Although several studies have demonstrated that differential parenting has a negative impact on the children exposed to it, only a small number of studies have attempted to understand why differential parenting occurs within families. The goal of the present study was to examine the contextual correlates of differential parenting. Specifically, the association between parental socioeconomic status (SES) and differential parenting and the association between objective and subjective indices of neighbourhood quality and differential parenting were investigated. Data were collected as part of the Kids, Families, and Places (KFP) study and analyzed using multilevel modeling. Six hundred and fifty families provided data on 881 children. Five hundred and ninety nine families included a father in the home. Close to seventy five percent of children included in the sample were less than six years of age. Differential parenting was assessed separately for mothers and fathers and across positive and negative parenting outcomes. The findings revealed that parental SES was significantly associated with differential parenting for three of four parenting outcomes. For mothers, SES was negatively associated with differential positivity and negativity. For fathers, SES was negatively associated with differential positivity but not negativity. The objective quality of neighbourhoods in which families resided (i.e., measured as a composite score that combined census tract data on neighbourhood disadvantage and interviewer observations of neighbourhood physical and social disorder) was positively associated with maternal differential negativity; however, this association was also moderated by mothers’ subjective perceptions of their neighbourhoods (i.e., measured using maternal reports of neighbourhood collective efficacy). In other words, when mothers perceived their neighbourhoods to be highly cohesive and supportive, exposure to objectively unfavourable neighbourhood conditions was less strongly associated with differential negativity. Objective neighbourhood quality was not associated with the other three differential parenting outcomes of interest. These findings highlight the important relationship that exists between contextual influences both within and outside of the immediate family and differential parenting. Moreover, they speak to the importance of including both mothers and fathers in studies of differential parenting. The merits of using multilevel modelling to investigate differential parenting and suggestions for future research are discussed.

This project investigated the diagnosis and psychostimulant treatment rates of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Manitoba children. These rates were considered according to sex, age, socioeconomic status (SES), geographical region, and comorbidity with learning disabilities (LD) and behavioral disturbances (BD). Data came from the Manitoba Population Health Research Data Repository, a comprehensive collection of administrative, registry, survey and other databases. The research population included all children aged 0 to 19 years in Manitoba (n = 319,506) with a diagnosis of ADHD (n= 9,233), during two Fiscal years (2003/2004 and 2004/2005). The term “gradient” refers to the relationship between SES and health and emphasizes the idea that the change in outcomes is gradual and occurs across the full range of SES. Results from this study indicate that region of residence (urban versus rural) and comorbid BD moderate the SES gradient, as low income, urban dwelling children with a comorbid diagnosis of BD had the highest rates of ADHD diagnoses and prescriptions. Furthermore, whereas age did not moderate the SES gradient, the crude rates indicated that the SES gradient for ADHD diagnoses and prescriptions was most pronounced in urban children 0 to 13 years of age. Otherwise, all main effects tested (sex, age, socioeconomic status, geographical region, and comorbid BD and LD) were significant in both the diagnosis and prescription models for ADHD. Policy considerations that arise out of this study include more stringent diagnostic and prescription treatment practices, additional support resources for children who are most at risk of having ADHD, and increased information about alternate treatment implementation for ADHD. / February 2008

The research aimed at understanding the adolescent money attitude and analyzing the relationship between social economic status, materialism and adolescent money attitude. The research adopted the questionnaire. The participants chosen at random were high schools students in Kaohsiung city, Kaohsiung county and Pintong county. The questionnaire was adapted from a foreign questionnaire. It consisted of three parts: basic personal data, money attitude questions and materialism questions. The research adopted T test, one way ANOVA, Pearson¡¦s correlation and multiple regression to analyze those data. The findings were as follows: 1. Most adolescence didn¡¦t regard money as prestige and quality. They didn¡¦t have the sense of security toward money but being anxious for money. Therefore, they were cautious with money. 2. Male adolescence tended to regard money as prestige more than female adolescence. 3. Senior high school adolescence viewed money as the prestige, quality and source of anxiety more than junior high school adolescence. Therefore, they were less cautious with money than junior high school adolescence. 4. Adolescence with allowance regarded money as prestige, quality and source of anxiety more than one who didn¡¦t have allowance. 5. Adolescence who had the habit of saving money viewed money as prestige, quality and source of anxiety less than one who didn¡¦t have the habit of saving money. 6. Adolescence with higher social economic status thought money could change higher quantity and service more than the adolescence with low social economic status. 7. Adolescence with higher materialism was likely to think money represented prestige and quality. They didn¡¦t have the sense of security about money and were anxious for money. Besides, they weren¡¦t cautious with money. 8. Materialism factor predicted adolescent money attitude very well.

