Multiple forms of stress and other risk factors tend to co-occur in individuals, and individuals and households who are at elevated risk are often clustered in geographic space. Multidisciplinary research teams are needed to capture the full range of exposure to acute and chronic chemical, physical, biological and psychosocial stressors and model how they can combine in additive and interactive ways to affect health. Attention should be given to the ways in which adversities and resources cumulate over time and over generations. Recent research suggests that there is value in this approach. For example, research on maternal low birth weight (LBW) shows how conditions early in a woman’s life can have a long reach that affects outcomes for the next generation. Collins and colleagues171 found that maternal LBW is a risk factor for infant LBW even after adjusting for age, education, marital status and prenatal care. This pattern was evident for both blacks and whites. However, given the high prevalence of LBW among blacks, this effect likely has a larger impact on LBW among black infants. This research also suggests
