The authors propose that peer relationships should be included in a life history perspective on adolescent problem behavior. Longitudinal analyses were used to examine deviant peer clustering as the mediating link between attenuated family ties, peer marginalization, and social disadvantage in early adolescence and sexual promiscuity in middle…

The influence of parental and early childhood factors on adolescent obesity was investigated using a longitudinal model of body mass index (BMI) from birth to 14 years. Trajectories of BMI using linear mixed model (LMM) analysis were used to investigate the influence of early parental and childhood factors on BMI at 14 years in the Raine birth…

Objective: Preterm children are at risk for social-emotional difficulties, including autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. We assessed the relationship of regional brain development in preterm children, evaluated via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at term-equivalent postmenstrual age (TEA), to later social-emotional difficulties.…

Early adolescence is a crucial period for preventing teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. This study evaluated STAR LO, a theater-based intervention designed to affect antecedents of sexual activity among urban early adolescents (N = 1,143). Public elementary/middle schools received the intervention or served as a wait-listed…

The purpose of this review paper, "Adolescent Sexual Education: Designing Curriculum That Works", is to present some basic curriculum necessities for developing an in-school sexual education program that results in decreasing the number of teenagers initiating sex, thus reducing the number of teen pregnancies and cases of sexually transmitted…

This article debates the issues involved in safeguarding and protecting children in maternity services and offers implications for professional practice. Midwives and other staff who work as members of the maternity team have a safeguarding role to play in the identification of babies and children who have been abused, or are at risk of abuse, and…

The study is a qualitative analysis of 19 interviews with Israeli women who have lost a first pregnancy to miscarriage. Neither the public nor health care professionals are fully aware of the implications and significance of miscarriage to the woman who has lost the pregnancy. The goal of this study was to understand and give voice to the women's…

Because most research on military families has focused on children who are old enough to go to school, we know the least about the youngest and perhaps most vulnerable children in these families. Some of what we do know, however, is worrisome--for example, multiple deployments, which many families have experienced during the wars in Iraq and…

Young people ages 10-24 account for 25 percent of the world's population: a total of 1.8 billion, most of whom are living in low- and middle-income countries. They face significant challenges, including HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), adolescent pregnancy, unsafe abortion, and gender-based violence. Youth have the right to lead…

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of women who both work and mother into the workforce in recent years. The patriarchal structure of the typical U.S. organization is based on rational-economic models and the "economic man" model of worker. This structure systematically disadvantages women who work and mother. The HRD function within…

Several recent studies have shown that healthy teens generally do better in school than their less healthy peers. Teens may have little control over some factors--such as chronic illness--that may contribute to their poor health and difficulties in school. However, when armed with accurate information and skills, teens can eliminate or minimize…

The United States has one of the highest unintended pregnancy rates of all industrialized nations in the world, with 13% of those occurring among the adolescent population. In 2005, the adolescent birthrate in the United States was 40.5 per 1,000 women and increased 3% in 2006 (Martin et al., 2009). Unintended pregnancy and motherhood can have a…

This study explores perceptions of Mexican mother-adolescent communication about sexuality. Participants interviewed included four mother-expecting son pairs and four mother-pregnant daughter pairs. Our interviews revealed important adolescent gender differences. Pena (shame/embarrassment) played a major role vis-a-vis indirect communication about…

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) can be effectively used to record fetal and neonatal cognitive abilities/functions by recording completely non-invasively the magnetic fields produced by the active neurons in the brain. During the last trimester and the first months of life, the cognitive capabilities related to emotion recognition and language…

Over the last several decades, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of triplets that are successfully conceived and delivered. With these increased numbers, there is a need for social workers to better understand the experiences of higher order multiple-birth parents. With the use of a qualitative approach, this study focuses on seven…