Predictors of Haitian-American Infant Development at Twelve Months

Abstract

Perinatal and early childhood influences on the development of 66 Haitian-American children were examined as part of an ongoing home visiting program. Although all participants were impoverished, approximately two-thirds lived in an urban setting with some access to social and health services, while one-third lived in a rural farmworkers' community where housing and services were sharply substandard. Measures used to examine the development of infants in these 2 settings included birthweight, household crowding, parental contributions to the child-rearing environment (the HOME), and developmental progress at 12 months on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Results showed that the urban sample was advanced on the Mental Development Index of the Bayley Scales. Regression analyses showed birthweight and the HOME score measuring child-rearing environment to be significant predictors of mental development, while psychomotor development was related to birthweight and household crowding. The results indicate that even within this disadvantaged Haitian entrant population, environmental differences exist that influence infant development in subtle but significant ways.

Visual Expectation and Dimensions of Infant Information Processing

“…No significant sex differences were found, although girls tended to perform better on the Bayley MDI, M's = 107.8 (boys) and 113.4 (girls), ti85) = -1.84, p = .07. Bayley scores were similar to those of 1-year-old infants from both lower-and middle-class samples (Bradley et al, 1989;Lyons-Ruth, Connell, & Crunebaum, 1990;Plomin & DeFries, 1985;Widemayer et al, 1990), suggesting that at this age socioeconomic deprivation does not yet affect Bayley performance (see 24-month MDI scores, Bradley et al, 1989).…”

Child Development and the Physical Environment

“…Nearly all of these studies statistically control for SES. Psychomotor development (Widmayer et al 1990) but not mental development (Gottfried & Gottfried 1984) is related to residential density among 12-montholds. With maturation, however, mental development becomes negatively related to crowding at 18 and 24 months of age (Gottfried & Gottfried 1984).…”

The physical environment and child development: An international review

“…Likewise Tsai et al (2003) found that young Taiwanese adolescents exposed to arsenic in well water had lower scores than unexposed adolescents on cognitive assessments of memory and attention switching, even after controlling for education and gender. And in a study of 9.5‐ to 10.5‐year‐old children using tubewells in Bangladesh, Wasserman et al (2004) found that water arsenic levels were associated with poorer cognitive functioning. Asadullah & Chaudhury (2011) similarly found that eighth‐grade children exposed to arsenic‐contaminated tubewells in rural Bangladesh had lower mathematics scores than those not exposed, even when controlling for schooling history, prior arsenic exposure, and parental factors.…”