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Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have discovered some of the long-term negative physical and mental health effects of parental incarceration on children.  Parental incarceration was associated with numerous health problems in young adulthood, including depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, cholesterol, asthma, migraines, HIV/AIDS, and fair/poor health.  Paternal incarceration was associated with increased likelihood of eight mental and physical health problems, while maternal incarceration was associated with increased likelihood of depression.

Read the DailyRx story here:  When Mom or Dad is in Prison (by Tara Haelle, released on March 17, 2013).

Excerpt:  “Having a parent in prison can mean hardships for the entire family. But those challenges may not go away when the parent is released. There may be long-term consequences for the kids.

A recent study found that children are more likely to have physical and mental health problems as adults if their parents had been in prison.

The risk was higher for mental health issues than for physical health issues among children of incarcerated parents.

The researchers said other studies suggest that ‘underlying mechanisms that link parental incarceration history to poor outcomes in offspring may include the lack of safe, stable, nurturing relationships and exposure to violence.’

More study is necessary to understand the possible explanations for the link more thoroughly.”

Rosalyn D. Lee is a Behavioral Scientist in the Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.  Xiangming Fang is a Professor of Economics and Director of the International Center for Applied Economics and Policy in the College of Economics and Management at China Agricultural University in Beijing, China.  Xiangming Fang was a Senior Health Economist with the Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Feijun Luo is an economist at the Division of Analysis, Research, and Practice Integration, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.

Scholarly source:  Rosalyn D. Lee, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.A., Xiangming Fang, Ph.D., and Feijun Luo, Ph.D. (2013). The Impact of Parental Incarceration on the Physical and Mental Health of Young Adults. Pediatrics (published online March 18, 2013). http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-0627

 

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, researchers at Cornell University and Boston University report the negative effect that teen dating violence victimization has on both male and female victims’ health as young adults.  When compared to their non-victimized peers, female respondents who experienced teenage dating violence victimization subsequently reported higher rates of heavy episodic drinking, depressive symptomatology, suicidal ideation, smoking, and intimate partner victimization. Male respondents who experienced teenage dating violence victimization subsequently reported higher rates of antisocial behaviors, suicidal ideation, marijuana use, and intimate partner victimization.

Read the U.S. News and World Report Health story here:  Dating Violence in Teen Years Can Have Lasting Impact (by Carina Storrs, released on December 10, 2012).

Excerpt:  “Teenagers who experience dating violence could be more likely to get involved in violent relationships and have health problems as young adults, a new study suggests.

Researchers analyzed surveys of nearly 6,000 teens across the United States that were taken when the teens were between the ages of 12 and 18, and again five years later. The surveys asked about physical and psychological violence in romantic relationships, and also about feeling depressed, having suicidal thoughts, drinking and doing drugs.

‘What stood out was, across both genders and types of victimization, teens who experienced teen dating violence were two to three times more likely to be re-victimized by a partner in young adulthood,’ said study author Deinera Exner-Cortens, a graduate student in the department of human development at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

Exner-Cortens and her colleagues also found that teens who were victims of dating violence faced higher rates or depression, suicidal thoughts and heavy drinking, which varied by gender.”

Deinera Exner-Cortens is a graduate student in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University.  Dr. John Eckenrode is a Professor of Human Development in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University, Director of the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research, and Director of the National Data Archive of Child Abuse and Neglect. Dr. Emily Rothman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at Boston University’s School of Public Health.

Scholarly source:  Deinera Exner-Cortens, M.P.H., John Eckenrode, Ph.D., and Emily Rothman, Sc.D. (2013). Longitudinal associations between teen dating violence victimization and adverse health outcomes. Pediatrics 131(1):71-78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-1029

 

A new Child Trends brief uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to explore the relationship between counseling and insurance access during adolescence, and reports of depression or suicidality during young adulthood.  The brief, published online here, confirms prior research findings that adolescents who report mental health issues are more likely to report similar issues as young adults.  The research findings reported in the brief suggest that for adolescents who report either no or mild depressive symptoms, access to health insurance is associated with a lower risk of mental health problems as young adults when compared to adolescents who report moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms.  For all teens, receiving counseling during adolescence was associated with an increased risk of depressive or suicidal symptoms as young adults.

