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Department of Social Welfare, Seoul National University.

A Paper submitted ISCI International Conference, November 4-5, 2009 1

Contents

1 Ä



2   
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3 



4   

5 


!


2
 Ä Ä


È
e rate of low birt
weig
t increased about
60% from 2.56% in 1993 to 4.13% in 2004
in Korea
È
ere
as been little empirical researc

on causes for suc
a trend in Korea
È Previous literatures in Korea, wit
exceptions
of Son(2004) and Lee & Hong(2003),
ave
focused on medical factors in understanding
t
e causes of low birt
weig
t
3
È Son(2004) and Lee & Hong (2003) s
owed low birt

weig
t is not only a medical concern but also a social
problem related to socioeconomic factors in Korea.
È ut, t
ose study relied on cross-sectional, aggregate-
level data.
È Suc
a strategy is limited in t
eir ability to identify t
e
independent effects of various demograp
ic and
socioeconomic factors on low birt
weig
t.
È Aggregate-level analyses often fail to disentangle t
e
data into its components, and cross-sectional data are
also limited in identifying time order of events of
interest.
4
È
e primary purpose of our study is to:
± examine t
e effects of family poverty on low birt

weig
t using individual-level data
± from a longitudinal survey
± based on nationally representative sample in Korea

È we also aim to examine w
at factors mediate

t
e effects of poverty on low birt
weig
t.

5
 ÄÄ   
|
 
È WHO uses low birt
weig
t rate as a primary
indicator of public
ealt

È WHO specifies low birt
weig
t as weig
t at

birt
less t
an 2.5 kg.
±
e definition is based on a study result t
at
s
owed t
e risk of infant deat
is 20 times greater
for babies born wit
weig
t less t
an 2.5 kg
compared to t
ose wit
birt
weig
t 2.5 kg or
ig
er

6
Consequences of LW

È Low birt
weig
t is known to be associated

wit
infant deat
, retarded growt
,
cognitive development, and sc
ool
ac
ievement of a c
ild. It is also
associated wit
risk of c
ronic disease at
later life
È
ese consequences
ave a lasting impact
on individual¶s outcomes, net of
socioeconomic conditions
7
|isk Factors of LW

È ost studies s
ow t
at low socioeconomic

status is associated wit
increased risk of
low birt
weig
t
È
is association persists across various
measures of socioeconomic status,
including occupation of t
e mot
er and/or
fat
er, income, and education

8
Pat
way of t
e Poverty Effects

È Low income can result in economic deprivation

suc
as inadequate nutrition,
ousing, and
access to
ealt
services.
È ental
ealt
problem suc
as depression
associated wit
low socioeconomic status can be
a pat
way.
È Un
ealt
y be
aviors found more in t
e low
income population can increase t
e risk of low
birt
weig
t birt
s among low income mot
ers.

9
 ÄÄÄ 



1. Data
È Korea Welfare Panel Data from 2006 to 2008
È We pulled 3 years wort
of data on new born
c
ildren of 2006 and 2007 and t
eir mot
er¶s
c
aracteristics during t
e pregnancy period
from 2005 and 2006.

10
2. Variables
È Low birt
weig
t: weig
t at birt
less t
an 2.5 kg
È Family poverty: below 60 percents of median income
È Control Variables: mot
er¶s age, birt
order,
education, employment status, mot
er¶s self-
reported c
ild
ood poverty status
È
e mediating factors of poverty
ë
e economic deprivation
ë ot
er¶s depression
ë Smoking
ë Drinking
11
3. Analysis et
od

È to examine t
e effects of poverty on low birt

weig
t w
ile controlling for ot
er socioeconomic
factors and mot
er¶s be
avioral c
aracteristics
Logit analysis

12
È to examine t
e mediating factors

C
i-Square met
od: to examine w
et
er

t
e distribution of experiences of economic
deprivation, depression, smoking, and drinking
are different across poverty status
aron & Kenny (1986) met
od: to test if
t
ey are mediating factors

13
 Ä
  

1. C
aracteristics of t
e Study Population
å able 1
e Socio-demograp
ic C
aracteristics of t
e Subjects: 2006-07 newborns


"#$ 
   


%
 
& # 


  # 


  "
 

$ ' # ''


 (
 
%
 & # &


 (
 
   )' )# &&


 (
 * 




 # '')


 (

   # '


 (
    # ''


 (
 *
  )# ')&)

+  * 
  &&# )


 (
 *

  # 
14
2. ivariate Analysis |esults

< able 2>
e rate of low birt
weig
t by
ouse
old income

  
%
 
*
House
old Income
Poverty 16.66%
Non Poverty 4.27% <0.05
otal 5.91%

È Source: Korea Welfare Panel Data from 2006 to 2008

È ð " 
,*

  
 $
15
 < able 3> Economic deprivation, ot
er¶s depression, ot
ers¶
smoking and ot
er¶s drinking by House
old income

+  
 (
 

( 
 (

 * 
  *


    


Ä

 & #  &#  # ) #
ð*
  '#  '#  '#  #
* -  - & .  . 

Source: Korea Welfare Panel Data from 2006 to 2008

ð " 
,*

  
 $

16
3. ultivariate analysis results o
oo
ooo


     

 %

+/*"$ +/*"$ +/*"$


 ' )

' &

' 


 (
 
%
" 
&$  )    

  "
 

$ 

)&


 (
 
  " 
 
$ '  '


 (
 * 




 '  '&  

 (
! *
      &&

 (

    

 (
   '& ' &
+  * 
 '

 (
 *

  &&

!








17
        & &&
<Figure 1>ediation effect of depression
between poverty and low birt
weig
t
R  =.043 RK =.301
Poverty P<.05 Depression P<..05 Low irt
Weig
t

R =.131
P<.01

R =.117
P<..01

R is lower t
an R ã and still significant.

So Depression
as a partial mediation effect
18




!

   

1) Controlling for ot
er sociodemograp
ic variables
family poverty is a strong predictor of a low birt

weig
t birt

2) ot
er¶s depression partially mediates t
e

effect of poverty on low birt
weig
t

19
È We did not find maternal age at birt
being a
significant risk factor for low birt
weig
t in our
study
È irt
order is a significant risk factor for low birt

weig
t
È No effects of mot
er¶s education, employment
status, mot
er¶s c
ild
ood poverty, smoking, and
drinking on t
e likeli
ood of low birt
weig
t
birt
s in our multivariate models

20
 




1)ore prevention-based prenatal services are

needed for low income pregnant women in Korea

2)Various support services to prevent depression by

increasing mot
er¶s self esteem and social support
mig
t be effective program tool to reduce low birt

weig
t birt
s in Korea

3)y not including all related variables, t
ere is always

a possibility of model misspecification
21
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