Family Background, Early Development,and Intelligence 6-11 Years, United States

This report contains national estimates of the prevalence of selected congenital and early developmental health problems and describes the relationship of selected aspects of family background, infant health status, and early developmental history to the intellectual development and maturity of noninstitutionalized children 6-11 years of age in the United States, based on findings from the Health Examination Survey of 1963-1965. The Health Examination Survey is a major program of the National Center for Health Statistics which was established to carry out the Health Survey Act of 1956, enacted by the 84th Congress to provide for a continuing assessment of the health status of the U.S. population. Three different programs are utilized in the National Health Survey. 1 The Health Interview Survey collects health information from samples of people by household interview. The Health Resources programs obtain health data as well as health resource and utilization information through surveys of hospitals, nursing homes and other resident institutions, and the entire range of personnel in the health occupations. The Health Examination Survey, from which the national estimates in this report were obtained, collects health data by direct physical examination, tests, and measurements performed on samples of the population.