No abstract

Using field-based observations and standardized measures of the home environment and child development, the authors followed 59 rural Jamaican women and their offspring from birth to age 5. The findings suggest that conjugal multiplicity, a female reproductive pattern characterized by multiple unions, maternal unmarried status, and absent father, does not necessarily result in poorer developmental outcomes for preschool-aged children. Rather, it is a strategic adaptation to the conditions of poverty that may, in fact, provide developmental advantages for poor children in rural Jamaica. Households in which there are six or more maternal siblings, however, appear to compromise child development regardless of multiple unions, conjugal status, or father's presence.When the Moynihan (1965) report was published, it set in motion a debate over the impact of family structure on child development that has lasted more than four decades. Moynihan argued that African American family structure-specifically absent fathers, single parenthood, and female-headed households-deprives children of the skills College

Objective. To identify neurobehavioral effects of prenatal marijuana exposure on neonates in rural Jamaica. Design. Ethnographic field studies and standardized neurobehavior assessments during the neonatal period. Setting. Rural Jamaica in heavy-marijuana-using population. Participants. Twenty-four Jamaican neonates exposed to marijuana prenatally and 20 nonexposed neonates. Measurements and main results. Exposed and nonexposed neonates were compared at 3 days and 1 month old, using the Brazelton Neonatal Assessment Scale, including supplementary items to capture possible subtle effects. There were no significant differences between exposed and nonexposed neonates on day 3. At 1 month, the exposed neonates showed better physiological stability and required less examiner facilitation to reach organized states. The neonates of heavy-marijuana-using mothers had better scores on autonomic stability, quality of alertness, irritability, and self-regulation and were judged to be more rewarding for caregivers. Conclusions. The absence of any differences between the exposed on nonexposed groups in the early neonatal period suggest that the better scores of exposed neonates at 1 month are traceable to the cultural positioning and social and economic characteristics of mothers using marijuana that select for the use of marijuana but also promote neonatal development.