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Author: James, Sherman A.
Resulting in 5 citations.
1. Colen, Cynthia G.
Geronimus, Arline T.
Bound, John
James, Sherman A.
Facing the Realities of the American Dream: Upward Maternal Socioeconomic Mobility and Black-White Disparities in Infant Birthweight
Presented: Philadelphia, PA, American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting and Exposition, December 10-14, 2005.
Also: http://apha.confex.com/apha/133am/techprogram/paper_115060.htm
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: American Public Health Association
Keyword(s): Birthweight; Black Studies; Census of Population; Childbearing; Children, Well-Being; Family Income; Income Level; Infants; Mobility, Economic; Mobility, Social; Racial Differences; Socioeconomic Factors; Variables, Independent - Covariate; Women

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

I utilize data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) and the 1970 U.S. Census of Population and Housing to determine the extent to which upward maternal socioeconomic mobility reduces the probability of giving birth to a low birthweight (LBW) baby among Black and White women in the United States. Multivariate analyses are restricted to female respondents who were living in households at age 14 for which the income to needs ratio (INR) did not exceed 200% of the national poverty threshold. I estimate a series of logistic regression models to determine whether or not increases in family income during the year in which the respondent became pregnant are associated with the risk of low birthweight. Among White women who grew up in or near poverty, the probability of giving birth to a LBW baby decreases by 48% for every one unit increase in the natural logarithm of adult family income once the effects of all other covariates are taken into account. Among African American women who grew up in or near poverty, the relationship between adult family income and low birthweight is also negative; however, the coefficient on the independent variable of interest fails to reach statistical significance at the 0.05 level. Furthermore, maternal health behaviors, such as cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, delayed prenatal care, and inadequate weight gain, appear to have a minimal impact on the association between upward socioeconomic mobility and the risk of low birthweight for both Blacks and Whites.
Bibliography Citation
Colen, Cynthia G., Arline T. Geronimus, John Bound and Sherman A. James. "Facing the Realities of the American Dream: Upward Maternal Socioeconomic Mobility and Black-White Disparities in Infant Birthweight." Presented: Philadelphia, PA, American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting and Exposition, December 10-14, 2005.
2. Colen, Cynthia G.
Geronimus, Arline T.
Bound, John
James, Sherman A.
Maternal Upward Socioeconomic Mobility and Black-White Disparities in Infant Birthweight
American Journal of Public Health 96,11 (November 2006): 1-11.
Also: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/96/11/2032
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: American Public Health Association
Keyword(s): Birth Outcomes; Birthweight; Discrimination, Racial/Ethnic; Family Income; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Mobility, Economic; Mobility, Social; Poverty; Pregnancy and Pregnancy Outcomes; Pregnancy, Adolescent; Racial Differences

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Objectives. We estimate the extent to which upward socioeconomic mobility limits the probability that Black and White women who spent their childhoods in or near poverty will give birth to a low-birthweight baby.

Methods. Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and the 1970 US Census were used to complete a series of logistic regression models. We restricted multivariate analyses to female survey respondents who, at 14 years of age, were living in households in which the income-to-needs ratio did not exceed 200% of poverty.

Results. For White women, the probability of giving birth to a low-birthweight baby decreases by 48% for every 1 unit increase in the natural logarithm of adult family income, once the effects of all other covariates are taken into account. For Black women, the relation between adult family income and the probability of low birthweight is also negative; however, this association fails to reach statistical significance.

Conclusions. Upward socioeconomic mobility contributes to improved birth outcomes among infants born to White women who were poor as children, but the same does not hold true for their Black counterparts.

Bibliography Citation
Colen, Cynthia G., Arline T. Geronimus, John Bound and Sherman A. James. "Maternal Upward Socioeconomic Mobility and Black-White Disparities in Infant Birthweight." American Journal of Public Health 96,11 (November 2006): 1-11.
3. Homer, Charles J.
Beresford, S. A.
James, Sherman A.
Siegel, Earl
Work-Related Physical Exertion and Risk of Preterm, Low Birthweight Delivery
Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology 4,2 (April 1990): 161-174
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Blackwell Publishing, Inc. => Wiley Online
Keyword(s): Birth Outcomes; Birthweight; Child Health; g Factor; Maternal Employment; Pre-natal Care/Exposure; Pre/post Natal Health Care; Pregnancy and Pregnancy Outcomes; Working Conditions

