Social-environmental factors and cognitive and behavioral functioning in pediatric sickle cell disease.

Social-environmental factors and cognitive and behavioral functioning in pediatric sickle cell disease. Child Neuropsychol. 2019 Feb 21;:1-17 Authors: Bills SE, Schatz J, Hardy SJ, Reinman L Abstract Sickle cell disease (SCD), an inherited blood disorder that primarily affects individuals of African descent, is associated with serious medical complications as well as numerous social-environmental risk factors. These social-environmental factors are linked to long-standing social inequities, such as financial hardship and racial discrimination, both of which impact cognitive and behavioral functioning in youth. Previous research on the relationship between social-environmental risk and psychological functioning has primarily relied on non-modifiable, unidimensional measures of socioeconomic status (SES), such as income and parental education, as a proxy for social-environmental risk. The current study aimed to address the limitations associated with typical SES-type measures by comparing the unique and shared association of SES and more targeted and modifiable social-environmental factors (e.g., parent and family functioning) with specific areas of cognitive and behavioral adjustment in pediatric SCD. Seventy children ages 4-8 years old and their parents completed measures of social-environmental risk and psychological adjustment. Exploratory factor analysis indicated parent and family functioning measures were largely independent of...
Source: Child Neuropsychology - Category: Child Development Authors: Tags: Child Neuropsychol Source Type: research