Research Article

Mental Health Outcomes in US Children and Adolescents Born Prematurely or with Low Birthweight

Table 2

Descriptive statistics of the sample for children aged 2–17 years, according to perinatal and sociodemographic characteristics: the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children’s Health ( = 85,535).

Sociodemographic characteristicsUnweighted number in sampleWeighted percent in sample

Child born prematurely (<37 weeks of gestation)
 Premature9,59011.45
 Not premature75,09588.55
Child’s birthweight
 Very low birthweight (<1,500 g)1,2551.68
 Moderately low birthweight (1,500–2,499 g)6,1377.85
 Normal birthweight (≥2,500 g)73,62690.47
Child’s age (years)
 2–519,94224.37
 6–1131,03037.32
 12–1734,56338.31
Child’s sex
 Male44,17851.22
 Female41,35748.78
Race/ethnicity
 Hispanic11,13622.55
 Non-Hispanic white55,23551.58
 Non-Hispanic black8,07313.43
 Non-Hispanic mixed race4,6494.68
 Other (Asians/Pacific Islanders and American Indians)6,4427.76
Household composition
 Two-parent biological58,30663.08
 Two-parent stepfamily6,5179.64
 Single mother13,70819.19
 Other family type7,0048.10
Place of residence
 Metropolitan62,84584.35
 Nonmetropolitan21,48615.65
Highest household or parental education level (years)
 <124,89311.64
 1212,77119.91
 13–1521,50024.66
 16+44,18643.79
Household poverty status (ratio of family income to poverty threshold)
 Below 100%12,88221.95
 100–199%15,34721.72
 200–399%26,13928.44
 At or above 400%31,16727.90