Although many women work during pregnancy, the effect of maternal job experience on pregnancy outcome is controversial. We investigated whether work-related physical exertion increases a woman's risk of delivering a preterm, low birthweight infant. We studied 773 employed, pregnant women included in the National Longitudinal Survey of Labor Market Experience, Youth Cohort (NLSY), a nationally representative sample of young adults. Data concerning work status, job title during pregnancy, and other factors affecting the outcome of pregnancy were obtained from the NLSY. Assessment of physical exertion was based on job title, using an established catalogue of occupational characteristics. Women in jobs characterized by high physical exertion experienced a higher rate of preterm, low birthweight delivery, defined as maternal report of delivery more than 3 weeks early and birthweight under 2,500 g (adjusted RR = 5.1, 95% CI = 1.5, 17.7). These findings support a policy of limiting work-related physical exertion during pregnancy.
Bibliography Citation
Homer, Charles J., S. A. Beresford, Sherman A. James and Earl Siegel. "Work-Related Physical Exertion and Risk of Preterm, Low Birthweight Delivery." Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology 4,2 (April 1990): 161-174.
4. Homer, Charles J.
James, Sherman A.
Beresford, S. A.
Siegel, Earl
Maternal Work, Job Characteristics, and Birthweight
Presented: [S.L.], The Meetings of the Ambulatory Pediatrics Association, 1987
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Ambulatory Pediatrics Association
Keyword(s): Behavioral Differences; Birth Outcomes; Birthweight; Child Health; Childbearing; Job Hazards; Maternal Employment; Occupations; Pre-natal Care/Exposure; Pre/post Natal Health Care; Pregnancy and Pregnancy Outcomes

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

The authors investigated whether work during pregnancy and two characteristics of work--physical exertion and occupational stress, defined as work with both high psychological demands and low job control--increase a woman's risk of delivering a preterm, low birthweight infant. Twenty-five hundred pregnant women in the NLSY were studied. Delivery of a preterm, low birthweight infant, the outcome variable, was defined as both gestation less than 38 weeks and birthweight under 2500 grams. Work status, job title, and data concerning other factors that might affect the outcome of pregnancy were obtained. Classification of job experience was based on job title, using an established catalogue of occupational characteristics. Analysis was by multiple logistic regression. Women who worked during pregnancy were less likely to deliver a preterm, low birthweight infant than women who did not work, even considering known socioeconomic and behavioral differences. Among women who worked, both high physical exertion, and low demand/low control work were associated with increased frequency of preterm, low birthweight when considered alone. When these job characteristics were considered together, and other factors related to birth outcome taken into account, only physical exertion remained associated with this outcome. These findings support a policy of limiting work-related effort during pregnancy.
Bibliography Citation
Homer, Charles J., Sherman A. James, S. A. Beresford and Earl Siegel. "Maternal Work, Job Characteristics, and Birthweight." Presented: [S.L.], The Meetings of the Ambulatory Pediatrics Association, 1987.
5. Homer, Charles J.
James, Sherman A.
Siegel, Earl
Work-Related Psychosocial Stress and Risk of Preterm, Low Birthweight Delivery
American Journal of Public Health 80,2 (February 1990): 173-177.
Also: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/80/2/173
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: American Public Health Association
Keyword(s): Birthweight; Child Health; Childbearing; Employment; Job Hazards; Job Requirements; Maternal Employment; Occupations; Pre-natal Care/Exposure; Pre/post Natal Health Care; Pregnancy and Pregnancy Outcomes; Stress; Working Conditions

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Using data on working pregnant women from the NLSY, this paper examined whether work-related stress increased a woman's risk of delivering a pre-term, low birthweight infant. Results indicated that young women working during pregnancy in jobs characterized by high exertion and low job control were somewhat more likely than were women who worked in other jobs to deliver a low birthweight, pre-term infant if they did not want to continue working. Occupational stress was not associated, however, with pre-term, low birthweight delivery for the sample as a whole.
Bibliography Citation
Homer, Charles J., Sherman A. James and Earl Siegel. "Work-Related Psychosocial Stress and Risk of Preterm, Low Birthweight Delivery." American Journal of Public Health 80,2 (February 1990): 173-177.