Category: Education

Higher risk of autism spectrum disorder in children whose parents were born preterm or with low birthweight

Jingyuan Xiao, Zeyan Liew and Jiong Li

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) comprises a heterogeneous group of impaired neurodevelopmental conditions. The aetiology of ASD is complex and largely unclear, with some recent evidence suggesting the possibility of transmission of risk across multiple generations.

Our study, recently published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, evaluated the associations between birth characteristics of parents and the subsequent risk of ASD in their children.

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Lower risk of cerebral palsy in the child if the parents have higher education

Ingeborg Forthun

Ingeborg Forthun

Cerebral palsy is the most common physical disability among children, with about two per 1000 live-born infants being diagnosed with the disorder. In most children with cerebral palsy, the disability is caused by damage to the immature brain during pregnancy or birth that results in problems with movement.

Denmark and Norway have low income inequality and free access to education and offer high-quality antenatal care to pregnant women free of charge. Nevertheless, in our study recently published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, we found that the risk of having a child with cerebral palsy in these two countries varies by the parents’ educational level, and this educational gradient has been surprisingly stable over time.

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Adolescent cannabis use and educational attainment: a causal relationship?

Maria Melchior, Laura Pryor and Marie Jauffret-Roustide

MelchiorPryorJauffretRoustide

Our study, recently published in the IJE, shows that youths who initiate cannabis use before the age of 17 years are 60% less likely to pursue higher education than those who never used cannabis. An original aspect of our study, which was based on data from the longitudinal TEMPO cohort in France, is that we were able to take into account youths’ psychological and school difficulties in childhood and adolescence, as well as their parents’ characteristics.

In recent decades, cannabis use has become frequent among youths growing up in Europe, North America and Australasia. The potential health effects of cannabis use include reductions in memory and concentration. Because the brain is thought to develop until the age of 25, adolescent substance use could have lasting negative effects on executive functions, which can in turn result in school difficulties and low educational achievement.

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Did extending compulsory education in the 1950s improve cognitive and emotional outcomes?

Anton LagerLager_Anton_DSC_0051_SIR.jpg

Extending compulsory education from 8 to 9 years had a postive effect on intelligence in our large study of boys exposed to a school reform in Sweden in the 1950s. Extending education benefited sons of farmers and workers most, reducing socioeconomic differences in intelligence. In contrast, the reform seems to have led to reduced emotional control, suggesting that for this outcome alternative activities (e.g. working or attending the old lower secondary school) was better. Continue reading “Did extending compulsory education in the 1950s improve cognitive and emotional outcomes?” →