In 50 U.S. states, we found a positive manifold across 11 measures including IQ, skin color, birth rate, infant mortality, life expectancy, HIV/AIDS, violent crime, and state income with the first principal component accounting for 33% of the variance (median factor loading = 0.34). The correlation with a composite of total violent crime was…

This paper estimates the effects of human capital skills largely created through education on life's chances over the life cycle. Qualifications as a measure of these skills affect earnings, and schooling affects private and social non-market benefits beyond earnings. Private non-market benefits include better own-health, child health, spousal…

Striking racial disparities in infant mortality exist in the United States, with rates of infant death among African Americans nearly twice the national average. Community-based participatory research approaches have been successful in fostering collaborative relationships between communities and researchers that are focused on developing…

This report is a compendium of indicators about the Nation's young people. This report, the 23rd produced by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics (Forum), presents 41 key indicators on important aspects of children's lives. These indicators are drawn from the most reliable Federal statistics, are easily understood by broad…

This study describes predictors of secondary traumatic stress and burnout in a national sample of helping professionals, with a specific focus on the unique responses of child welfare (CW) workers. Specific worker and exposure characteristics are examined as possible predictors of these forms of occupational distress in a sample of 669…

The past century has seen vast improvements in our children's health. The infectious diseases that once killed huge numbers of children have largely been conquered. Infant mortality has also fallen markedly, although the United States lags behind other industrialized nations in this and other measures of children's health. Accidents and injuries…

The current study seeks to better understand how religiosity and health are positioned within the g-nexus. Specifically, the degree to which differences in average IQ across nations is associated with differences in national religiosity (i.e., belief rate) and national health statistics independent of differences in national wealth is examined.…

Policies and programs aimed at increasing educational and economic opportunities typically target either low-income children or their mothers, but not both, which limits their impact in fostering intergenerational mobility. This insight undergirds the development and implementation of dual-generation strategies, which focus simultaneously on both…

Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal mortality and a major public health concern. Risk factors for preterm birth include a history of preterm birth, short cervix, infection, short interpregnancy interval, smoking, and African-American race. The use of progesterone therapy to treat mothers at risk for preterm delivery is becoming more…

We develop a model of induced innovation that applies to medical research. Our model yields three empirical predictions. First, initial death rates and subsequent research effort should be positively correlated. Second, research effort should be associated with more rapid mortality declines. Third, as a byproduct of targeting the most common…

Objectives: Test the hypothesis of an underestimation of infant homicides in mortality statistics in France; identify its causes; examine data from the judicial system and their contribution in correcting this underestimation. Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional study was carried out in 26 courts in three regions of France of cases of infant…

This summary provides highlights from a report that describes potential risks to the healthy development of young children and the extent of coverage of publicly-funded services to meet their early learning, health, and basic needs. The report is the first attempt in Minnesota to describe indicators of early childhood development county by county.…

Each year since 1997, the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics has published a report on the well-being of children and families. The "America's Children" series provides accessible compendiums of indicators drawn across topics from the most reliable official statistics; it is designed to complement other more…

The physical, social, and economic health and well-being of adults and society are strongly influenced by experiences in early childhood. The most cost-efficient time to build foundational skills, to assure the healthy development of all young children, to break the cycle of disadvantage for vulnerable children, and to prevent achievement and…

There is a presumption among many policy makers that higher education is not necessary for economic growth and development; it is literacy and basic education and at best secondary education that are argued to be important. Estimates of internal rate of return contributed to strengthening of such a presumption. Accordingly, higher education has…