Felton Earls’s research while affiliated with Harvard University and other places

We propose a theoretical framework on the structural sources and spatially embedded nature of three mechanisms that produce collective efficacy for children. Using survey data collected in 1995 from 8,782 Chicago residents, we examine variations in intergenerational closure, reciprocal local exchange, and shared expectations for informal social control across 342 neighborhoods. Adjusting for respondents’ attributes, we assess the effects of neighborhood characteristics measured in the 1990 census and the role of spatial interdependence. The results show that residential stability and concentrated affluence, more so than poverty and racial/ethnic composition, predict intergenerational closure and reciprocal exchange. Concentrated disadvantage, by contrast, is associated with sharply lower expectations for shared child control. The importance of spatial dynamics in generating collective efficacy for children is highlighted—proximity to areas high in closure, exchange, and control bestows an advantage above and beyond the structural characteristics of a given neighborhood. Moreover, spatial advantages are much more likely to accrue to white neighborhoods than to black neighborhoods.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC, United Nations General Assembly, 1989) is a transformative document which has already improved the lives of millions of young people worldwide. Ratified into law by the majority of the countries of the world, it is the first human rights treaty focusing specifically on the rights of individuals under 18 years of age. The rights described in the treaty, however, are often seen as more important for younger children than for adolescents. This policy statement reviews the germane research on the period of adolescence and affirms that the protections and entitlements in the CRC are as important for adolescents as for younger children. Recommendations for policy and research are included.

Abstract Non-U.S.-born black individuals comprise a significant proportion of the new diagnoses of HIV in the United States. Concurrent diagnosis (obtaining an AIDS diagnosis in close proximity to an initial diagnosis of HIV) is common in this subpopulation. Although efforts have been undertaken to increase HIV testing among African Americans, little is known about testing patterns among non-U.S.-born black people. A cross-sectional survey was self-administered by 1060 black individuals in Massachusetts (57% non-U.S.-born) to assess self-reported rates of HIV testing, risk factors, and potential barriers to testing, including stigma, knowledge, immigration status, and access to health care. Bivariate analysis comparing responses by birthplace and multivariate logistic regression assessing correlates of recent testing were completed. Non-U.S.-born individuals were less likely to report recent testing than U.S.-born (41.9% versus 55.6%, p<0.0001). Of those who recently tested, the majority did so for immigration purposes, not because of perceived risk. Stigma was significantly higher and knowledge lower among non-U.S.-born individuals. In multivariate analysis, greater length of time since immigration was a significant predictor of nontesting among non-U.S.-born (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 0.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.36-0.87). Poor health care access and older age were correlated to nontesting in both U.S.- and non-U.S.-born individuals. Our findings indicate that differences in HIV testing patterns exist by nativity. Efforts addressing unique factors limiting testing in non-U.S.-born black individuals are warranted.

The study investigated factors associated with internalising emotional and behavioural problems among adolescents displaced during the most recent Chechen conflict. A cross-sectional survey (N=183) examined relationships between social support and connectedness with family, peers and community in relation to internalising problems. Levels of internalising were higher in displaced Chechen youth compared to published norms among non-referred youth in the United States and among Russian children not affected by conflict. Girls demonstrated higher problem scores compared to boys. Significant inverse correlations were observed between family, peer and community connectedness and internalising problems. In multivariate analyses, family connectedness was indicated as a significant predictor of internalising problems, independent of age, gender, housing status and other forms of support evaluated. Sub-analyses by gender indicated stronger protective relationships between family connectedness and internalising problems in boys. Results indicate that family connectedness is an important protective factor requiring further exploration by gender in war-affected adolescents.

