Timing and Chronicity of Family Poverty and Development of Unhealthy Behaviors in Children: A Longitudinal Study

Najman, Jake M.; Clavarino, Alexandra; McGee, Tara R.; Bor, William; Williams, Gail M.; Hayatbakhsh, Mohammad R.

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.12.001

« Previous Next »Journal of Adolescent Health
Volume 46, Issue 6 , Pages 538-544, June 2010

Timing and Chronicity of Family Poverty and Development of Unhealthy Behaviors in Children: A Longitudinal Study

Jake M. Najman, Ph.D.
- School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland, Australia
- School of Social Science, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
- Address correspondence to: Jake M. Najman, Ph.D., School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Herston Road, Herston, Queensland 4006, Australia.
Alexandra Clavarino, Ph.D.
- School of Pharmacy, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
Tara R. McGee, Ph.D.
- School of Justice Studies, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia
William Bor, M.B.B.S., D.P.M.
- Mater Centre for Service Research in Mental Health, Mater Hospital, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Gail M. Williams, M.Sc., Ph.D., M.Sc., B.Sc.
- School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland, Australia
Mohammad R. Hayatbakhsh, M.D., Ph.D.
- School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland, Australia

Received 12 January 2009; accepted 1 December 2009.

Abstract

Purpose

To examine the impact of the timing and duration of family experiences of poverty over the child/adolescent early life course on child aggressive/delinquent behavior and tobacco and alcohol consumption.

Methods

Data were taken from a large scale population based birth cohort study with repeated follow-ups until 21 years after the birth. Poverty was measured during the pregnancy, 6 months, 5 years, and 14 years after the birth. Aggressive/delinquent behavior was measured at 14- and 21-year follow-ups. Tobacco and alcohol consumption were measured at the 21-year follow-up.

Results

In multivariate analysis, family poverty experienced at the 14-year follow-up predicted persistent aggressive/delinquent behavior as well as smoking and higher levels of alcohol consumption at the 21-year follow-up. However, the strongest associations were for recurrent experiences of family poverty, with the group that experienced repeated poverty (3–4 times) being more than twice more likely to be aggressive/delinquent at both 14 and 21 years, and to drink more than one glass of alcohol per day at 21 years.

Conclusions

Repeated experiences of poverty in early childhood and adolescence are strongly associated with a number of negative health-related behavior outcomes. Experience of poverty in the early adolescence seems to be the most sensitive period for such exposure.

Keywords: Poverty, Child, Behavior, Young adult