Early and Late Motherhood: Economic, Family Background and Social Conditions

The study investigates parental child rearing methods, structural factors relating to the family during adolescence geographic segregation, individual resource deficits and social background of first time late live births among 32 to 37 years old women and compare to teenagers before becoming teenage mothers. The purpose is to study if results will be consistent with the hypotheses that poverty, social deprivation during adolescence and low education are causes of teen childbearing but also childlessness among elder women in the age group 32 to 37 years old. Could childlessness as well as teenage motherhood bee seen as a consequence of social deprivation and lack of educational possibilities?A discrete-time proportional hazard Cox model is applied to analyze the longitudinal observations of population-based registers covering 1980-2003 for girls born in 1966. Results show a significant economic and social gradient for first-time teenage mothers. Teenagers who had experienced family separation or who were formerly in out-of-home care in particular had an increased risk of early childbearing. Results showed that teenage mothers were in every respect in a more disadvantaged position than pregnant teenagers who had an induced abortion.Quite the opposite pattern is disclosed for late motherhood. Late first time childbirth is more commonly seen among women with a better family background and educated position than childless women in the same age group. The late first-time pregnant women who chose abortion are in a more disadvantaged position than the women who become a mother for the first time in the age group 32 to 37 years old.Conclusion: Disadvantage during adolescence is a precursor for teenage child bearing while parental unemployment and poverty are precursors of lifetime childlessness. While social disadvantage is a precursor for first time late abortion among 32 to 37 years old women, the teenage mothers are in a more disadvantage position than teenagers who choose induced abortions. Social disadvantages inflict at the same time early motherhood and childlessness because social disadvantages influence young women differently than elder women

Opvækst hos fædre

After separation 6 percent of the three to five year old children live with their fathers while 94 percent live with their mothers. In this Danish study a stratified sample (N=1.137) with an equal number of fathers and mothers were selected. About 89 percent were interviewed (N=1.010). The results where that 478 fathers and 532 mothers were interviewed either by phone or personal at home. Results revealed a close association between strains on the parents and the well-being of the children. A job where parents were appreciated and probably also engaged gave the parents an extra strength to solve problems at home. Unemployed parents found themselves compelled to use different kinds of punishment against the children. Although, one third of the fathers have got the children because of the death of the mother or because the mother for different reasons were unable to take care for the cildren (alcoholism, psychiatric decease, imprisonment etc) the fathers had better jobs, less unemployment and fewer psychological problems. As a consequence they were less rough against the children than the mothers. Both parents and the grandparents make up a social network which is of great importance in the formation of children's identity. Unfortunately, this network suffer of the dissolution of the family. When the children are living with tha fathers this network are more intact that in cases were the children are living with the mothers. (The study has been published in Danish: Socialforskningsinstituttet, report 96:23

Can Rose’s paradox be useful in delinquency prevention?

Geoffrey Rose’s prevention paradox obtains when the majority of cases with an adverse outcome come from a population of low or moderate risk, and only a few from a minority ‘high risk’ group. Preventive treatment is then better targeted widely than on the ‘high risk’ minority. This study tests whether the prevention paradox applies to the initiation of criminal behaviour, as recorded in longitudinal administrative data from Denmark. Children born in 1984 are followed from birth to early adulthood. A discrete-time Cox model allows for changing covariates over time. The initiation of criminal behaviour is defined as getting a police record between the ages of 15 and 22 as a result of a criminal matter.  This outcome was predicted, more accurately than by chance, by a combination of over twenty risk factors, reflecting the major crime reduction paradigms. However, it seems impossible to identify a minor group (<5%) in the population from whom criminals are exclusively recruited. Our example illustrates how the applicability of Rose’s prevention strategy, population based, rather than targeted, depends on how narrowly ’high-risk group’ is defined, for a given distribution of estimated risk, and allows for the possible complementarity of population and targeted measures.

