SOCIOECONOMIC-FACTORS AND GROWTH DURING CHILDHOOD AND EARLY ADOLESCENCE IN JENA CHILDREN

The influence of socioeconomic parameters (number of children in the f amily, birth order of subject, professional status of the father, educ ation of the mother) and background characteristics (birth length, bir th weight and age of the mother at birth of the child) of growth in bo dy height in children from 4 to 12 years of age was investigated. The analysis is based on data from a longitudinal growth survey, which sta rted with 207 children (98 males and 109 females) from Jena (Germany) in 1985. Multiple regression analysis was used to estimate the degree of relationship between height and the social or background factors. I n this study no differences in growth between children of different so cial groups were found. Variation in height of girls was mainly affect ed by the biological factor length at birth of the child.