The primary purpose of the present review was to determine why conflicting findings have been reported regarding the long-term effects of phonological awareness training for children from low socioeconomic status families (low-SES) and children with familial risk for reading impairment. Four aspects of intervention were analyzed for each of the studies: service delivery, content of intervention, length of sessions, and total number of sessions. The second purpose of the review was to determine which aspects of intervention had the largest effect on improving later reading skills as well as if general aspects were beneficial to both at-risk groups or if there were population-specific factors. A total of ten intervention studies, five involving children from low-SES and five involving children with familial risk for reading impairment, were reviewed. Of the ten interventions reviewed, only three interventions, two involving children from low-SES and one involving children at familial risk for reading impairment, demonstrated successful long-term effects on reading. The remaining interventions demonstrated differences across the four aspects analyzed and conflicting long-term outcomes. As no population specific factors were observed across studies, the similarities found in the three successful interventions suggest that a general intervention program can be beneficial for both populations of at-risk children. / text

INTRODUCTION: Syndromic surveillance is a method of rapid disease detection based on categories of syndromes, or signs, experienced before the full onset of disease. It is increasingly being used by government agencies and health departments to identify disease outbreaks in a timely manner. Environmental exposures are known to induce respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms, tend to have a seasonality component, and adversely affect the health of millions of people. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we assess the availability of environmental exposure data for air pollution (PM2.5, ozone, and NO2), pollen, and water contaminant exposure for use in a syndromic surveillance project. We also evaluate: 1) the general proximity of HMO populations to monitors, and 2) distribution of SES characteristics of the area populations with respect to monitor locations. METHODS: We collected exposure data, patient population data, and Census tract SES data for two metropolitan areas where Kaiser Permanente (KP) provides medical services: Atlanta, Georgia and the northern Virginia, District of Columbia (DC), and Baltimore area. Exposure data for air pollution and pollen were collected for 2013-2014. Straight-line distance from a monitor to the nearest KP clinic, and from each Census tract centroid, to the nearest air pollution or pollen monitor was computed using the Euclidean distance formula. RESULTS: Air pollution is routinely monitored by a Federal mandate, is universally available, and easily obtained. Pollen data is collected by private entities, which in some cases hinders access. Water quality data is generally publically available, but it is collected at the source and not easily traceable to water delivery endpoints. In both Atlanta and DC, Maryland, and Virginia most of the clinics (78% and 94%, respectively) are located within 10 miles of an air pollution monitor; approximately 83% and 94% of the KP populations were located within 10 miles of an air pollution monitor. SES populations differ substantially by race, age, income, and education with respect to the nearest monitor. However, the median and interquartile range of various air pollutants does not differ much across the monitors – indicating that, on average, there is little SES gradient in type of level of air pollution exposure. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, this study adds knowledge regarding future considerations about the coverage of environmental monitors and to what extent exposure measure estimates can be assigned to certain populations located near monitors.

This thesis is an examination of the sex and gender differences in measures of relative deprivation for Winnipeg, Manitoba, and the value of these measures to predict health outcomes. Within theoretical frameworks of relative deprivation and intersectionality, principal component analysis was used to test nineteen different versions of a national area-based deprivation index using Census variables, for the total population and for males and females separately. Only one version of the deprivation index provided consistent factor scores, in keeping with the theoretical constructs, for the total, female-only and male-only populations for Winnipeg. Administrative health data were used to calculate area-level rates of select health outcomes and binomial negative regressions were then used to analyze whether the “best” index was predictive of health outcomes for the three populations. In regression models, only the “material” component of the deprivation index was predictive of the health outcomes, but results varied across the three populations. The application of the “best” deprivation index to health planning may depend on the health issue and the population in question. This thesis confirmed that examining the intersections of sex, gender and deprivation in population health research unmasks important differences that would otherwise be missed and could have implications in health planning.

