Describes a cognitive-behavioral approach to pregnancy prevention. In a 20-hour course, middle school children learn the costs and problems of raising children and are exposed to the real-life options and problems encountered by teen mothers and fathers. They also learn skills to help them stay in school, stay sexually abstinent, and avoid other…

Comprehensive support was provided to urban, first-time adolescent mothers in a prospective research project designed to reduce repeat pregnancy and school dropout rates. Home visits, parenting classes, school advocacy, and case-management services were provided. Intervention (n=34) and control (n=29) groups were followed to evaluate the…

A study examined the long-term (3 year) treatment outcomes of all adolescents (n=2,481) who received services in Vermont's statewide systems of care. Recipients of services had substantially elevated rates of incarceration and hospitalization but maternity rates in the treatment groups were not different from other young women. (Contains…

Studies family structure and function and their association with knowledge and attitudes toward sexuality, contraception, and sexually transmitted diseases (STD) in student and adolescent factory workers. Finds female workers at higher risk for unwanted pregnancies and STDs. Factors associated with knowledge and attitudes included age, schooling…

Outlines the development of men's health studies, situating its development in a general historical context; discussing the study of men's health within the context of critical feminist theories and theories of men and masculinities; outlining and illustrating a relational theory for understanding men's health in an effort to integrate this study…

Using data gathered from a multi-year field study, this article identifies specific life-course events shared by gang-affiliated women. Gangs emerge as a cultural adaptation or pro-social community response to poverty and racial isolation. Through the use of a social-network approach, data show that violence dramatically increases in the period…

In an intervention aimed at showing students the amount of responsibility involved in caring for an infant, 353 predominantly ninth-grade and Latino students carried the Baby Think It Over simulation doll in an intervention and completed matched pre- and posttest measures. Statistically significant gains were found on the total score and the…

This study evaluates the effectiveness of an experiential approach to teen pregnancy (TP) prevention called "Baby Think It Over," a computerized infant simulator, on adolescents' attitudes and behaviors regarding teen pregnancy and sexuality. Recently, a more realistic model called "Real Care Baby" was developed. The small amount of research on…

Context: National and state efforts to increase folic acid awareness and use may not be reaching large segments of the population. Purpose: This study examines folic acid awareness and use among women of childbearing age in a representative, economically at-risk rural sample and identifies factors that influence awareness and use. Methods: A…

In general, most women are familiar with the need to stop smoking when they are pregnant. In spite of this, many women find it difficult to stop. Using a phenomenographic approach, this study explored Swedish pregnant and post-pregnant women's ways of making sense of smoking during pregnancy. A total of 17 women who either smoked throughout…

We tested a social-cognitive intervention to influence contraceptive practices among men living in rural communes in Vietnam. It was predicted that participants who received a stage-targeted program based on the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) would report positive movement in their stage of motivational readiness for their wife to use an…

Other than postpartum depression, little is known about women's emotional responses to childbirth and subsequent stressors. Anger was explored on the basis of theory and evidence that it is a likely emotional response in this context. During their third trimester of pregnancy and approximately six weeks after delivery, 163 participants completed…

Objective: To describe the relative effectiveness of a short versus long course of family-based therapy (FBT) for adolescent anorexia nervosa at long-term follow-up. Method: This study used clinical and structured interviews to assess psychological and psychosocial outcomes of adolescents (ages 12-18 years at baseline) who were previously treated…

Previous research has shown that children and young people who are looked after are vulnerable to poor life outcomes, including early pregnancy. This paper examines how experiences of being looked after may contribute to teenage pregnancy. Using in-depth interviews, data were collected from 63 young people recently looked after who are aged 15-24…

In the past, preventive health concerning sexuality of people with intellectual disabilities was addressed through surgical sterilization as part of nationwide eugenic programs in many countries. For more than 30 years now, it has come progressively to light in the scientific literature that, besides major ethical and legal problems, these…