Infertile couples' (N=131) consideration of options for dealing with infertility (medical help, adoption, fostering, alternative medicine, and focusing on other life goals) is studied. Options were related to specific motivations including altruistic motives for adoption or foster care. Results, timing of choices, and motivations are discussed.…

Retrospective reports of contraceptive use on two occasions of intercourse were used to examine change in contraceptive practice as a function of intervening pregnancy in a sample of 466 black adolescent females and white adolescent females. Improvements in contraceptive use and the effects of the passage of time are discussed for both racial…

Examines factors influencing the outcome of cohabitation first partnerships with men and women born in Britain in 1958. Results show that conception was a key factor in promoting marriage for both men and women. Findings also suggest that the role of cohabitation varies according to socioeconomic background. (Author/MKA)

Assessed the relationship of socioeconomic status (SES), family structure, and race/ethnicity to adolescent sexual behaviors that are key determinants of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Data from the 1992 Youth Risk Behavior Survey indicated that differences in adolescent sexual behavior by race and SES were not large enough to…

This multimethod study explored the promising link between organized sports involvement during the high school years and sexual behavior/health among 176 adolescent women. Using more sensitive and appropriate measures than those in existing studies and directed, in part, by cultural resource theory, this study helped to fill a gap in the…

The author discusses components essential to pregnancy-specific substance abuse treatment, based on a review of the literature. Elements and issues related to substance abuse during pregnancy are identified under the five social work intervention roles: teacher, broker, clinician, mediator, and advocate. The concepts and approaches presented in…

Cocaine use during pregnancy is a high-risk indicator for adverse developmental outcomes. Three levels of intervention (center, home, and primary care) were compared in a full service, birth to age 3, early intervention program serving children exposed to cocaine prenatally. Data were collected on 130 children from urban, predominantly poor,…

This prospective study examined the effects of maternal characteristics, social support, and risk factors on infant-mother attachment in a heterogeneous sample. Two hundred and six women between the ages of 18 and 40 were interviewed during their last trimester of pregnancy and 1 year postpartum. Structural equation modeling revealed that maternal…

A group of researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston are set to do a long-term study of families that would permit to select the sex of their babies through genetic testing before implanting the embryo in the mother. Technologies such as in vitro fertilization involved in selecting a baby's sex has societal and psychological…

A growing body of research challenges the popular characterization that young mothers are bad mothers. This article focuses on a group of girls and young women who were pregnant or mothers and who were engaged in a risky lifestyle through their heavy involvement in gangs, partying, and drinking. The authors examine the impact of the process of…

This research demonstrates how prior knowledge may allow for qualitative differences in representation of texts about controversial issues. People often experience a memory bias in favor of information with which they agree. In several experiments it was found that individuals with high prior knowledge about the topic were better able to recall…

Context:: Of the approximately 900,000 children who were determined to be victims of abuse or neglect by US child protective services in 2002, the birth-to-3 age group had the highest rate of victimization (1.6%) and children younger than 1 accounted for the largest percentage of victims (9.6%). Objective:: To identify perinatal and…

This study examined demographic, individual, and relational factors that differentiate adult couples facing an unplanned pregnancy carried to term from those facing a planned pregnancy. One hundred and eighteen couples expecting their first child completed, along with a demographic questionnaire, measures of personality, perceived stress,…

Persistent effects of childhood living arrangements and family change on adolescent outcomes have often been attributed to differences in socialization and intrafamily processes. We use data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to assess an alternative explanation: that neighborhood context and residential mobility represent a central set of…

Abortion is one of the most controversial and contentious issues of our time. Few topics generate as much public debate or leave as little room for political compromise. This article presents a discussion of selected United States Supreme Court decisions on abortion and the legal reasoning supporting those decisions. It should be noted initially…