Brief excerpt: “Mental health disorders that begin in adolescence often – though not always – persist into early adulthood.  The continuity of mental health problems may reflect biological and genetic origins, ongoing social and personal challenges, poor quality mental health services, and/or reflect low use of mental health services in adolescence and young adulthood.  Research examining factors related to low service use has identified the inability to pay for services as one of several causes.  This Research Brief analyzes panel data from a baseline sample of 9,969 young people participating in ADD Health (the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health), to assess whether the receipt of supportive (psychological or emotional) counseling and access to health insurance in adolescence are related to the persistence of adolescent depression and/or suicidality in young adulthood.

Results indicate that teens reporting symptoms of depression or suicidality in adolescence are 2.8 times more likely than asymptomatic teens to report these symptoms in young adulthood.  The effects of receiving counseling and having health insurance during adolescence on later symptoms of depression or suicidality varied, depending on whether moderate-to-severe symptoms of depression or suicidality were reported during adolescence.”

Mary A. Terzian, Ph.D., Kristin A. Moore, Ph.D., and Kelly Bell, B.A. (2012). Health Insurance Access and Counseling Receipt and Their Association with Later Depressive and Suicidal Symptoms. Child Trends Research Brief.

 

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, researchers at University College London and the University of Warwick (England) have discovered that positive affect in adolescence and life satisfaction in early adulthood, predict future earnings.  Respondents who demonstrated greater positive affect and life satisfaction as teenagers and young adults had higher incomes in their late 20s. 

Read the Time story here:  Happy Teens Grow Up to Be Wealthier Too (by Belinda Luscombe, released on November 23, 2012). 

Excerpt:  “Which comes first, happiness or money?  Much scholarly head tapping has been devoted to examining whether richer people are happier and if so, how much richer?  Nobel prize-winners have even looked into it.  But a new study suggests that the question could perhaps be looked at the other way around.  Happier teenagers, this study suggests, grow up to be richer adults.

The study, which appeared recently in the Proceedings of the National Association of Sciences, looked at thousands of teenagers and found that those who felt better about life as young adults tended to have higher incomes by the time they turned 29.  Their happiness was measured on a scale of 1 to 5.  Those who were happiest earned an average of $8,000 more than those who were the most despondent.”

Dr. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Policy at University College London, and a Research Associate of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics.  Dr. Andrew J. Oswald is a Professor in the Department of Economics and Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy at the University of Warwick, and a Visiting Fellow and Acting Research Director at the Institute for the Study of Labor in Bonn, Germany. 

Scholarly source:  Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Ph.D., and Andrew J. Oswald, Ph.D. (2012). Estimating the influence of life satisfaction and positive affect on later income using sibling fixed effects. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1211437109

 

 

Using school, network and genetic data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, researchers at the University of Colorado and Yale University studied the effects of social environment and genetic factors on friendship selection, adding to the growing body of research on the role of genetic homophily in friendship formation.  Their results suggest that social context plays a fundamental role in friendship formation, as a social environment can facilitate or restrict the opportunity to select friends with similar genotypes. 

Read the Smithsonian story here:  Do We Really Pick Our Friends Based on Genetic Similarities? (by Joseph Stromberg, released on October 09, 2012). 

Excerpt:  “In recent years, as DNA sequencing has gotten increasingly quicker, cheaper and easier, some researchers have looked at individuals’ genes and come to a surprising finding – that people who are friends are disproportionately likely to share certain similarities in their genetic makeup. 

Some scientists have even hypothesized that this is the result of an evolutionary advantageous strategy, similar to the theory of inclusive fitness for kin: As a prehistoric human, if you tended to stick together and support others with whom you share genes, helping them survive led to the survival of your own genes, even if you personally didn’t make it to pass your genes on to your offspring.  Under that theory, we’re able to recognize our non-family genetic brethren and, consciously or not, become friends with them based on that similarity.

A group of social scientists led by Jason Boardman of the University of Colorado, however, was skeptical.  They doubted whether genetic similarity was really driving the way we pick our friends – and had a suspicion that, instead, other social factors drove us to become friends with people we happen to share genes with.  In order to test their hypothesis, they dove deep into data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which gathers a wide range of data on thousands of middle- and high-school students across the country, on everything from risk-taking behavior to particular genetic alleles to relationships with others.

