Early child neurodevelopment has major impacts on future human capital and health. However, not much is known about the impacts of prenatal risk factors on child neurodevelopment. We evaluate the effects of maternal smoking during pregnancy on child neurodevelopment between 3 months and 24 months of age and interactions with socioeconomic status (SES). We employ data from a unique sample of children from South America. Smoking has large adverse effects on neurodevelopment, with larger effects in the low-SES sample. Our results highlight the importance of early interventions beginning before and during pregnancy for enhancing child development and future human capital attainment.
2Meadows-Oliver, M. (2003). Mothering in public: A meta-synthesis of homeless women with children living in shelters. Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing, 8, 130-136.Unfortunately, children are one of the fastest growing subgroups of the homeless in the United States, with families accounting for one third of the homeless population. When pediatric nurse practitioners provide health care to these children and their families, a broader understanding of the experience of being homeless may enhance the effectiveness of that care. Homelessness is a sensitive issue for families and difficult to study. Researchers have often utilized qualitative research approaches, which typically involve in-depth interviews with small numbers of individuals, to try to understand factors that contribute to and result from homelessness. While these studies provide valuable insights, they do not necessarily present a complete picture.This article presents a meta-synthesis, a combining of the results of eighteen qualitative studies on the experiences of homeless mothers' caring for their children while living in shelters. The studies included from three to 64 mothers from multiple ethnic groups, for a total of 359 mothers. Six themes emerged from the synthesis of the results of these studies. These themes include:•On becoming homelessA range of events occurred prior to the families becoming homeless, such as domestic violence, eviction, and divorce. Many mothers and their children lived with relatives or friends (double-up) prior to entering the shelter. Moving to the shelter was a last resort.•Protective motheringMothers developed guarding behaviors, recognizing and avoiding potentially dangerous situations, to protect their children from physical harm while in the shelter, often sharing these guarding behaviors with other mothers in the shelter. In addition, the mothers found that they needed to protect their children from the emotional harm that might occur from the homeless experience. Shelters required that mothers always be physically present with their children, which resulted in the children often witnessing their mother's own emotional distress, including their crying. As a result, the children often exhibited signs of emotional trauma, such as acting out, withdrawal, and regression. Mothers often preferred sending their children to live with a friend or relative until permanent housing was obtained.•LossMothers discussed the losses they experienced, loss of their homes, privacy, freedom to participate in activities, parental authority, and respect. Due to living in shared spaces, mothers experienced “public mothering,” parenting their children in front of the other residents and staff. Rules were set by the shelter personnel and often were in conflict with the mothers' preferences. Mothers were often reprimanded by shelter staff in front of their children, undermining their parental authority.This article presents a meta-synthesis, a combining of the results of eighteen qualitative studies on the experiences of homeless mothers' caring for their children while living in shelters.•Stressed and depressedMothers often experienced feelings of frustration, sadness, fatigue, and depression. They described episodes of crying, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts.•Survival strategiesThe most common survival strategies that the mothers reported using were praying and getting support from others. Support was received from shelter staff, other mothers in the shelter, and their children. Shelter staff offered practical support such as information on financial and community resources and counseling services; other mothers shared their experiences, which decreased feelings of isolation and marginalization; and children provided a distraction from the problems that these mothers were trying to cope with.•Strategies for resolutionFor many of these mothers, homelessness was a time of growth. Strategies to improve their situation included getting more education, finding a job, and locating housing. Many mothers emphasized a desire for more education and a belief that this would improve their future.Health care providers working with homeless families need to understand the process that mothers in this situation go through. This understanding can help in providing direct health care services to these families and can contribute to the development of policies and programs needed to assist homeless families. 2Meadows-Oliver, M. (2003). Mothering in public: A meta-synthesis of homeless women with children living in shelters. Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing, 8, 130-136. Unfortunately, children are one of the fastest growing subgroups of the homeless in the United States, with families accounting for one third of the homeless population. When pediatric nurse practitioners provide health care to these children and their families, a broader understanding of the experience of being homeless may enhance the effectiveness of that care. Homelessness is a sensitive issue for families and difficult to study. Researchers have often utilized qualitative research approaches, which typically involve in-depth interviews with small numbers of individuals, to try to understand factors that contribute to and result from homelessness. While these studies provide valuable insights, they do not necessarily present a complete picture. This article presents a meta-synthesis, a combining of the results of eighteen qualitative studies on the experiences of homeless mothers' caring for their children while living in shelters. The studies included from three to 64 mothers from multiple ethnic groups, for a total of 359 mothers. Six themes emerged from the synthesis of the results of these studies. These themes include:•On becoming homelessA range of events occurred prior to the families becoming homeless, such as domestic violence, eviction, and divorce. Many mothers and their children lived with relatives or friends (double-up) prior to entering the shelter. Moving to the shelter was a last resort.•Protective motheringMothers developed guarding behaviors, recognizing and avoiding potentially dangerous situations, to protect their children from physical harm while in the shelter, often sharing these guarding behaviors with other mothers in the shelter. In addition, the mothers found that they needed to protect their children from the emotional harm that might occur from the homeless experience. Shelters required that mothers always be physically present with their children, which resulted in the children often witnessing their mother's own emotional distress, including their crying. As a result, the children often exhibited signs of emotional trauma, such as acting out, withdrawal, and regression. Mothers often preferred sending their children to live with a friend or relative until permanent housing was obtained.•LossMothers discussed the losses they experienced, loss of their homes, privacy, freedom to participate in activities, parental authority, and respect. Due to living in shared spaces, mothers experienced “public mothering,” parenting their children in front of the other residents and staff. Rules were set by the shelter personnel and often were in conflict with the mothers' preferences. Mothers were often reprimanded by shelter staff in front of their children, undermining their parental authority.This article presents a meta-synthesis, a combining of the results of eighteen qualitative studies on the experiences of homeless mothers' caring for their children while living in shelters.•Stressed and depressedMothers often experienced feelings of frustration, sadness, fatigue, and depression. They described episodes of crying, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts.•Survival strategiesThe most common survival strategies that the mothers reported using were praying and getting support from others. Support was received from shelter staff, other mothers in the shelter, and their children. Shelter staff offered practical support such as information on financial and community resources and counseling services; other mothers shared their experiences, which decreased feelings of isolation and marginalization; and children provided a distraction from the problems that these mothers were trying to cope with.•Strategies for resolutionFor many of these mothers, homelessness was a time of growth. Strategies to improve their situation included getting more education, finding a job, and locating housing. Many mothers emphasized a desire for more education and a belief that this would improve their future. Health care providers working with homeless families need to understand the process that mothers in this situation go through. This understanding can help in providing direct health care services to these families and can contribute to the development of policies and programs needed to assist homeless families.
Investigation into ozone testing has shown that print samples may be subject to ozone reciprocity failure. Many print samples in accelerated ozone testing fade faster at lower ozone concentrations in comparison to fade rates in tests run at higher concentrations to the same cumulative ozone exposures. In contrast to this trend, samples often faded more slowly in ambient air compared to the accelerated tests. Separate research had shown that ozone test results are sensitive to dry time, with longer drying typically improving image stability. This has implications for testing in ambient air, because the effective dry time of the print samples is increased due to the length of the test. This study focused on understanding how dry time may interact with ozone reciprocity failure and thereby explain the contrary trends observed.
Abstract Purpose Assessment of children's anxiety in busy clinic settings is an important step in developing tailored interventions. This article describes the construct validation of the C hildren's A nxiety M eter‐ S tate ( CAM ‐ S ), a brief measure of state anxiety. Design and Methods Existing data were used to investigate the associations between child self‐reports of anxiety, parent reports of child anxiety, and observed child distress during an intravenous procedure. Results Children's ( n = 421) CAM ‐ S scores were significantly associated with all parent measures and observed distress ratings. Practice Implications Findings support the use of the CAM ‐ S for assessment of child anxiety in clinical settings.
Abstract We conducted a neuropsychological and cognitive assessment study to determine whether time of day affects cognitive performance. We measured executive control (fluency), processing speed, semantic memory, and episodic memory performance. We followed 56 students across 3 different times of day, testing performance on vocabulary, fluency, processing speed, and episodic memory. Results showed an advantage for fluency and digit symbol task performance in the afternoon and evening testing times relative to morning testing (regardless of testing order), but that time of day did not affect semantic or episodic memory performance. These results suggest that optimal executive functioning and processing speed may occur for typical college students in the afternoon and evening regardless of time-of-day preference.
