Margaret E. Ensminger

Paths to High School Graduation or Dropout: A Longitudinal Study of a First-Grade Cohort.

This prospective longitudinal study examined the developmental paths toward high school graduation or dropout for a cohort of 1,242 Black first graders from an urban community who were at a high risk for school dropout. Over half those with school records did not graduate. Dropouts were compared with graduates in their first-grade school performance, family background, family environment, and educational hopes and expectations. Both low grades and aggressive behavior in first grade led to later dropout for males. The impact of maternal education and poverty was through their interaction with individual characteristics. The links between early school performance and later high school graduation were not as strong for those from backgrounds of poverty as for those who were not poor. Having a mother with at least a high school education increased the likelihood that males who performed poorly in first grade or who had low educational expectations as adolescents would graduate. Being from a mother-father family was protective for the girls. Strict rules regarding school reported during adolescence helped the females compensate for early poor performance

The adolescent child health and illness profile: A population-based measure of health

This study was designed to test the reliability and validity of an instrument to assess adolescent health status. Reliability and validity were examined by administration to adolescents (ages 11–17 years) in eight schools in two urban areas, one area in Appalachia, and one area in the rural South. Integrity of the domains and subdomains and construct validity were tested in all areas. Test/retest stability, criterion validity, and convergent and discriminant validity were tested in the two urban areas. Iterative testing has resulted in the final form of the CHIP-AE (Child Health and Illness Profile-Adolescent Edition) having 6 domains with 20 subdomains. The domains are Discomfort, Disorders, Satisfaction with Health, Achievement (of age-appropriate social roles), Risks, and Resilience. Tested aspects of reliability and validity have achieved acceptable levels for all retained subdomains. The CHIP-AE in its current form is suitable for assessing the health status of populations and subpopulations of adolescents. Evidence from test-retest stability analyses suggests that the CHIP-AE also can be used to assess changes occurring over time or in response to health services interventions targeted at groups of adolescents.

Mental health in first grade and teenage drug, alcohol, and cigarette use.

Abstract This paper reports on prospective studies of the effects of psychological and social variables measured in first grade on the use of various drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes by teenagers 10 years later. The population consisted of all of the 1966–1967 first graders of Woodlawn, a poor, black, Chicago neighborhood. In a 10-year follow-up, the population, which had been studied three times in first grade and once in third grade, was reassessed for family, psychological, and social data, in addition to drug, alcohol and cigarette use. The former Woodlawn first graders, now aged 16–17, used beer or wine, hard liquor, marijuana or hashish, and cigarettes with considerable frequency. Psychedelics, amphetamines, barbiturates, tranquilizers, opiates, cocaine, inhalants, and cough syrup or codeine were used with much lower frequency. Three separate kinds of characteristics observable in first grade were associated with drug use by adolescents ten years later. (1) Higher first-grade IQ test scores or school readiness test scores predicted more frequent drug use for both sexes. (2) Males used drugs and alcohol (not cigarettes) more often than females, and, antecedents of later drug use by males were more clear than those for females. (3) Those children whose first-grade teachers rated them as shy used drugs least often 10 years later; first graders rated as aggressive used drugs most often 10 years later; adapting first graders and those with learning problems only were found to be moderate drug, alcohol and cigarette users. These results were much more clear for males. Among females, higher levels of psychiatric symptoms in first grade predicted, to some extent, lower teenage drug use. Teenage antisocial behavior was an important mediator of teenage drug use for first-grade shy-aggressive males and somewhat less important for first-grade aggressive males.

Using social network analysis to study patterns of drug use among urban drug users at high risk for HIV/AIDS

Few studies have examined the current social relationships of injecting drug users. This paper examines the structural and relationship characteristics of the social networks of injecting drug users, and the relation of social network characteristics to the HIV infection risk behavior of frequency of injecting heroin and cocaine. The study sample was comprised of 293 inner city injecting drug users in Baltimore, Maryland. Most participants (89%) reported at least one family member in their social network, and 44% listed their mother or step-mother in their network. Presence of family members in personal social networks was not related to patterns of drug use examined here; however, those who reported a partner in their personal social network injected significantly less often than those who did not report a partner. Network density and size of drug subnetworks were positively associated with frequency of drug injection. The results of this study suggest that social network analysis may be a useful tool for understanding the social context of HIV/AIDS risk behaviors.

