Table 1.
Descriptive characteristics of the study sample, Baltimore, Maryland, 2001–04
| Descriptive characteristics | Total sample (N = 832) n (%) |
|---|---|
| Race-self report: Black or African American | 832 (100%) |
| Ethnicity – self report: Hispanic | 10 (1.2%) |
| Rent/mortgage: mean (std dev) range | $372.77 (219.99) 0–950 |
| Age: mean (std dev) range | 23.1 (5.6) 12–43 |
| Public housing | |
| Yes | 317 (38.1%) |
| No | 491 (59.0%) |
| Education: | |
| <12 years of school, <21 years old | 309 (37.1%) |
| <12 years of school, 21+ years old | 440 (52.9%) |
| ≥12 years of school | 83 (10.0%) |
| Recruitment: | |
| Prenatal | 456 (54.8%) |
| Post-partum | 376 (45.2%) |
| Previous preterm delivery | |
| ≥1 prior preterm delivery | 103 (12.4%) |
| No prior preterm deliveries | 532 (63.9%) |
| Primiparae | 197 (23.7%) |
| Smoked cigarettes in second trimester of pregnancy | |
| Yes | 157 (18.9%) |
| No | 669 (80.4%) |
| Family Resource Scale | |
| mean (std dev) range | 46.9 (14.9) 25–107 |
| top quartile 57+ | 188 (23.8%) |
| lower three quartiles <57 | 601 (76.2%) |
| Racism and Lifetime Experiences Scale (RALES) | |
| mean (std dev) range | 10.3 (5.5) 0–30 |
| above median 10+ | 425 (51.1%) |
| below median <10 | 407 (48.9%) |
| Response to Racism Experiences (RRE) Scale | |
| mean (std dev) range | 41.8 (11.3) 0–60 |
| above median 44+ | 405 (48.7%) |
| below median <44 | 427 (51.3%) |
| Stress (hassles) scale | |
| mean (std dev) range | 18.1 (5.7) 8–41 |
| top quartile (≥21) | 220 (26.4%) |
| lower three quartiles (<21) | 610 (73.3%) |
| Depressive symptoms (CES-D) | |
| mean (std dev) range | 16.1 (10.5) 0–53 |
| ≥l6 | 351 (42.2%) |
| <16 | 481 (57.8%) |
| Locus of control (pregnancy-specific) | |
| mean (std dev) range | 22.3 (3.3) 13–28 |
| top quartile (≥26) | 169 (20.3%) |
| lower 3 quartiles (<26) | 647 (77.8%) |
| Mastery | |
| mean (std dev) range | 21.6 (3.6) 8–28 |
| above median (≥22) | 394 (47.5%) |
| below median (<22) | 436 (52.5%) |
| Social support | |
| mean (std dev) range | 45 (9.8) 11–55 |
| above median (≥48) | 412 (49.5%) |
| below median (<48) | 420 (50.5%) |
| Adequacy of prenatal care | |
| Missing | 209 (25.1%) |
| Inadequate (little or no prenatal care) | 302 (36.3%) |
| Adequate | 178 (21.4%) |
| Adequate plus | 143 (17.2%) |
| Pregnancy outcome | |
| Term birth | 693 (83.3%) |
| Preterm birth | 139 (16.7%) |
| Gestational age (days): mean (std dev) range | 270.2 (20.3) 148–316 |
| Birthweight (grams): mean (std dev) range | 3127 (618) 614–5077 |