Prosocial behaviour is an important building block of children's future social relationships and overall life achievement. The purpose of this study is to increase our knowledge of how various social pathways influence the developmental trajectories of prosocial behaviour in children between the age of 4 and 11. Conceptually, this study rests on the family stress model and its mediating effects, augmented by parental perceptions of neighbourhood social relationships moderating those family pathways. Research is conducted using data from Statistics Canada's National Longitudinal Survey on Children and Youth (NLSCY), and latent growth models (LGM) in four parenting domains: positive interaction, effectiveness, consistency, and rationality. The study supports the hypothesis that family pathways, such as parental depression, family dysfunction, and parenting practices, mediate the relationship between family SES and children's prosocial development. Study findings also demonstrate the important direct effect sizes of all parenting practices on children's prosocial growth. Results suggest that the magnitude of the direct effects of parenting practices on prosocial behaviour, which are non-negligible and positive, are to a great extent negatively affected by the variables defined in the family stress model. Moreover, this research provides new insights about the types of moderation, and the focus of these moderating effects on the family stress model. Thus, findings support the hypothesis that parents' perceptions of neighbourhood cohesion and social support mitigate one or more family pathways more proximal to the child. Overall, this research study contributes in a distinctive manner to the current literature on children's prosocial behaviour development.

This thesis is an examination of the sex and gender differences in measures of relative deprivation for Winnipeg, Manitoba, and the value of these measures to predict health outcomes. Within theoretical frameworks of relative deprivation and intersectionality, principal component analysis was used to test nineteen different versions of a national area-based deprivation index using Census variables, for the total population and for males and females separately. Only one version of the deprivation index provided consistent factor scores, in keeping with the theoretical constructs, for the total, female-only and male-only populations for Winnipeg. Administrative health data were used to calculate area-level rates of select health outcomes and binomial negative regressions were then used to analyze whether the “best” index was predictive of health outcomes for the three populations. In regression models, only the “material” component of the deprivation index was predictive of the health outcomes, but results varied across the three populations. The application of the “best” deprivation index to health planning may depend on the health issue and the population in question. This thesis confirmed that examining the intersections of sex, gender and deprivation in population health research unmasks important differences that would otherwise be missed and could have implications in health planning.

This project investigated the diagnosis and psychostimulant treatment rates of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Manitoba children. These rates were considered according to sex, age, socioeconomic status (SES), geographical region, and comorbidity with learning disabilities (LD) and behavioral disturbances (BD). Data came from the Manitoba Population Health Research Data Repository, a comprehensive collection of administrative, registry, survey and other databases. The research population included all children aged 0 to 19 years in Manitoba (n = 319,506) with a diagnosis of ADHD (n= 9,233), during two Fiscal years (2003/2004 and 2004/2005). The term “gradient” refers to the relationship between SES and health and emphasizes the idea that the change in outcomes is gradual and occurs across the full range of SES. Results from this study indicate that region of residence (urban versus rural) and comorbid BD moderate the SES gradient, as low income, urban dwelling children with a comorbid diagnosis of BD had the highest rates of ADHD diagnoses and prescriptions. Furthermore, whereas age did not moderate the SES gradient, the crude rates indicated that the SES gradient for ADHD diagnoses and prescriptions was most pronounced in urban children 0 to 13 years of age. Otherwise, all main effects tested (sex, age, socioeconomic status, geographical region, and comorbid BD and LD) were significant in both the diagnosis and prescription models for ADHD. Policy considerations that arise out of this study include more stringent diagnostic and prescription treatment practices, additional support resources for children who are most at risk of having ADHD, and increased information about alternate treatment implementation for ADHD.

This project investigated the diagnosis and psychostimulant treatment rates of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Manitoba children. These rates were considered according to sex, age, socioeconomic status (SES), geographical region, and comorbidity with learning disabilities (LD) and behavioral disturbances (BD). Data came from the Manitoba Population Health Research Data Repository, a comprehensive collection of administrative, registry, survey and other databases. The research population included all children aged 0 to 19 years in Manitoba (n = 319,506) with a diagnosis of ADHD (n= 9,233), during two Fiscal years (2003/2004 and 2004/2005). The term “gradient” refers to the relationship between SES and health and emphasizes the idea that the change in outcomes is gradual and occurs across the full range of SES. Results from this study indicate that region of residence (urban versus rural) and comorbid BD moderate the SES gradient, as low income, urban dwelling children with a comorbid diagnosis of BD had the highest rates of ADHD diagnoses and prescriptions. Furthermore, whereas age did not moderate the SES gradient, the crude rates indicated that the SES gradient for ADHD diagnoses and prescriptions was most pronounced in urban children 0 to 13 years of age. Otherwise, all main effects tested (sex, age, socioeconomic status, geographical region, and comorbid BD and LD) were significant in both the diagnosis and prescription models for ADHD. Policy considerations that arise out of this study include more stringent diagnostic and prescription treatment practices, additional support resources for children who are most at risk of having ADHD, and increased information about alternate treatment implementation for ADHD.