At the 2011 Greenville Family Symposium, we facilitated a deliberative workshop on the implementation of a theoretically based participatory health promotion curriculum for adolescents to situate and guide their public actions. This intervention, known as the Young Citizens Program (YCP), was most recently implemented in Moshi, Tanzania, a midsized municipality in the Kilimanjaro Region, during peak years of the HIV pandemic extending across Sub-Saharan Africa. The individual and community level impacts of this intervention were measured in a cluster randomized controlled trial (CRCT) in which neighborhoods served as the units of randomization. This article builds on the workshop by providing more details on the implementation and program evaluation of the YCP that are not available in our previous publications. In this article, we reference the theories and previous publications in conjunction with discussing the topics. This intervention reflects an evolving societal view of children as capable of conveying detailed knowledge, portraying real-life dilemmas, and engaging adults in critical thinking about possible actions and solutions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)

This article presents the trajectory of my career conveyed in the form of a journey. The aspects of this journey that are most important to capture relate to understanding, testing, and ultimately refining the concepts marshaled to promote health and well-being of populations. Although the well-being of individuals is important in itself, my work is directed toward the science of studying groups in which health outcomes are defined and measured as a function of their social organization. Because I am covering a wide segment of this still evolving journey in a few pages, I should start with three objectives that organize my thinking. They are: To illustrate the sequential links among observation, theory, measurement, experimentation, and practice in the pursuit of scientific knowledge; to distinguish health promotion from disease prevention; and to discuss the challenges of transferring knowledge from rigorously conducted research to the practice of building community competence through civic engagement starting in childhood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)

Prenatal exposures to neurotoxins and postnatal parenting practices have been shown to independently predict variations in the cognitive development and emotional-behavioral well-being of infants and children. We examined the independent contributions of prenatal cigarette exposure and infant learning stimulation, as well as their inter-relationships in predicting variations in the proficiency of executive attention, a core element of cognitive control and self-regulation. Participants were an ethnic-racially, socio-economically diverse sample of 249 children followed from birth in the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods. We obtained histories of prenatal exposure to alcohol, cigarettes, and other drugs, and we assessed socio-economic status and learning stimulation during a home visit when the participants were infants. In childhood we utilized the Attention Networks Test to assess the proficiency of executive attention during two home visits, one year apart. Accounting for age, SES, prenatal alcohol exposure, and baseline performance, we found that prenatal cigarette exposure impaired the speed of executive attention. Infant learning stimulation mitigated these effects, and predicted better accuracy of executive attention as well, suggestive of both protective and health promoting effects. Effect sizes for these relations, whether examined independently or by their inter-relationships, were comparable to if not greater in magnitude than the effects of age on speed and accuracy, highlighting the importance of these very early experiences in shaping the proficiency of self-regulation. Since executive attention is central to cognitive control and self-regulation, previously described relations between prenatal cigarette exposure, parenting practices, and some forms of childhood psychopathology may be contingent on how early learning stimulation contributes to the proficiency of executive attention through direct and indirect effects. Furthermore, considering the prolonged developmental trajectory of executive attention, interventions to support provision of learning stimulation may mitigate poor outcomes for some at-risk children by promoting development of more proficient executive attention.

Given the host of tragic events that children experience, it is often compelling for well-intended adults to respond in a protective and charitable fashion. The child rights approach asks for more. Building on their collective experiences in the developmental and social sciences, the authors present in roughly chronological fashion a synopsis of the theoretical explorations and scientific evaluation that completes a framework to advance the status of children as citizens. The recognition of the agency and capability of a child and the dynamic and enduring source of socialization from and social integration within the community are fundamental to this project. The participatory rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child serve as an impetus and inspiration to this project, the Young Citizens Program. What began with small-scale deliberative groups in Chicago matured into a cluster randomized controlled trial in northern Tanzania.

This article introduces the themes of children’s rights and citizenship and surveys the authors’ contributions to this volume of The Annals. The volume marks the 20th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). As the most widely ratified of all human rights covenants, adoption of the CRC represents a landmark achievement in the history of childhood. Yet there remains a noticeable gap in its implementation. The United States has not ratified the CRC. The contributions to this volume take the CRC as a starting point along the path of achieving functional citizenship for children. Issues of child protection, political maturity, deliberative democracy, and intergenerational nondomination are covered. Several examples of empirical research on children’s participation in social and political matters are provided. Recommendations are made to advance the case of child citizenship over the near term. This includes the need to urge the United States to ratify the CRC.