Their findings, presented in an article published yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, strongly rebut the idea that genes determine friends and instead present an alternate idea: that social mechanisms simply put us into situations where we’re exposed to people we share genes with, and that we become friends with them based on this context.”

Dr. Jason D. Boardman is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology, University of Colorado at Boulder, and research associate in the Population Program at the Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado at Boulder.  Benjamin W. Domingue is a doctoral student in the Population Program at the Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado at Boulder.  Jason M. Fletcher is an associate professor in the Division of Health Policy and Management at Yale School of Public Health, and a scholar in the Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholars Program at Columbia University. 

Scholarly source:  Jason D. Boardman, Ph.D., Benjamin W. Domingue, and Jason M. Fletcher, Ph.D. (2012). How social and genetic factors predict friendship networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3491494/

 

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, researchers at Harvard University and the University of California, San Diego have found that adolescent drinking and drug use are influenced by the parenting style of their friends’ mothers.  Adolescents in social networks that include a friend whose mother practices authoritative parenting face a lower risk of substance abuse than adolescents in social networks that don’t include a friend with an authoritative mother.

Read the Health story here:  Strict Moms Influence Kids’ Friends:  Study (by Steven Reinberg, released on October 08, 2012). 

Excerpt:  “Mothers who are strict with their teen children also influence the behavior of their teens’ friends, a new study suggests. 

In fact, the researchers found, the friends were 40 percent less likely to get drunk, 38 percent less likely to binge drink, 39 percent less likely to smoke and 43 percent less likely to smoke marijuana, compared with friends of teens whose mothers were less strict.

‘Authoritative parenting – using a style that balances warmth and communication with appropriate control and supervision – is not only associated with reduced substance abuse in our own children, but it is also associated with reduced substance abuse in our own children’s friends,’ said lead researcher Holly Shakya, a postdoctoral research fellow with the Gates Foundation Social Networks Project at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.”

Dr. Holly B. Shakya is a postdoctoral research fellow in the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine’s Department of Medicine.  Dr. Nicholas A. Christakis is the director of Harvard University’s Human Nature Lab, Professor of Medical Sociology in Harvard Medical School’s Department of Health Care Policy, Professor of Medicine in Harvard Medical School’s Department of Medicine, and Professor of Sociology in Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Sociology.  Dr. James H. Fowler is a Professor in the Medical Genetics Division of the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine’s Department of Medicine, Professor in the University of California, San Diego Division of Social Sciences’ Political Science Department, and Adjunct Professor in the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine’s Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. 

Scholarly source:  Holly B. Shakya, Ph.D., Nicholas A. Christakis, M.D., Ph.D., and James H. Fowler, Ph.D. (2012). Parental Influence on Substance Use in Adolescent Social Networks. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpediatrics.2012.1372

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, UNC researchers have found that women who are overweight or obese years before becoming pregnant deliver babies with a higher birth weight, putting the next generation at a higher risk of obesity-related health outcomes.

Read the Health Behavior News Service story here: Being Overweight Years before Pregnancy Linked to Bigger Babies (by Christen Brownlee, released on June 26, 2012)

Excerpt: “Women who become overweight or obese during the transition from adolescence to adulthood are significantly more likely to give birth to babies with excessive birth weights, according to a new study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Researchers know that a woman’s health during pregnancy can have a potent effect on the health of her baby, explain study authors Kelly Strutz, M.P.H., Liana Richardson, Ph.D., and Jon Hussey, Ph.D., of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. However, says Strutz, little research has examined the effects of a mother’s health long before she becomes pregnant on the future health of her babies. The few studies that exist mainly look at the mother’s health immediately preceding conception.”

Kelly L. Strutz is a Ph.D. candidate in UNC’s Maternal and Child Health department and is a Carolina Population Center predoctoral trainee. Liana J. Richardson is an Assistant Professor in UNC’s Sociology department. Jon M. Hussey is a Research Assistant Professor in UNC’s Maternal and Child Health department. Richardson and Hussey are Carolina Population Center Faculty Fellows.