School and Family Origins of Delinquency:Comparisons by Sex

Many longitudinal studies have found that antisocial behavior in childhood, broadly defined, is related to adolescent and adult antisocial behavior. Many of these studies have included only males, possibly because the rate of antisocial behavior is much higher among males, because males seem to have more continuity in aggressiveness from one time to the next, or because our society, including its scientists, associates antisocial behavior with males as if it is a male problem. We argue, as does Harris (1977), that the failure to include the antisocial behavior of both males and females is a major shortcoming of research thus far into delinquency and criminality. Indeed the differences in rates offer a major opportunity to investigate the conditions leading to delinquency, whether these be biological, social, psychological, or some combination.

Consistency of Condom Use for Disease Prevention Among Adolescent Users of Oral Contraceptives

A six-month prospective study examined consistency of condom use for disease prevention among 308 adolescent women who had received a prescription for oral contraceptives at a family planning clinic. Only 16 percent used condoms consistently over a six-month period, yet 30 percent were considered at high risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) because of multiple, sequential or concurrent relationships with male partners. The type of relationship in which the adolescents were involved did not predict consistency of condom use. Consistent condom use was associated with having asked a partner to use a condom, perceiving partner support for condom use, having less frequent sexual intercourse and using oral contraceptives inconsistently. The findings suggest that family planning providers need to more strongly emphasize to adolescents the importance of consistent condom use to protect against STD infection.

The Validity of Measures of Socioeconomic Status of Adolescents.

This study examines the validity of measures of socioeconomic status (SES) as reported by adolescents. Adolescents completed a self-administered questionnaire that included eight measures of SES. Mothers also reported on selected measures of SES. Supporting criterion validity, adolescents and mothers had relatively high agreement on the SES measures. Older adolescents, those less involved in risk behaviors, and those who do better in school gave more accurate SES reports and/or were less likely to have missing SES data. Those in households without fathers were less likely to know fathers’ information. Income was not asked of the adolescents. However, most adolescent-reported SES questions varied systematically and in the expected direction with mothers’income report. In terms of construct validity, the SES measures related to adolescent health measures in the predicted way—that is, those with higher SES were more likely to report better physical and emotional health.

Partner-specific condom use among adolescent women clients of a family planning clinic.

Because inconsistent condom use could put adolescent women at an increased risk for sexually transmitted diseases, it is important to understand when and with whom they use condoms. This study examined partner-specific condom use over time among adolescent women. The data were from a clinic-based, prospective study of 308 adolescent women who had at least one sex partner during a 6-month follow-up. Their condom use was examined with three types of partners: exclusive, nonexclusive primary, and nonexclusive secondary. Predictors of consistent condom use (using condoms 100% of the time with a specific partner) were explored in a multiple logistic regression analysis. Consistent condom use was more likely to occur in shorter relationships (less than 3 months) and with partners who preferred condoms for contraception. It was no more likely to occur with nonexclusive partners than with exclusive partners, and it was somewhat less likely to occur among consistent oral contraceptive users. These findings emphasize the importance of educating adolescent women to introduce and maintain condom use with all partners.

The inner city and drug use: Initial findings from an epidemiological study

Although scientific and policy statements regarding drugs often suggest that there are grave problems of drug use within Americas inner cities, the evidence that supports these statements is often based on anecdotal or incomplete data. This study of African-American adults from the Woodlawn study followed longitudinally partially fills that gap, at least for learning more about those who spend some or all of their childhood within an inner city neighborhood. We found few differences between the lifetime prevalence of drug use and a national representative sample of adults of the same age range. Furthermore, a national household survey of African-Americans of similar age living in six central cities also reported low lifetime rates of illicit drug use. Nevertheless, those from the Woodlawn cohort had higher rates of use of illicit drugs in the past year than the national sample, especially those still living in areas with high rates of poverty. Additionally, reports of heavy drug trafficking were much greater in the inner city areas than in the suburbs.

Variations in Parenting and Adolescent Outcomes Among African American and Latino Families Living in Low-Income, Urban Areas:

Drawing from social disorganization theory, this study examined how perceived neighborhood conditions modified associations between parenting and delinquency, depressive symptoms, and school problem behavior among more than 800 African American and Latino 10- to 14-year-olds participating in Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study. Permissive and disengaged parenting, maternal involvement, and punitive parenting were associated with youth outcomes in varying ways depending on perceived neighborhood context and a youths race, ethnicity, and gender. Neighborhood-modifying influences on parenting were stronger for African Americans as compared to Latinos and for males as compared to females. Findings suggest that the stakes of uninvolved and permissive parenting for problematic youth outcomes are greater in higher risk neighborhoods. In addition, among African American males, punitive parenting is less strongly associated with poor youth outcomes when mothers perceive that the neighborhood poses more threats and offers fewer social resources.