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Are short children at a disadvantage? The Wessex Growth Study

Are short children at a disadvantage? The Wessex Growth Study
Are short children at a disadvantage? The Wessex Growth Study
OBJECTIVE: To examine whether short stature through childhood represents a disadvantage at around 12 years.
DESIGN: Longitudinal non-intervention study of the physical and psychological development of children recruited from the community in 1986-7 after entry into primary school at age 5-6 years; this is the second psychometric assessment made in 1994-5 after entry into secondary school at age 11-13 years.
SETTING: Southampton and Winchester health districts.
SUBJECTS: 106 short normal children (< 3rd centile for height when recruited) and 119 controls of average stature (10th-90th centile).
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Psychometric measures of cognitive development, self concept development, behaviour, and locus of control.
RESULTS: The short children did not differ significantly from the control children on measures of self esteem (19.4 v 20.2), self perception (104.2 v 102.4), parents' perception (46.9 v 47.0), or behaviour (6.8 v 5.3). The short children achieved significantly lower scores on measures of intelligence quotient (IQ) (102.6 v 108.6; P < 0.005), reading attainment (44.3 v 47.9; P < 0.002), and basic number skills (40.2 v 43.5; P < 0.003) and displayed less internalisation of control (16.6 v 14.3; P < 0.001) and less satisfaction with their height (P < 0.0001). More short than control children, however, came from working class homes (P < 0.05). Social class was a better predictor than height of all measures except that of body satisfaction. Attainment scores were predicted by class and IQ together rather than by height. Height accounted for some of the variance in IQ and locus of control scores.
CONCLUSIONS: These results provide only limited support for the hypothesis that short children are disadvantaged, at least up until 11-13 years old. Social class seems to have more influence than height on children's psychological development.
0959-8138
97-100
Downie, A. Bruce
8770436f-52da-425e-83a3-281cdb201dd8
Mulligan, Jean
91a0fa68-d36e-43d9-b3de-ddd38545db9f
Stratford, Robert J.
700033ac-1d02-4d20-babb-6df278be214d
Betts, Robert J.
9afbddec-1b1b-4ea0-ab51-ca73537b8f9e
Voss, L.D.
408c7851-7b90-4f19-8171-184b6fae65ae
Downie, A. Bruce
8770436f-52da-425e-83a3-281cdb201dd8
Mulligan, Jean
91a0fa68-d36e-43d9-b3de-ddd38545db9f
Stratford, Robert J.
700033ac-1d02-4d20-babb-6df278be214d
Betts, Robert J.
9afbddec-1b1b-4ea0-ab51-ca73537b8f9e
Voss, L.D.
408c7851-7b90-4f19-8171-184b6fae65ae

Downie, A. Bruce, Mulligan, Jean, Stratford, Robert J., Betts, Robert J. and Voss, L.D. (1997) Are short children at a disadvantage? The Wessex Growth Study. BMJ, 314 (7074), 97-100.

Record type: Article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether short stature through childhood represents a disadvantage at around 12 years.
DESIGN: Longitudinal non-intervention study of the physical and psychological development of children recruited from the community in 1986-7 after entry into primary school at age 5-6 years; this is the second psychometric assessment made in 1994-5 after entry into secondary school at age 11-13 years.
SETTING: Southampton and Winchester health districts.
SUBJECTS: 106 short normal children (< 3rd centile for height when recruited) and 119 controls of average stature (10th-90th centile).
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Psychometric measures of cognitive development, self concept development, behaviour, and locus of control.
RESULTS: The short children did not differ significantly from the control children on measures of self esteem (19.4 v 20.2), self perception (104.2 v 102.4), parents' perception (46.9 v 47.0), or behaviour (6.8 v 5.3). The short children achieved significantly lower scores on measures of intelligence quotient (IQ) (102.6 v 108.6; P < 0.005), reading attainment (44.3 v 47.9; P < 0.002), and basic number skills (40.2 v 43.5; P < 0.003) and displayed less internalisation of control (16.6 v 14.3; P < 0.001) and less satisfaction with their height (P < 0.0001). More short than control children, however, came from working class homes (P < 0.05). Social class was a better predictor than height of all measures except that of body satisfaction. Attainment scores were predicted by class and IQ together rather than by height. Height accounted for some of the variance in IQ and locus of control scores.
CONCLUSIONS: These results provide only limited support for the hypothesis that short children are disadvantaged, at least up until 11-13 years old. Social class seems to have more influence than height on children's psychological development.

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Published date: 1997

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 18552
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/18552
ISSN: 0959-8138
PURE UUID: 7b5ff98c-e0e8-4308-b014-fe4cd5d9879b

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Date deposited: 05 Dec 2005
Last modified: 07 Jan 2022 22:01

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Contributors

Author: A. Bruce Downie
Author: Jean Mulligan
Author: Robert J. Stratford
Author: Robert J. Betts
Author: L.D. Voss

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