Understanding prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) risk perception is important for the communication and prevention of alcohol use during pregnancy. A previous systematic review has explored the dimensions and influencing factors of women's PAE risk perceptions, leading to the construction of Pregnancy Alcohol Use Risk Perception (PARP) conceptual…

Purpose: Prior work developed a shortened 16-item version of the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), a quantitative measure of social communication and autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-related traits. However, its properties for use in risk factor estimation have not been fully tested compared to the full SRS. We compared the associations between…

We evaluate the impacts of small high schools on youth risky behaviors and mental health in New York City, using a two-sample-instrumental-variable approach to address endogenous school enrollment. We find heterogeneous effects. School size, overall, has little effect. Among "students" most likely to attend small schools opened…

Limited research has been done among pregnant people participating in investigational drug trials. To enhance the ethical understanding of pregnant people's perspectives on research participation, we sought to describe motives and risk perceptions of participants in a phase 1 trial of ledipasvir/sofosbuvir (LDV/SOF) treatment for chronic Hepatitis…

This meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the overall association between maternal exposure to pesticides and risk of ASD in offspring. PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and the PsycINFO were searched until December 30, 2020 to include eligible studies. Eight studies with 50,426 participants, 5810 of whom had ASD, were involved in the study.…

The proportion of infants in the United States who are breastfed at 1 year remains well below the Healthy People 2030 target. The health implications of suboptimal breastfeeding durations are significant, including increased risk of childhood leukemia and maternal Type 2 diabetes. Prenatal breastfeeding education provides an opportunity to improve…

Background: Pregnant women are at increased risk of complications from flu, but uptake of flu vaccination is below 75% targets. Evidence suggests that changing illness risk appraisals may increase vaccination behaviour. In 2018-2019, researchers, public health specialists, and pregnant women co-designed a short animation targeting (unhelpful)…

Beginning in 2010, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sponsored numerous studies testing the effectiveness of Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention programs on youths' risky sexual behaviors. This article presents results from a meta-analysis of such studies completed between 2015 and 2019 and provided to us by HHS. Studies were…

High-risk sexual behaviors (HRSBs; e.g., having sex without protection against pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections) are a public health problem. HRSBs disproportionally impact college students and are associated with numerous negative outcomes, such as unwanted pregnancies. Alcohol use has been strongly linked to HRSBs in college…

This is a study of water and beverages consumed during pregnancy by mothers of children with autism. Materials included vials for water samples and a survey to describe the water and beverages. Samples were tested for sulfate and surveys evaluated for average daily levels. Results were stratified for selected regions of the United States. Areas…

Adopting an ethnographic lens, readers are provided a look inside a California high school sexuality education classroom. On this chosen day, two invited guest speakers from an outside company are teaching students about pregnancy prevention, healthy relationships, and risks associated with having sex. Analysis of the guest speakers' pedagogical…

Research has linked pre- and perinatal complications (PPCs) with increased risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, PPCs are also known risk factors for other mental health disorders. This study explored which PPCs are specific risk factors for ASD, as opposed to other forms of psychopathology, among a large sample of clinically-referred…

Few studies have compared knowledge of the specific health risks of cannabis across jurisdictions. This study aimed to examine perceptions of the health risks of cannabis in Canada and US states with and without legal non-medical cannabis. Cross-sectional data were collected from the 2018 and 2019 International Cannabis Policy Study online…

Early childbearing is associated with high maternal stress and family violence. However, the long-term effects of rapid repeat pregnancy (RRP) in young motherhood on child outcomes remain largely unknown. This study examined the pathways between maternal RRP at young ages and child psychosocial problems and emergency room visits in later years. A…

Objective: Hookup apps, such as Tinder, have become vastly popular among college students, and hookup culture has become more normatively acceptable. The current study seeks to understand the associations of hookup app uses and outcome variables including sexual attitudes, relationship turbulences, and risky sexual behaviors. Participants and…