Segregation, the Concentration of Poverty, and Birth Weight

Emily Moiduddin and Douglas Massey
Additional contact information
Emily Moiduddin: Princeton University
Douglas Massey: Princeton University

No 917, Working Papers from Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing.

Abstract: In this analysis we connect neighborhood conditions to birth outcomes through their intermediate effects on allostatic load. We hypothesize that neighborhood poverty and racial isolation combine to produce unsafe environments which raise allostatic load and thereby increase the likelihood of negative coping behaviors (substance abuse) while lowering the odds of health-promoting behaviors (prenatal visits to a health professional). We expect these behaviors, in turn, to produce lower birth weights. Using data from the Fragile Families Study we find substantial support for this hypothesized sequence of events. The two greatest direct effects on birth weight are risky behavior and racial isolation. Neighborhood poverty and prenatal care have small but significant direct effects. Though neighborhood safety?our hypothesized indicator for allostatic load?has no significant direct effect on birth weight, it has small, significant indirect effects by raising the likelihood of risky behavior and by lowering the odds of prenatal care.

Date: 2006-11
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://fragilefamilies.princeton.edu/sites/fragilefamilies/files/wp06-31-ff.pdf

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pri:crcwel:wp06-31-ff.pdf

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Working Papers from Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Bobray Bordelon ().