Studies in which variables relating to an individual or group of individuals are assessed over a period of time.

Longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of adolescents in grades 7-12 in the United States during the 1994-95 school year. The Add Health cohort has been followed into young adulthood. (from http://www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/addhealth accessed 08/2012)

Observation of a population for a sufficient number of persons over a sufficient number of years to generate incidence or mortality rates subsequent to the selection of the study group.

The gradual irreversible changes in structure and function of an organism that occur as a result of the passage of time.

An aspect of personal behavior or lifestyle, environmental exposure, or inborn or inherited characteristic, which, on the basis of epidemiologic evidence, is known to be associated with a health-related condition considered important to prevent.

Studies in which subsets of a defined population are identified. These groups may or may not be exposed to factors hypothesized to influence the probability of the occurrence of a particular disease or other outcome. Cohorts are defined populations which, as a whole, are followed in an attempt to determine distinguishing subgroup characteristics.

Studies in which individuals or populations are followed to assess the outcome of exposures, procedures, or effects of a characteristic, e.g., occurrence of disease.

Predetermined sets of questions used to collect data - clinical data, social status, occupational group, etc. The term is often applied to a self-completed survey instrument.

Age as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or the effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from AGING, a physiological process, and TIME FACTORS which refers only to the passage of time.

Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time.

Maleness or femaleness as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from SEX CHARACTERISTICS, anatomical or physiological manifestations of sex, and from SEX DISTRIBUTION, the number of males and females in given circumstances.

Elements of limited time intervals, contributing to particular results or situations.

The continuous sequential physiological and psychological maturing of an individual from birth up to but not including ADOLESCENCE.

Statistical models in which the value of a parameter for a given value of a factor is assumed to be equal to a + bx, where a and b are constants. The models predict a linear regression.

Social and economic factors that characterize the individual or group within the social structure.

An indicator of body density as determined by the relationship of BODY WEIGHT to BODY HEIGHT. BMI=weight (kg)/height squared (m2). BMI correlates with body fat (ADIPOSE TISSUE). Their relationship varies with age and gender. For adults, BMI falls into these categories: below 18.5 (underweight); 18.5-24.9 (normal); 25.0-29.9 (overweight); 30.0 and above (obese). (National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

The level of health of the individual, group, or population as subjectively assessed by the individual or by more objective measures.

The total number of cases of a given disease in a specified population at a designated time. It is differentiated from INCIDENCE, which refers to the number of new cases in the population at a given time.

Disturbances in mental processes related to learning, thinking, reasoning, and judgment.

Depressive states usually of moderate intensity in contrast with major depression present in neurotic and psychotic disorders.

The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.

Any observable response or action of an adolescent.

Procedures for finding the mathematical function which best describes the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables. In linear regression (see LINEAR MODELS) the relationship is constrained to be a straight line and LEAST-SQUARES ANALYSIS is used to determine the best fit. In logistic regression (see LOGISTIC MODELS) the dependent variable is qualitative rather than continuously variable and LIKELIHOOD FUNCTIONS are used to find the best relationship. In multiple regression, the dependent variable is considered to depend on more than a single independent variable.

The worsening of a disease over time. This concept is most often used for chronic and incurable diseases where the stage of the disease is an important determinant of therapy and prognosis.

The interactions between parent and child.

Tests designed to assess neurological function associated with certain behaviors. They are used in diagnosing brain dysfunction or damage and central nervous system disorders or injury.

Intellectual or mental process whereby an organism obtains knowledge.

An infant during the first month after birth.

Statistical models which describe the relationship between a qualitative dependent variable (that is, one which can take only certain discrete values, such as the presence or absence of a disease) and an independent variable. A common application is in epidemiology for estimating an individual's risk (probability of a disease) as a function of a given risk factor.

Inhaling and exhaling the smoke of burning TOBACCO.

The number of new cases of a given disease during a given period in a specified population. It also is used for the rate at which new events occur in a defined population. It is differentiated from PREVALENCE, which refers to all cases, new or old, in the population at a given time.

Female parents, human or animal.

Stress wherein emotional factors predominate.

Educational attainment or level of education of individuals.

Performing the role of a parent by care-giving, nurturance, and protection of the child by a natural or substitute parent. The parent supports the child by exercising authority and through consistent, empathic, appropriate behavior in response to the child's needs. PARENTING differs from CHILD REARING in that in child rearing the emphasis is on the act of training or bringing up the children and the interaction between the parent and child, while parenting emphasizes the responsibility and qualities of exemplary behavior of the parent.

