Roger Avery

Feathered nest/gilded cage: Parental income and leaving home in the transition to adulthood

The growing study of leaving home in young adulthood in the United States has been hampered by data and measurement problems, which are producing a major theoretical confusion about the role of parental resources in influencing young adults’ leaving home. Does high parental income retain young adults in the home or subsidize their leaving (and parental privacy)? This paper uses the 1984 panel of Survey of Income and Program Participation to clarify this issue, and shows that the effects of parental resources differ depending on the route out of the home under consideration (marriage or premarital residential independence). Effects change substantially over the nest-leaving ages, but relatively few differences are found between young men and young women.

Improved disability population estimates of functional limitation among American children aged 5-17.

Objectives: This paper (a) creates and validates measures for population survey data to assess functional limitation in mobility, self-care, communication, and learning ability for school-age American children; (b) calculates rates of functional limitation using these measures, and provides population estimates of the number of children with limitations; and (c) examines these limitations as a function of socioeconomic factors. Method: The study is based on data for children aged 5–17 collected in the 1994 National Health Interview Survey on Disability. Ordinal values are assigned to survey items in the four functional areas and analyzed to produce scales of high reliability. These measures are used to identify within a 95% confidence interval the number of children with these limitations. Ordered logistic regression models measure the effects of functional limitations on disability and societal limitation. Socioeconomic differences are measured with an ordered logistic regression model that predicts severity and comorbidity. Results: Limitations in learning ability (10.6%) and communication (5.5%) are the most common, with mobility (1.3%) and self-care (0.9%) occurring less often. Six percent of children have one serious functional limitation and 2.0% have two or more serious functional limitations. This corresponds to 4.0 million school-age American children with serious functional limitations. Functional limitation is strongly linked to socioeconomic disadvantage and to residence in single-mother households. Conclusions: Future population research should use multiple-item scales for four distinct areas of functional limitation, and a summary that takes into account both severity and comorbidity. The improved estimates of the number of school-age children with functional limitation in this paper may help contribute to a more informed scientific and policy discussion of functional limitation and disability among American school-age children. Future research on the disability process among children must consider the role of socioeconomic disadvantage and family structure.

Social support, disability and independent living of elderly persons in the United States

Abstract This article examines the effects of the availability of kin and disability on the ability of elderly persons to live alone in the United States. The first part of the article uses a sample of women aged 65 and over from the 1980 census to study the factors associated with both living in group housing and living alone. Disability and absence of a spouse or children are strongly associated with living in group housing, whereas lack of disability and lack of children are associated with living alone. In the second part, data from the Supplement on Aging to the 1984 National Health Interview Survey are used to investigate the source and amount of help received among those with difficulties in performing Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) or Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs). Those living alone or with nonrelatives are most likely to rely on paid help and this is more likely if they have few living children.

Distressed neighborhoods and child disability rates: analyses of 157 000 school-age children

The aim of this study was to assess rates of childhood disability as indicated by functional limitation of motor, sensory, or self‐care skills in children living in severely‐distressed neighborhoods. For a neighborhood in the US Census Track to be considered severely distressed, three of the following four characteristics need to be present: >27% of children live in poverty, >23% high school drop‐out rate, >34% male unemployment rate, and >37% of households headed by females alone. In the 2000 US Census, 157 000 children between ages 5 and 15 years resided in the State of Rhode Island. Severely‐distressed neighborhoods were found in 12.6% of Rhode Island Census Tracks. These areas accounted for 14.5% of the school‐age population, 25% of children with motor disabilities, 29% of children with self‐care disabilities, and 14% of children with sensory disabilities. For each increasing level of neighborhood distress, rates of child disability increased. Child disability rates in moderately distressed neighborhoods were 3.7%, compared with 1.1% in advantaged neighborhoods. Children in distressed neighborhoods had disproportionately high rates of disability, especially in motor and self‐care functioning. Comprehensive interventions aimed at children in distressed neighborhoods are crucial to reduce health disparities for vulnerable children.

Disability Prevalence in 21,415 Children Ages 5-17 Years in the 1994 National Health Interview Survey |[diams]| 537

Our purpose was to estimate national population prevalence rates of functional limitations in children ages 5-17 years. We developed a methodology for measuring severity of mobility, self-care, communication and learning ability using the 1994 National Health Interview Survey-Disability Supplement (NHIS-D). NHIS-D included 45,705 households, involving 116,179 people of whom 21,415 were children. Our framework for analysis included the National Centers of Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR) framework of pathophysiology, impairment, fucntional limitations, disability, and handicap. We used categories from the Pediatric Functional Independence Measure(WeeFIM®) to clarify functional limitations in self-care/continency, mobility-locomotion, communication, and social-cognitive/learning skills. Sociodemographic risk factors included race, household structure, education of adult caretaker, and family income. Activity limitation included no limits, non-school limits, school limits and unable to attend school. Perceived disability included parents and health-community professional feedback. Activity limitations were present in 9% and perceived disability in 3.4%. Mobility limitations were evident in 1.3%, self-care limitations in 0.9%, communication limitations in 5.5% and learning limitations were found in 10.6% of the sample. Overall, 12.3%of school age children have some functional limitations (minor 4.2%, severe 8.1%). OLS multivariate models were used to predict activity limitation and perceivd disability. WeeFIM categories accounted for 30% of activity limitations and 46% of perceived disability variance. Sociodemographic differences were significant between age groups in self-care and communication. There were significant differences between blacks, whites, and hispanics in communication and learning ability. Family structure, education of mother and family income had significant impacts on self-care, communication and learning ability limitations. Ordered logistic regression demonstrated strong significant impact on functional limitations for family structure, mothers education and family income. We conclude that the NHIS-D is an excellent population based system for examining functional limitations in school age children.

Child and adult disability in the 2000 census: Disability is a household affair

BACKGROUND Survey data indicate that individuals with disabilities in the United States often experience less advantageous economic and social resources than individuals without disabilities. Furthermore, they often reside with other individuals with disabilities in the same household. However, less is known about resource availability when multiple child and adult household members have a disability. OBJECTIVE We use child-level data from the 2000 Census to examine the relationship between aggregation of disability in households with children and education, labor force participation, poverty level, and inadequate housing. METHODS We utilize tabular analysis and Kruskal-Wallis tests to examine how resources in education, employment, income, and housing adequacy compare for children with disabilities who are the only member of their household with a disability, children with disabilities who live in a household with at least one other member with a disability, children without disabilities who live in a household where no other member has a disability, and children without disabilities who live in a household where at least one other member has a disability. RESULTS Among children without a disability, 86% live in a household in which no other member has a disability. Among children with a disability, 53% live in a household in which no other adult or child has a disability. Poverty, inadequate housing, and low adult education were more than two times more likely - and adult unemployment over five times more likely - in households with multiple members with disability versus households without disability. CONCLUSION There is a high prevalence of aggregation of adults and children with disability in households of children with disability. These households have substantially fewer resources than households who do not have children or adults with disabilities.

Medical Impairments, Functional Limitations, and Disability Status in School Age Children in the 1994 National Health Interview Survey

Medical Impairments, Functional Limitations, and Disability Status in School Age Children in the 1994 National Health Interview Survey