How do young people conceptualise "effective" sexuality education? This paper explores 16-year-old to 19-year-old New Zealanders' vision of effective sexuality education as it emerges in answers to a survey question about improving programmes at secondary school. Young people's responses suggest that their view of what makes sexuality…

This article describes The Community Perinatal Care Study, a community-based study of pregnancy support that was conducted in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, between 2001 and 2004. The study was conducted to learn how to improve community-based pregnancy care and to improve prenatal care and healthy births, particularly for women with increased…

The impact of postnatal depression on a child's risk for violent behavior was evaluated in an urban British community sample (N=122 families). Mothers were interviewed during pregnancy, at 3 months postpartum, and when the child was 1, 4, and 11 years of age. Mothers, teachers, and children reported on violent symptoms at age 11. Structural…

The Enhancing Patient Prenatal Education study tested the feasibility and educational impact of an interactive program for patient prenatal genetic screening and testing education. Patients at two private practices and one public health clinic participated (N = 207). The program collected knowledge and measures of anxiety before and after use of…

The myths and misconceptions surrounding the topic of sexuality and people with developmental disabilities were examined to better understand the detrimental effects they were having on the sexual health of individuals with developmental disabilities. Persons with developmental disabilities are often infantilised and viewed as asexual. This…

In this article, the author discusses the social issues that concern the young adolescents in Russia and their early onset to sexual activity. The early onset of sexual activity among adolescents in Russia is taking place under conditions that are quite specific. These conditions include: a low level of contraceptive awareness, a very small number…

For more than a decade, Florida's Palm Beach County has been building an infrastructure of prevention and early intervention services to promote and support the healthy development and school readiness of children from birth to age 8. The county began this effort with a set of programs focused on serving families in four targeted geographic areas…

"KidsCount in Colorado!" is an annual publication of the Colorado Children's Campaign, which provides the best available state- and county-level data to measure and track the education, health and general well-being of the state's children. KidsCount in Colorado! informs policy debates and community discussions, serving as a valuable…

In 1993 The Annie E. Casey Foundation made a substantial commitment to the goal of reducing adolescent pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease by investing in the design and development of the Plain Talk initiative. Plain Talk attempts to organize and mobilize community residents to change the attitudes and practices of adults, teenagers, and…

The Yakima First Steps Mobilization Project for Pregnant Substance Abusers, known as First Steps PLUS, is a demonstration project. The project seeks to improve the health outcomes of pregnant substance abusing women and their infants by enhancing existing perinatal services provided through Washington's First Steps Maternity Care Program and by…

Babygram Hospital Outreach, under the administration of the Program for Pregnant and Parenting Services and in conjunction with the Health and Hospital Corporation, is a program to assist pregnant and parenting teens to return to an educational setting. With funding from the Federal School Dropout Demonstration Assistance program, Babygram began…

A "Parenting Girls Project" was operated within the Teenage Parent Program in the Owensboro City School System, Kentucky. Objectives involved continuation and expansion strategies: raising student assessment scores in parenting attitudes on the Performance and Attitudinal Scale (PAS), increasing student assessment scores in career…

Statistics show that the improvement in the U.S. infant mortality rate began slowing down in 1981 and completely ended in 1985; this has been reflected in a significant increase in the percentage of infants born prematurely and with low birth weight. Increased attention is being given to the effects of maternal behavior during pregnancy, and…

Although the incidence of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) has been called an "epidemic" on some American Indian reservations, solutions for Native American women with alcohol and drug dependency problems have largely been ignored by the federal government. FAS prevention policy, originating around 1979, has been driven by the simplistic…

This literature review defines Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE) and considers their causes, diagnoses, prevalence, and educational ramifications. Effects of alcohol during each of the trimesters of pregnancy are summarized. Specific diagnostic characteristics of FAS are listed: (1) growth deficiency, (2) a…