The reciprocal interaction of two or more persons.

The aggregate of social and cultural institutions, forms, patterns, and processes that influence the life of an individual or community.

Levels within a diagnostic group which are established by various measurement criteria applied to the seriousness of a patient's disorder.

Non-invasive method of demonstrating internal anatomy based on the principle that atomic nuclei in a strong magnetic field absorb pulses of radiofrequency energy and emit them as radiowaves which can be reconstructed into computerized images. The concept includes proton spin tomographic techniques.

Standardized procedures utilizing rating scales or interview schedules carried out by health personnel for evaluating the degree of mental illness.

Discontinuance of care received by patient(s) due to reasons other than full recovery from the disease.

Persons functioning as natural, adoptive, or substitute parents. The heading includes the concept of parenthood as well as preparation for becoming a parent.

Any observable response or action of a child from 24 months through 12 years of age. For neonates or children younger than 24 months, INFANT BEHAVIOR is available.

Behaviors associated with the ingesting of alcoholic beverages, including social drinking.

The statistical reproducibility of measurements (often in a clinical context), including the testing of instrumentation or techniques to obtain reproducible results. The concept includes reproducibility of physiological measurements, which may be used to develop rules to assess probability or prognosis, or response to a stimulus; reproducibility of occurrence of a condition; and reproducibility of experimental results.

Child with one or more parents afflicted by a physical or mental disorder.

A period in the human life in which the development of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal system takes place and reaches full maturity. The onset of synchronized endocrine events in puberty lead to the capacity for reproduction (FERTILITY), development of secondary SEX CHARACTERISTICS, and other changes seen in ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT.

Field of psychology concerned with the normal and abnormal behavior of adolescents. It includes mental processes as well as observable responses.

A set of techniques used when variation in several variables has to be studied simultaneously. In statistics, multivariate analysis is interpreted as any analytic method that allows simultaneous study of two or more dependent variables.

The antisocial acts of children or persons under age which are illegal or lawfully interpreted as constituting delinquency.

A stratum of people with similar position and prestige; includes social stratification. Social class is measured by criteria such as education, occupation, and income.

Group composed of associates of same species, approximately the same age, and usually of similar rank or social status.

A state of harmony between internal needs and external demands and the processes used in achieving this condition. (From APA Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed)

The distance from the sole to the crown of the head with body standing on a flat surface and fully extended.

The continuous sequential physiological and psychological changes during ADOLESCENCE, approximately between the age of 13 and 18.

A statistical technique that isolates and assesses the contributions of categorical independent variables to variation in the mean of a continuous dependent variable.

Predisposition to react to one's environment in a certain way; usually refers to mood changes.

In screening and diagnostic tests, the probability that a person with a positive test is a true positive (i.e., has the disease), is referred to as the predictive value of a positive test; whereas, the predictive value of a negative test is the probability that the person with a negative test does not have the disease. Predictive value is related to the sensitivity and specificity of the test.

The performance of the basic activities of self care, such as dressing, ambulation, or eating.

Interaction between a mother and child.

The technique that deals with the measurement of the size, weight, and proportions of the human or other primate body.

Support systems that provide assistance and encouragement to individuals with physical or emotional disabilities in order that they may better cope. Informal social support is usually provided by friends, relatives, or peers, while formal assistance is provided by churches, groups, etc.

A status with BODY WEIGHT that is grossly above the acceptable or desirable weight, usually due to accumulation of excess FATS in the body. The standards may vary with age, sex, genetic or cultural background. In the BODY MASS INDEX, a BMI greater than 30.0 kg/m2 is considered obese, and a BMI greater than 40.0 kg/m2 is considered morbidly obese (MORBID OBESITY).

A systematic collection of factual data pertaining to health and disease in a human population within a given geographic area.

Measurable and quantifiable biological parameters (e.g., specific enzyme concentration, specific hormone concentration, specific gene phenotype distribution in a population, presence of biological substances) which serve as indices for health- and physiology-related assessments, such as disease risk, psychiatric disorders, environmental exposure and its effects, disease diagnosis, metabolic processes, substance abuse, pregnancy, cell line development, epidemiologic studies, etc.

Personality construct referring to an individual's perception of the locus of events as determined internally by his or her own behavior versus fate, luck, or external forces. (ERIC Thesaurus, 1996).