Scholarly source: Kelly L. Strutz, M.P.H., Liana J. Richardson, Ph.D., and Jon M. Hussey, Ph.D. (2012). Preconception Health Trajectories and Birth Weight in a National Prospective Cohort. Journal of Adolescent Health. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.03.013

Welcome! We invite you to join us for the tenth Add Health Users Conference to be held on July 26-27, 2012 on the campus of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland.  The conference is being co-sponsored by the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, NIH; the Add Health Study at the Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and the Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch/Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH.

The principal goal of the conference is to give researchers who are working with data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (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.

Abstract Submission

On-line abstract submission is now closed.  The deadline for submitting an abstract was March 30, 2012.  To view the original Call for Papers issued on February 17, 2012, please click here.

Conference Agenda

The conference program will feature 60 presentations by investigators who are conducting research on the health and well-being of adolescents and young adults using Add Health data.  In addition, several methodology sessions will be offered providing in-depth information on the Add Health study design and weighting and the unique biomarker, genetic, and relationship data available from the study.

To view the preliminary conference agenda, please click here.

Registration

On-line conference registration closed July 11 but will re-open on-site at 8:00 am on Thursday, July 26, at the Natcher Conference Center on the campus of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.  The registration table will be located just outside of the main auditorium.  For directions to the Natcher Conference Center, please click here.

Accommodations and Shuttle Service

A block of rooms has been reserved at the Doubletree Hotel Bethesda located at 8120 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland.  The conference rate is $169/night (plus 13% tax).  This rate is competitive for the Bethesda area and is lower than the rate you would get if you made an independent reservation.  You can book on-line using the link above or by phone at 1-800-955-7359.  If you call, please be sure to mention the 2012 Add Health Conference or group code “UNC” to receive the discounted rate.   Please note that the discounted rate will only be guaranteed through Wednesday, July 11.  After this date, room pricing will be at the discretion of the hotel management.

Free shuttle service will be provided between the Doubletree Hotel Bethesda and the NIH conference center each day.  Expedited NIH security checks are provided for shuttle riders.  Thus, participants usually find it most convenient to stay at the conference hotel.  However, if you would like a list of alternative hotels in the area, please send an e-mail to Sarah Dean (sarah.dean@unc.edu).

Airport Information

There are three airports that serve the Washington, D.C. area: Reagan National (DCA), Dulles (IAD), and Baltimore-Washington (BWI).  We recommend that you fly into DCA.  It is the closest airport to the Doubletree Hotel Bethesda and the NIH conference site.  You can ride the city’s subway system (called the “Metro”) directly from DCA to Bethesda.

 

How to Apply

Use the Abstract Submission Form.

• For substantive presentations:  Describe outcomes; hypotheses; Add Health data set(s) used; and research plan, including key variables and analytic approach. Describe expected results.
• For methodological presentations:  Describe benefits of new methodology, aims, and analytic approach. Describe expected results.
• Summary:  Abstracts are restricted to 250 words.  If your paper is accepted, the abstract will be distributed at the conference.
• Indicate your preferences for didactic and/or breakout sessions on methodological issues in Add Health.
• Indicate whether you are requesting a travel stipend (see below, under Travel and Expenses).

Travel and Expenses

• Participants are responsible for their own travel and expenses.
• A limited number of travel stipends will be available.  Stipends will be awarded on the basis of scientific merit. Preferences will be given to special emphasis areas and underrepresented topics.
• Eligibility for travel stipends (all 3 eligibility criteria must be met).

1. No other sources of funding to attend the conference.
2. Currently enrolled in undergraduate, pre-doctoral or post-doctoral training OR completed doctoral training within the last five years at time of submission.
3. Interest in travel stipend is indicated on the abstract form.

 More information about the 2012 conference will be posted on the Add Health website – Please check back soon!

Questions?  Please email Ley Killeya-Jones, Add Health Project Manager.

We look forward to hearing from you and learning about your research based on the Add Health study.

Kathleen Mullan Harris, PhD         Rebecca L. Clark, PhD
Director, Add Health                     Chief, Demographic and Behavioral Science Branch
Carolina Population Center          Center for Population Research, NICHD
UNC-Chapel Hill