Maternal Age at Childbirth and Offspring Disruptive Behaviors: Testing the Causal Hypothesis

Autor/inn/en	D'Onofrio, Brian M.; Goodnight, Jackson A.; Van Hulle, Carol A.; Rodgers, Joseph Lee; Rathouz, Paul J.; Waldman, Irwin D.; Lahey, Benjamin B.
Titel	Maternal Age at Childbirth and Offspring Disruptive Behaviors: Testing the Causal Hypothesis
Quelle	In: Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50 (2009) 8, S.1018-1028 (11 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0021-9630
DOI	10.1111/j.1469-7610.2009.02068.x
Schlagwörter	Birth; Age Differences; Mothers; Child Behavior; Behavior Problems; Causal Models; Correlation; Parent Influence; Family Environment; Children; Early Adolescents; Siblings; Comparative Analysis; Environmental Influences; At Risk Persons + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Geburt; Age; Difference; Age difference; Altersunterschied; Mother; Mutter; Kausalanalyse; Korrelation; Familienmilieu; Child; Kind; Kinder; Sibling; Geschwister; Environmental influence; Umwelteinfluss; Risikogruppe
Abstract	Background: Recent studies suggest that the association between maternal age at childbearing (MAC) and children's disruptive behaviors is the result of family factors that are confounded with both variables, rather than a casual effect of environmental factors specifically related to MAC. These studies, however, relied on restricted samples and did not use the strongest approach to test causal influences. Methods: Using data on 9,171 4-9-year-old and 6,592 10-13-year-old offspring of women from a nationally representative sample of US households, we conducted sibling-comparison analyses. The analyses ruled out all genetic factors that could confound the association, as well as all environmental confounds that differ between unrelated nuclear families, providing a strong test of the causal hypothesis that the environments of children born at different maternal ages influence mother- and self-reported disruptive behaviors. Results: When these genetic and environmental confounds were ruled out as alternative explanations, the relation between environments within nuclear families specifically associated with MAC and disruptive behaviors was robust, with the association being stronger for second- and third-born children. Conclusions: Environmental factors specifically associated with early MAC within nuclear families account for increased risk of offspring disruptive behaviors, especially in later-born children. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Wiley-Blackwell. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8598; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10