An affective disorder manifested by either a dysphoric mood or loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities. The mood disturbance is prominent and relatively persistent.

An acquired organic mental disorder with loss of intellectual abilities of sufficient severity to interfere with social or occupational functioning. The dysfunction is multifaceted and involves memory, behavior, personality, judgment, attention, spatial relations, language, abstract thought, and other executive functions. The intellectual decline is usually progressive, and initially spares the level of consciousness.

Statistical formulations or analyses which, when applied to data and found to fit the data, are then used to verify the assumptions and parameters used in the analysis. Examples of statistical models are the linear model, binomial model, polynomial model, two-parameter model, etc.

The mass or quantity of heaviness of an individual. It is expressed by units of pounds or kilograms.

Adaptation of the person to the social environment. Adjustment may take place by adapting the self to the environment or by changing the environment. (From Campbell, Psychiatric Dictionary, 1996)

Growth of habitual patterns of behavior in childhood and adolescence.

The state of being engaged in an activity or service for wages or salary.

A generic concept reflecting concern with the modification and enhancement of life attributes, e.g., physical, political, moral and social environment; the overall condition of a human life.

The range or frequency distribution of a measurement in a population (of organisms, organs or things) that has not been selected for the presence of disease or abnormality.

The smallest continent and an independent country, comprising six states and two territories. Its capital is Canberra.

The ability to learn and to deal with new situations and to deal effectively with tasks involving abstractions.

Gradual increase in the number, the size, and the complexity of cells of an individual. Growth generally results in increase in ORGAN WEIGHT; BODY WEIGHT; and BODY HEIGHT.

Success in bringing an effort to the desired end; the degree or level of success attained in some specified area (esp. scholastic) or in general.

Disorders related to substance abuse.

Male parents, human or animal.

Those occurrences, including social, psychological, and environmental, which require an adjustment or effect a change in an individual's pattern of living.

Evaluation of the level of physical, physiological, or mental functioning in the older population group.

Individuals whose ancestral origins are in the continent of Europe.

Behavior-response patterns that characterize the individual.

The ratio of two odds. The exposure-odds ratio for case control data is the ratio of the odds in favor of exposure among cases to the odds in favor of exposure among noncases. The disease-odds ratio for a cohort or cross section is the ratio of the odds in favor of disease among the exposed to the odds in favor of disease among the unexposed. The prevalence-odds ratio refers to an odds ratio derived cross-sectionally from studies of prevalent cases.

A person's view of himself.

Elements of residence that characterize a population. They are applicable in determining need for and utilization of health services.

Theoretical representations that simulate psychological processes and/or social processes. These include the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment.

The state wherein the person is well adjusted.

The presence of co-existing or additional diseases with reference to an initial diagnosis or with reference to the index condition that is the subject of study. Comorbidity may affect the ability of affected individuals to function and also their survival; it may be used as a prognostic indicator for length of hospital stay, cost factors, and outcome or survival.

Research techniques that focus on study designs and data gathering methods in human and animal populations.

Disturbances considered to be pathological based on age and stage appropriateness, e.g., conduct disturbances and anaclitic depression. This concept does not include psychoneuroses, psychoses, or personality disorders with fixed patterns.

Assessment of psychological variables by the application of mathematical procedures.

The mass or quantity of heaviness of an individual at BIRTH. It is expressed by units of pounds or kilograms.

Interaction between the father and the child.

Individuals subjected to and adversely affected by criminal activity. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 1994)

Country located in EUROPE. It is bordered by the NORTH SEA, BELGIUM, and GERMANY. Constituent areas are Aruba, Curacao, Sint Maarten, formerly included in the NETHERLANDS ANTILLES.

Standardized tests that measure the present general ability or aptitude for intellectual performance.

Psychiatric illness or diseases manifested by breakdowns in the adaptational process expressed primarily as abnormalities of thought, feeling, and behavior producing either distress or impairment of function.

The consequences of exposing the FETUS in utero to certain factors, such as NUTRITION PHYSIOLOGICAL PHENOMENA; PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS; DRUGS; RADIATION; and other physical or chemical factors. These consequences are observed later in the offspring after BIRTH.

All deaths reported in a given population.

The science and art of collecting, summarizing, and analyzing data that are subject to random variation. The term is also applied to the data themselves and to the summarization of the data.

A social group consisting of parents or parent substitutes and children.

Conversations with an individual or individuals held in order to obtain information about their background and other personal biographical data, their attitudes and opinions, etc. It includes school admission or job interviews.

