phenomenon that lacks a widely accepted explanation. Asian Americans’ advantage in this respect has been attributed to three groups of factors: (i) socio-demographic characteristics, (ii) cognitive ability, and (iii) academic effort as measured by characteristics such as attentiveness and work ethic. We combine data from two nationally representative cohort longitudinal surveys to compare Asian-American and white students in their educational trajectories from kindergarten through high school. We find that the Asian-American educational advantage is attributable mainly to Asian students exerting greater academic effort and not to advantages in tested cognitive abilities or socio-demographics. We test explanations for the Asian–white gap in academic effort and find that the gap can be further attributed to (i) cultural differences in beliefs regarding the connection between effort and achievement and (ii) immigration status. Finally, we highlight the potential psychological and social costs associated with Asian-American achievement success.

View or download complete article at www.pnas.org

Authors

• Amy Hsin, Queens College, City University of New York

• Yu Xie, Institute for Social Research and Department of Sociology, University of Michigan; Center for Social Research, Peking University

Restricted-Use Data Dissemination and Contract Administration

The Carolina Population Center (CPC) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) has resumed Add Health restricted-use data dissemination and contract administration. CPC now oversees the Add Health restricted-use data agreements that are currently in place between data users’ institutions and Data Sharing and Demographic Research at the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), University of Michigan. To apply for restricted-use data, please download the contract application and return to the Add Health contract administrator.

As a result of the above changes in Add Health restricted-use data dissemination, Add Health Restricted-use Data Agreements with ICPSR will be transferred to CPC on July 1, 2014. Your data use agreement will remain in effect until its current end-date but administration of the agreement will move from ICPSR to CPC.

2014 Add Health Users Conference

Celebrating 20 Years of Add Health!

We invite you to register for the eleventh Add Health Users Conference to be held on June 26-27, 2014 on the campus of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland.  The principal goal of the conference is to give researchers who are working with data from Add Health an opportunity to share research goals, experiences, and results.  It will also provide an opportunity for those interested in working with the data to learn how they are currently being used by others.  A preliminary agenda will be available online soon!

Conference information and on-line registration are available on the Add Health website.  Please contact Sarah Dean if you have questions.

Effective May 2, 2014, the Data Sharing for Demographic Research (DSDR) project at the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) will no longer accept applications for new restricted-use data contracts (agreements).

Beginning May 5, 2014, the Carolina Population Center will manage all restricted-use data contracts. Please see  here for instructions about applying for restricted-use data.

This month’s speaker is Christine Gray, a doctoral student in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  She will discuss her Add Health research, “Throwing out the baby with the bathwater? Comparing two approaches to handling implausible values of change in body size”, on Monday, April 21, from 12PM to 1PM in CPC East 405B/C.

Bring your brown bag lunch and join us for the monthly Add Health Data Users Seminar.  This month’s speaker is Dr. Bernard F. Fuemmeler, Associate Professor of Community and Family Medicine, Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, and Psychology and Neuroscience at the Duke University Medical Center.  Dr. Fuemmeler will discuss his recent Add Health publication, “Individual and Community-Level Correlates of Cigarette-Smoking Trajectories from Age 13 to 32 in a U.S. Population-Based Sample”, on Monday, March 24, from 12pm to 1pm in CPC East 405B/C.