AAOF Meharry African-American Growth Sample Overview

The Meharry African-American Growth Sample

Curator: Elisha Richardson DDS PhD

Institution: Department of Orthodontics - School of Dentistry, Meharry Medical College

The sample for this study ranged from low income to upper middle income persons. Lists of persons from public housing projects and those living in neighborhoods classified as blue collar and professional persons were obtained. The lists included all families with young children, 2-5 years old. The assessment was begun in mid-1965. In the early 1960s the African-American neighborhoods were well defined and easily identified by the mail zones, the telephone exchanges, or the street address. The societal pressures made a close knit community. Native social workers were hired from North Nashville, South Nashville, East Nashville, and the Bordeaux-Hayes Heights areas. The census listing also included most African-Americans. The only neighborhoods missing were two small areas that were deemed too dangerous for us to visit. Some unemployed persons were probably missed, as were some persons not listed by the post office, telephone directory, school board, state health department, and school director-ies, nor remembered by the community persons helping us to locate families with young children.

From this listing, there was a random sample that was stratified into three groups based on socio-economic status. The attrition rate was low. Ultimately, true longitudinal records were taken on 160 children. Each child was five years old or younger when record collection began. Fifty children were followed for 17 years or more; 90 for at least 16 years; 111 for at least 15 years; 130 for at least 14 years; 148 for 13 years, and 152 for 12 years or more. All 160 children were followed for at least 8 years. None received orthodontic treatment before or during the period of record collection. The children were distributed among 43 separate sibships with a mean of 3.72 siblings per sibship.