Individual or group aggressive behavior which is socially non-acceptable, turbulent, and often destructive. It is precipitated by frustrations, hostility, prejudices, etc.

Struggle or disagreement between parents, parent and child or other members of a family.

The art, technique, or business of producing motion pictures for entertainment, propaganda, or instruction.

The inhabitants of a city or town, including metropolitan areas and suburban areas.

Abuse of children in a family, institutional, or other setting. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 1994)

Divisions of the year according to some regularly recurrent phenomena usually astronomical or climatic. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed)

The nursing of an infant at the breast.

Persons living in the United States having origins in any of the black groups of Africa.

The number of males and females in a given population. The distribution may refer to how many men or women or what proportion of either in the group. The population is usually patients with a specific disease but the concept is not restricted to humans and is not restricted to medicine.

The training or molding of an individual through various relationships, educational agencies, and social controls, which enables him to become a member of a particular society.

Behaviors expressed by individuals to protect, maintain or promote their health status. For example, proper diet, and appropriate exercise are activities perceived to influence health status. Life style is closely associated with health behavior and factors influencing life style are socioeconomic, educational, and cultural.

Statistical models used in survival analysis that assert that the effect of the study factors on the hazard rate in the study population is multiplicative and does not change over time.

Studies which start with the identification of persons with a disease of interest and a control (comparison, referent) group without the disease. The relationship of an attribute to the disease is examined by comparing diseased and non-diseased persons with regard to the frequency or levels of the attribute in each group.

Those characteristics that distinguish one SEX from the other. The primary sex characteristics are the OVARIES and TESTES and their related hormones. Secondary sex characteristics are those which are masculine or feminine but not directly related to reproduction.

A situation in which the level of living of an individual, family, or group is below the standard of the community. It is often related to a specific income level.

Check list, usually to be filled out by a person about himself, consisting of many statements about personal characteristics which the subject checks.

The determination and evaluation of personality attributes by interviews, observations, tests, or scales. Articles concerning personality measurement are considered to be within scope of this term.

The qualitative or quantitative estimation of the likelihood of adverse effects that may result from exposure to specified health hazards or from the absence of beneficial influences. (Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 1988)

Behavior which may be manifested by destructive and attacking action which is verbal or physical, by covert attitudes of hostility or by obstructionism.

Method for obtaining information through verbal responses, written or oral, from subjects.

Increase in BODY WEIGHT over existing weight.

Disorders in which there is a loss of ego boundaries or a gross impairment in reality testing with delusions or prominent hallucinations. (From DSM-IV, 1994)

The measurement of the health status for a given population using a variety of indices, including morbidity, mortality, and available health resources.

The part of CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM that is contained within the skull (CRANIUM). Arising from the NEURAL TUBE, the embryonic brain is comprised of three major parts including PROSENCEPHALON (the forebrain); MESENCEPHALON (the midbrain); and RHOMBENCEPHALON (the hindbrain). The developed brain consists of CEREBRUM; CEREBELLUM; and other structures in the BRAIN STEM.

The physical activity of a human or an animal as a behavioral phenomenon.

A noninvasive method for assessing BODY COMPOSITION. It is based on the differential absorption of X-RAYS (or GAMMA RAYS) by different tissues such as bone, fat and other soft tissues. The source of (X-ray or gamma-ray) photon beam is generated either from radioisotopes such as GADOLINIUM 153, IODINE 125, or Americanium 241 which emit GAMMA RAYS in the appropriate range; or from an X-ray tube which produces X-RAYS in the desired range. It is primarily used for quantitating BONE MINERAL CONTENT, especially for the diagnosis of OSTEOPOROSIS, and also in measuring BONE MINERALIZATION.

Size and composition of the family.

The amount of fat or lipid deposit at a site or an organ in the body, an indicator of body fat status.

Individuals enrolled in a school or formal educational program.

A province of eastern Canada. Its capital is Quebec. The region belonged to France from 1627 to 1763 when it was lost to the British. The name is from the Algonquian quilibek meaning the place where waters narrow, referring to the gradually narrowing channel of the St. Lawrence or to the narrows of the river at Cape Diamond. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p993 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p440)

Persons whom one knows, likes, and trusts.

Any behavior caused by or affecting another individual, usually of the same species.

Diseases which have one or more of the following characteristics: they are permanent, leave residual disability, are caused by nonreversible pathological alteration, require special training of the patient for rehabilitation, or may be expected to require a long period of supervision, observation, or care. (Dictionary of Health Services Management, 2d ed)

The relative amounts of various components in the body, such as percentage of body fat.

