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Objectives: Early childhood poverty is associated with adult chronic diseases. The objectives of this study were to examine patterns of exposure to poverty during the first 10 years of life in the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD) cohort according to three measures of poverty and to explore family characteristics associated with different poverty exposures. Method: Data from 1,334 participants from the QLSCD were collected annually at home from ages 5 months through 10 years. Household income (previous 12 months) and sources of income were recorded at each data round. Poverty status was operationalized as 1) living below the low income cut-off of Statistics Canada, 2) receiving social welfare and 3) being in the lowest quintile of socio-economic status. We plotted trends in the prevalence of child poverty over time. We used latent class growth modelling to identify subgroups with similar poverty trajectories. Duration of poverty according to each measure was computed separately for early childhood, middle childhood, and the entire 10 years of life. Results: Four trajectories of poverty were identified: stable poor, decreasing likelihood, increasing likelihood, and never poor. The three measures of poverty do not cover the same population, yet the characteristics of those identified as poor are similar. Children of non-European, immigrant mothers were most likely to be poor, and there was a higher likelihood of children from single-parent families to live in chronic poverty during the first 10 years. Conclusion: A large proportion of children are exposed to poverty before 10 years of age. More effective public policies could reduce child poverty. Key words: Child poverty; child low SES; child health; longitudinal study; birth cohort; trajectories Objectifs : La pauvrete durant l'enfance est associee aux maladies chroniques des adultes. Les objectifs de l'etude etaient d'examiner l'exposition a la pauvrete durant les 10 premieres annees de vie dans l'Etude Longitudinale du Developpement des Enfants du Quebec (ELDEQ) selon trois mesures de pauvrete et d'explorer les caracteristiques familiales associees. Methode : Les donnees de 1 334 participants a l'ELDEQ ont ete recueillies annuellement a la maison de 5 mois a 10 ans. Le revenu annuel du menage et ses sources ont ete documentes a chaque entrevue. Le statut de pauvrete a ete operationnalise ainsi : 1) sous le seuil de faible revenu de Statistiques Canada, 2) recevoir du Bien-etre social, 3) faire partie du plus bas quintile de statut socioeconomique. Nous avons estime la prevalence de la pauvrete des enfants a chaque age. La modelisation par classes latentes de croissance a permis d'identifier des sous-groupes ayant des trajectoires de pauvrete semblables. La duree de pauvrete selon chaque mesure a ete calculee pour la petite enfance, l'age scolaire et les 10 premieres annees de vie. Resultats : Quatre trajectoires de pauvrete ont ete identifiees : pauvrete stable, probabilite decroissante, probabilite croissante et jamais pauvre. Les trois mesures de pauvrete ne regroupent pas les memes populations, cependant leurs caracteristiques sont semblables. Les enfants de meres immigrantes non-Europeennes sont les plus a risque d'etre exposes a la pauvrete alors qu'un plus grand nombre d'enfants de familles monoparentales a vecu chroniquement pauvre durant leurs 10 premieres annees. Conclusion : Un grand nombre d'enfants est expose a la pauvrete avant 10 ans. Des politiques plus efficaces pourraient reduire la pauvrete des enfants. Mots cles : sante des enfants; pauvrete des enfants; faible SSE des enfants; etude longitudinale; cohorte de naissance; trajectoires, Children growing up in poverty are at increased risk of suffering from diverse health problems, including asthma attacks, acute respiratory infections, growth delay, overweight and obesity as well as mental [...]

Data from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development were used to examine factors associated with postnatal depression and the links between self-rated health (SRH) and depressive symptoms in mothers 5 months after giving birth, according to immigration status. Postnatal depressive symptoms were measured using the 12-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Immigrant mothers were classified according to their ethnocultural (majority or minority) group and compared with Canadian-born mothers. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between SRH and depressive symptoms. The prevalence of high depressive symptoms was larger among immigrants from minority groups (24.7%) than among immigrants from majority groups (8.3%) and Canadian-born mothers (11.2%). SRH was associated with depressive symptoms among Canadian-born mothers, but not among minority immigrant mothers. Canadian-born mothers integrated mental health into their assessment of overall health status, however, depressive symptoms among minority immigrant mothers were common, and their determinants warrant further research, doi: 10.1300/J013v45n04_01 KEYWORDS. Perceived health, postpartum depression, mother, immigration