Early and Late Motherhood: Economic, Family Background and Social Conditions

The study investigates parental child rearing methods, structural factors relating to the family during adolescence geographic segregation, individual resource deficits and social background of first time late live births among 32 to 37 years old women and compare to teenagers before becoming teenage mothers. The purpose is to study if results will be consistent with the hypotheses that poverty, social deprivation during adolescence and low education are causes of teen childbearing but also childlessness among elder women in the age group 32 to 37 years old. Could childlessness as well as teenage motherhood bee seen as a consequence of social deprivation and lack of educational possibilities? A discrete-time proportional hazard Cox model is applied to analyze the longitudinal observations of population-based registers covering 1980-2003 for girls born in 1966. Results show a significant economic and social gradient for first-time teenage mothers. Teenagers who had experienced family separation or who were formerly in out-of-home care in particular had an increased risk of early childbearing. Results showed that teenage mothers were in every respect in a more disadvantaged position than pregnant teenagers who had an induced abortion. Quite the opposite pattern is disclosed for late motherhood. Late first time childbirth is more commonly seen among women with a better family background and educated position than childless women in the same age group. The late first-time pregnant women who chose abortion are in a more disadvantaged position than the women who become a mother for the first time in the age group 32 to 37 years old. Conclusion: Disadvantage during adolescence is a precursor for teenage child bearing while parental unemployment and poverty are precursors of lifetime childlessness. While social disadvantage is a precursor for first time late abortion among 32 to 37 years old women, the teenage mothers are in a more disadvantage position than teenagers who choose induced abortions. Social disadvantages inflict at the same time early motherhood and childlessness because social disadvantages influence young women differently than elder women

Violent Life Events and Social Disadvantage:A Systematic Study of the Social Background of Various Kinds of Lethal Violence, Other Violent Crime, Suicide, and Suicide Attempts

This is a systematic study of the social background of Danish males convicted for the first time of lethal violence, either actual or potential (e.g. unlawful killers, attempted homicides, negligent homicide, grievous bodily harm, n = 125). Using registers, the paper addresses the following question: Do young men, convicted of a lethal violent crime (either actual or potential), have the same kind of risk factors related to social disadvantage as other first‐time convicted violent offenders (n = 1,849) and first‐time attempted suicides or completed suicides (n = 476)? The paper describes three separate analyses of the total 1966 birth cohort followed through a 13‐year period from age 15 to 27 (n = 43,403). In each case the discrete‐time Cox model is used to analyse associations between the relatively rare response events and the relatively rare stress factors. Results suggest that all three groups of subjects have a similar exposure to risk conditions, but also that there are important differences in the predictors for the three groups when the risk factors are analysed one by one. So, for example, the experience of domestic violence during adolescence is a strong predictor of males' later violent behaviour but a less strong predictor of suicidal behaviour. In contrast, being battered and being neglected during childhood more strongly predict later suicidal behaviour than violent behaviour. The implications for prevention are considered

Risk factors for a first-time drink-driving conviction among young men:a birth cohort study of all men born in Denmark in 1966.

Using a complete birth cohort of all young men born in 1966 in Denmark (N = 43,403), the prevalence of a first-time drink-driving conviction among young men is estimated. More than 7% of the total male birth cohort was so convicted before the age of 27 years. In an examination of risk factors for a first-time drink-driving conviction, young adults coming from potentially vulnerable groups have an increased risk. Earlier criminal convictions of various types were also significant predictors of drink driving. Situational pressures also play a part and are controlled for, with the risk of a drink-driving conviction increased substantially in rural areas compared to metropolitan areas. The study concludes that disadvantages during adolescence, including parental substance abuse, having a teenage mother, and domestic violence, are associated with a first-time drink-driving conviction

An upbringing to violence?:identifying the likelihood of violent crime among the 1966 birth cohort in Denmark.

Why do some boys develop into troublesome youths who eventually get sentenced for violent crimes? In planning a strategy to fight violent crime, it is important to identify significant risk factors for violent criminal behaviour among adolescents and young men. In this study information from population-based registers covers various aspects both for children, aged between 15 and 27 years, and their parents: health (mental and physical), education, social networks, family violence, self-destructive behaviour, parental alcohol or drug abuse, and unemployment. First-time convicted offenders have an increased risk of coming from seriously disadvantaged families; they also seem to be characterized by unstable education and employment records (e.g. not graduating, no vocational training), occasional work, or long-term unemployment

Udgør social støtte en forskel for risiko for at udvikle ikke-suicidal selvskade?

The objective of the study is to find the incidence of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) among Danes born in 1984, as well as to test if social support during childhood is a mediator between child abuse and other traumatic events and non-suicidal self-injury in young adults. The study is based on interviews of a representative sample of 2,98025-year-old Danes born in 1984, and it obtained a 67% response rate. Participants with a history of child maltreatment, being bullied in school or other traumatic life events reported a rate of NSSI 6 times greater than participants without this history (odds ratio: 6.0). The experience of social support in childhood is a partial mediator associated witha reduced risk of NSSI in young adulthood.