The age, developmental stage, or period of life at which a disease or the initial symptoms or manifestations of a disease appear in an individual.

Physical activity which is usually regular and done with the intention of improving or maintaining PHYSICAL FITNESS or HEALTH. Contrast with PHYSICAL EXERTION which is concerned largely with the physiologic and metabolic response to energy expenditure.

The probability that an event will occur. It encompasses a variety of measures of the probability of a generally unfavorable outcome.

Application of statistical procedures to analyze specific observed or assumed facts from a particular study.

The amount of mineral per square centimeter of BONE. This is the definition used in clinical practice. Actual bone density would be expressed in grams per milliliter. It is most frequently measured by X-RAY ABSORPTIOMETRY or TOMOGRAPHY, X RAY COMPUTED. Bone density is an important predictor for OSTEOPOROSIS.

Feeling or emotion of dread, apprehension, and impending disaster but not disabling as with ANXIETY DISORDERS.

The form and structure of analytic studies in epidemiologic and clinical research.

Noninflammatory degenerative disease of the knee joint consisting of three large categories: conditions that block normal synchronous movement, conditions that produce abnormal pathways of motion, and conditions that cause stress concentration resulting in changes to articular cartilage. (Crenshaw, Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics, 8th ed, p2019)

The gradual expansion in complexity and meaning of symbols and sounds as perceived and interpreted by the individual through a maturational and learning process. Stages in development include babbling, cooing, word imitation with cognition, and use of short sentences.

A plan for collecting and utilizing data so that desired information can be obtained with sufficient precision or so that an hypothesis can be tested properly.

PRESSURE of the BLOOD on the ARTERIES and other BLOOD VESSELS.

The inhabitants of rural areas or of small towns classified as rural.

A degenerative disease of the BRAIN characterized by the insidious onset of DEMENTIA. Impairment of MEMORY, judgment, attention span, and problem solving skills are followed by severe APRAXIAS and a global loss of cognitive abilities. The condition primarily occurs after age 60, and is marked pathologically by severe cortical atrophy and the triad of SENILE PLAQUES; NEUROFIBRILLARY TANGLES; and NEUROPIL THREADS. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp1049-57)

The social institution involving legal and/or religious sanction whereby individuals are joined together.

The age of the conceptus, beginning from the time of FERTILIZATION. In clinical obstetrics, the gestational age is often estimated as the time from the last day of the last MENSTRUATION which is about 2 weeks before OVULATION and fertilization.

Undertaking a task involving a challenge for achievement or a desirable goal in which there is a lack of certainty or a fear of failure. It may also include the exhibiting of certain behaviors whose outcomes may present a risk to the individual or to those associated with him or her.

A repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate societal norms or rules are violated. These behaviors include aggressive conduct that causes or threatens physical harm to other people or animals, nonaggressive conduct that causes property loss or damage, deceitfulness or theft, and serious violations of rules. The onset is before age 18. (From DSM-IV, 1994)

Typical way of life or manner of living characteristic of an individual or group. (From APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed)

Evaluation undertaken to assess the results or consequences of management and procedures used in combating disease in order to determine the efficacy, effectiveness, safety, and practicability of these interventions in individual cases or series.

Continuous sequential changes which occur in the physiological and psychological functions during the life-time of an individual.

Mood or emotional responses dissonant with or inappropriate to the behavior and/or stimulus.

Determination of the degree of a physical, mental, or emotional handicap. The diagnosis is applied to legal qualification for benefits and income under disability insurance and to eligibility for Social Security and workmen's compensation benefits.

Any deviation of results or inferences from the truth, or processes leading to such deviation. Bias can result from several sources: one-sided or systematic variations in measurement from the true value (systematic error); flaws in study design; deviation of inferences, interpretations, or analyses based on flawed data or data collection; etc. There is no sense of prejudice or subjectivity implied in the assessment of bias under these conditions.

Persistent and disabling ANXIETY.

A distribution in which a variable is distributed like the sum of the squares of any given independent random variable, each of which has a normal distribution with mean of zero and variance of one. The chi-square test is a statistical test based on comparison of a test statistic to a chi-square distribution. The oldest of these tests are used to detect whether two or more population distributions differ from one another.

The ability to carry out daily tasks and perform physical activities in a highly functional state, often as a result of physical conditioning.

