Socio-Economic and Cultural Influences on Child Growth in Rural Jamaica

Summary A semi-longitudinal study of growth in children up to 5 years of age in a rural Jamaican community is described. One of its aims was to investigate the relationship between growth and factors in the social environment such as family structure, parental characteristics, housing and income. A strong relationship between growth and socio-economic variables was found. This apparently masked whatever effects the quality of care or separation from parents may have had upon child growth.