The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between the employment status of new mothers and their depressive symptoms at 6 months postpartum. In order to have a better understanding of these links, we investigated the role that socio-environmental characteristics of new mothers plays in this relationship. Employment status is conceived to be closely linked to the characteristics of new mothers and their environment that constitute some of the well-known risk factors for postpartum depressive disorders. For that reason, the possibility that these characteristics could intervene in the relationship between employment status and depressive symptoms was considered. Three types of links were explored: independent, interactive or indirect relationships. Analysis was performed on a sample of 447 women in one of the four following situations: working, being on maternity leave, being a homemaker or actively seeking employment. Results appear to indicate the presence of an indirect relationship between employment status and depressive symptoms. Women on maternity leave, and, to a lesser degree, working mothers, present characteristics that are associated with a good mental health. Homemakers and women seeking employment, however, seem to be placed in situations associated with depressive symptoms. These results underscore the possibility that employment status could lead to living conditions that have an impact on a new mother's mental health. KEYWORDS. Postpartum depressive disorders, employment status, working mothers

This study analyses the relationships between stressful life conditions and postnatal depressive symptomatology in a group of women of low socioeconomic status (SES) and a group of women of high SES from the third to the ninth week postpartum. Nulliparous pregnant women were recruited from the prenatal care clinics of four hospitals. Multiple linear regression analyses demonstrated that after accounting for SES group membership and depressive symptomatology during pregnancy, early postnatal chronic stressors (frequent conflictual episodes with network members, maternal health problems) and social support were linked to later postnatal depressive symptomatology. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-342-9678. E-mail address: getinfo@haworthpressinc.com]

OBJECTIVES. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between duration of poverty and the health of preschool children in the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development birth cohort. METHODS. Data from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development for 1950 children who were followed annually up to age 3 1/2 years were analyzed. Poverty was defined as having an income below the low-income cutoff from Statistics Canada. Five health indicators were examined: asthma attacks, infections, growth delay, a cumulative health-problems index, and maternal perception of the child's health. The association between duration of poverty and child health was explored with logistic regression modeling controlling for child and mother characteristics, including the mother's level of education, social support, and physical violence. RESULTS. In this birth cohort, 13.7% (268) 3 1/2-year-old children from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development experienced intermittent poverty since birth (1-2 episodes), and another 14.4% (280) experienced chronic poverty (3-4 episodes). Children from families with chronic poverty had more frequent asthma attacks and had a higher cumulative health-problems index score, whereas children with intermittent poverty were more often perceived to be in less than very good health by their mothers. These associations remained statistically significant when controlling for child and mother characteristics. No association was observed between duration of poverty and infections or growth delay. CONCLUSIONS. Chronic poverty affects a large number of children and has negative consequences for preschool children's health, although universal health care is available. The effects of chronic poverty may vary according to different health indicators and the age of the child. KEYWORDS. child health, poverty, socioeconomic status, asthma attacks, maternal perception of child's health., URL: [...]

The authors examined the association between maternal reports of child asthma attacks since birth and occurrence of elevated maternal depressive symptoms at seventeen months postpartum in the present study. The modifying role of poverty in this association was also examined. Data from n = 1,696 mother-child dyads from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, a birth cohort of children born in 1998, were used. Maternal depressive symptoms were measured with an abridged and validated twelve-item version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Maternal reports of child asthma attacks since birth in relation to the occurrence of maternal depressive symptoms at 17 months postpartum and the potential modifying role of poverty were tested using multiple logistic regression models. When mothers reported child asthma attacks, those without elevated depressive symptoms at 5 months postpartum had lower odds of elevated depressive symptoms one year later (OR = 0.2, 95% CI: 0.1-0.7). Poverty was associated with increased odds of elevated maternal depressive symptoms (OR = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.5-3.9), without interacting with child asthma. Through this study, the authors suggest that in mothers without elevated symptoms at 5 months, reported child asthma attacks since birth did not contribute one year later to new occurrence of depressive symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]