Studies used to test etiologic hypotheses in which inferences about an exposure to putative causal factors are derived from data relating to characteristics of persons under study or to events or experiences in their past. The essential feature is that some of the persons under study have the disease or outcome of interest and their characteristics are compared with those of unaffected persons.

Standardized tests designed to measure abilities, as in intelligence, aptitude, and achievement tests, or to evaluate personality traits.

Systematic gathering of data for a particular purpose from various sources, including questionnaires, interviews, observation, existing records, and electronic devices. The process is usually preliminary to statistical analysis of the data.

Binary classification measures to assess test results. Sensitivity or recall rate is the proportion of true positives. Specificity is the probability of correctly determining the absence of a condition. (From Last, Dictionary of Epidemiology, 2d ed)

Regular course of eating and drinking adopted by a person or animal.

Sexual activities of humans.

The genetic constitution of the individual, comprising the ALLELES present at each GENETIC LOCUS.

Any observable response or action of a neonate or infant up through the age of 23 months.

Emotional attachment to someone or something in the environment.

The relating of causes to the effects they produce. Causes are termed necessary when they must always precede an effect and sufficient when they initiate or produce an effect. Any of several factors may be associated with the potential disease causation or outcome, including predisposing factors, enabling factors, precipitating factors, reinforcing factors, and risk factors.

Disorders in which there is a delay in development based on that expected for a given age level or stage of development. These impairments or disabilities originate before age 18, may be expected to continue indefinitely, and constitute a substantial impairment. Biological and nonbiological factors are involved in these disorders. (From American Psychiatric Glossary, 6th ed)

Educational institutions.

Pathological conditions involving the CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM including the HEART; the BLOOD VESSELS; or the PERICARDIUM.

Includes the spectrum of human immunodeficiency virus infections that range from asymptomatic seropositivity, thru AIDS-related complex (ARC), to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

A group of islands in the southwest Pacific. Its capital is Wellington. It was discovered by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1642 and circumnavigated by Cook in 1769. Colonized in 1840 by the New Zealand Company, it became a British crown colony in 1840 until 1907 when colonial status was terminated. New Zealand is a partly anglicized form of the original Dutch name Nieuw Zeeland, new sea land, possibly with reference to the Dutch province of Zeeland. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p842 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p378)

Conditions characterized by disturbances of usual sleep patterns or behaviors. Sleep disorders may be divided into three major categories: DYSSOMNIAS (i.e. disorders characterized by insomnia or hypersomnia), PARASOMNIAS (abnormal sleep behaviors), and sleep disorders secondary to medical or psychiatric disorders. (From Thorpy, Sleep Disorders Medicine, 1994, p187)

A range of values for a variable of interest, e.g., a rate, constructed so that this range has a specified probability of including the true value of the variable.

Two individuals derived from two FETUSES that were fertilized at or about the same time, developed in the UTERUS simultaneously, and born to the same mother. Twins are either monozygotic (TWINS, MONOZYGOTIC) or dizygotic (TWINS, DIZYGOTIC).

A status with BODY WEIGHT that is above certain standard of acceptable or desirable weight. In the scale of BODY MASS INDEX, overweight is defined as having a BMI of 25.0-29.9 kg/m2. Overweight may or may not be due to increases in body fat (ADIPOSE TISSUE), hence overweight does not equal "over fat".

The process by which an aspect of self image is developed based on in-group preference or ethnocentrism and a perception of belonging to a social or cultural group. (From APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed.)

Includes two similar disorders: oppositional defiant disorder and CONDUCT DISORDERS. Symptoms occurring in children with these disorders include: defiance of authority figures, angry outbursts, and other antisocial behaviors.

State of the body in relation to the consumption and utilization of nutrients.

A personality disorder whose essential feature is a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood. The individual must be at least age 18 and must have a history of some symptoms of CONDUCT DISORDER before age 15. (From DSM-IV, 1994)

A risk factor for suicide attempts and completions, it is the most common of all suicidal behavior, but only a minority of ideators engage in overt self-harm.

Those forms of control which are exerted in less concrete and tangible ways, as through folkways, mores, conventions, and public sentiment.

Persons who provide care to those who need supervision or assistance in illness or disability. They may provide the care in the home, in a hospital, or in an institution. Although caregivers include trained medical, nursing, and other health personnel, the concept also refers to parents, spouses, or other family members, friends, members of the clergy, teachers, social workers, fellow patients.