Socioeconomic Changes and Adolescent Psychopathology in a Brazilian Birth Cohort Study

Abstract

PurposeTo investigate the effects of socioeconomic changes from birth to 11 years of life on emotional, conduct, and attentional/hyperactivity problems in 15-year-old adolescents, from the 1993 Pelotas (Brazil) birth cohort study.MethodsThe original cohort was composed of 5,249 hospital-born children whose mothers answered a questionnaire. We conducted interviews with 87.5% and 85.7% of the original cohort in 2004–2005 and 2008, respectively. We divided family income changes into nine possible categories based on two assessment points (birth and 11 years of age) and three income levels. To assess the psychopathology of the adolescents at 15 years of age, 4,423 mothers answered the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.ResultsAdolescents who were always poor or who became poor between birth and 11 years of age had greater conduct problems at 15 years of age. There was no consistent association between poverty and emotional and attentional/hyperactivity problems.ConclusionsThe effects of income change were more specific to conduct problems than to emotional and attentional/hyperactivity problems, similar to what has been previously described in developed countries.

Prospective Findings From the 1993 Pelotas (Brazil) Birth Cohort Study

“…The first four articles of the supplement focus on early-life predictors of later health and behavior [1][2][3][4]. Wells et al show that infant weight and length gains were associated primarily with larger size in adolescence rather than increased adiposity, although later childhood gains in weight and height were predictors of fat mass [1].…”

“…In the second article, MartÎnez-Mesa et al report that maternal smoking during pregnancy negatively affects an offspring's height in adolescence [2]. The third and fourth articles report on the effect of socioeconomic change from birth to adolescence [3,4]. Hallal et al show that adolescents born to high-income families had half the odds of walking or cycling to school compared with those whose families became wealthy during adolescence, suggesting that the habit of commuting to school under one's own power was "built" early in life [3].…”

“…Hallal et al show that adolescents born to high-income families had half the odds of walking or cycling to school compared with those whose families became wealthy during adolescence, suggesting that the habit of commuting to school under one's own power was "built" early in life [3]. Anselmi et al examine the influence of poverty on mental health, showing that both persistent poverty and becoming poor over time were associated with a greater likelihood of developing conduct disorders in adolescence [4].…”

“…The articles herein analyze data collected from conception through age 15 from 4,500 individuals born in the city of Pelotas, Brazil, in 1993. The analyses provide us with not just a snapshot of adolescents' current health status, but rather an entire movie depicting the life-course trajectories and the emergence of health outcomes of this population during adolescence.The first four articles of the supplement focus on early-life predictors of later health and behavior [1][2][3][4]. Wells et al show that infant weight and length gains were associated primarily with larger size in adolescence rather than increased adiposity, although later childhood gains in weight and height were predictors of fat mass [1].…”

“…Hallal et al show that adolescents born to high-income families had half the odds of walking or cycling to school compared with those whose families became wealthy during adolescence, suggesting that the habit of commuting to school under one's own power was "built" early in life [3]. Anselmi et al examine the influence of poverty on mental health, showing that both persistent poverty and becoming poor over time were associated with a greater likelihood of developing conduct disorders in adolescence [4].The next three articles focus on the health effects of behavioral changes during adolescence [5][6][7]. Menezes et al report a positive association between self-reported physical activity practice in adolescence and effort-dependent lung function, particularly among girls [5].…”