Background: The US has higher rates of teen births and sexually transmitted infections (STI) than other developed countries. Texas youth are disproportionately impacted. Purpose: To review local, state, and national data on teens' engagement in sexual risk behaviors to inform policy and practice related to teen sexual health. Methods: 2009 middle…

This project was significant in that it administered the National College Health Risk Behavior Survey (NCHRBS), a health risk assessment, to a sample of students at three public universities in Virginia. Virginia was never included in the original or subsequent nationwide assessments using this instrument. This health risk assessment is…

Background: Abuse by adults has been reported as a potent predictor of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Unclear is whether victimisation by peers increases the risk of borderline personality symptoms. Method: The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) prospective, longitudinal observation study of 6050 mothers and their…

This article examines the impacts of Building Strong Families, a healthy marriage and relationship skills education program serving unmarried parents who were expecting or had recently had a baby. Based on a random assignment research design, the analysis uses survey data from more than 4,700 couples across eight research sites to estimate program…

What is the meaning of Korean women's career-leaving experience? To answer this question, this study adopted a hermeneutic phenomenology approach. My intention was to search for the deeper meaning of Korean women's career-leaving experience from their perspective. Ten Korean women who had left their careers due to their domestic roles in their…

There is a need for more effective assessment and primary prevention programs aimed at accurately measuring and reducing alcohol consumption among women before conception in underserved, high-risk populations. Health Information Technology (HIT) may serve this purpose; however, the effectiveness of such tools is not known. We conducted a…

There has been limited research on the protective factors that help Latinas delay childbearing until adulthood. In-depth interviews were conducted with 65 pregnant Latina teenage and adult women in California who were about to have their first child. Lack of or inconsistent birth control use as teens was attributed to wanting or ambivalence toward…

This chapter examines development through different life transitions, such as educational transitions and transition to parenthood during adolescence to adulthood in the context of the life-span model of personal goals. According to the life-span model of motivation, four key mechanisms--channeling, choice, co-regulation, and compensation--play a…

Low-income and ethnic minority women have been described as at risk for experiencing depression during and around the time of pregnancy, a finding complicated by low levels of mental health service use within this population. This study retrospectively examined data from a community-based perinatal depression project targeting low-income women in…

Background: The purpose of this study was to gain insights into the perceptions and attitudes about teen pregnancy among high school students in a rural area with high teen pregnancy rates. Methods: Five focus groups were conducted with: (1) females in 9th-10th grades; (2) females in 11th-12th grades; (3) males in 9th-10th grades; (4) males in…

We conducted a case-control study using 190 Han children with and without autism to investigate prenatal and perinatal risk factors for autism in China. Cases were recruited through public special education schools and controls from regular public schools in the same region (Tianjin), with frequency matching on sex and birth year. Unadjusted…

Objective: To compare the ADHD combined/hyperactive subtype (ADHD/CH) to the ADHD inattentive subtype (ADHD/I) on the level of comorbidity, treatment response, and possible etiological factors. Method: A total of 371 clinically referred children diagnosed with ADHD aged between 6 and 12 years are recruited for a double-blind, placebo-controlled…

The federal Early Head Start (EHS) program began in 1995, and a randomized trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of 17 EHS programs. In all, 3,001 low-income families (35% African American, 24% Hispanic, and 37% White) with a pregnant women or an infant under the age of 12 months were randomly assigned to a treatment or control group (with…

For clinically referred children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) several early indicators have been described. However, knowledge is lacking on early markers of less severe variants of ASD and ADHD from the general population. The aim of the present study is to identify early indicators of…

Adolescent mothers and their children are at risk for a myriad of negative outcomes. This study examined risk and protective factors and their impact on a sample (N = 172) of impoverished adolescent mothers. Multiple regression analyses revealed that depressed adolescent mothers report higher levels of parenting stress and that their children are…