How do young adults perceive the risk of chlamydia infection? A qualitative study

Objectives. This study aimed to improve understanding of how young UK genito‐urinary medicine (GUM) patients perceive the risk of chlamydia, and identify implications for health education. Design. A qualitative methodology was chosen. Methods. Semi‐structured interviews with 27 respondents aged 16–22 years old were conducted. Data were subjected to thematic analysis. Results. Respondents made assessments of the perceived seriousness of, and their personal susceptibility to, chlamydia infection. Judgements about seriousness were related to beliefs about the controllability of symptoms and the long‐term health consequences of infection. Susceptibility estimates were related to beliefs about the extent to which personal exposure put them in contact with chlamydia, and about the prevalence of infection amongst their peer group. This is consistent with the content of illness risk representations proposed by Cameron (2003) . Respondents demonstrated some beliefs, which appeared to influence perceptions of seriousness and susceptibility in unhelpful ways. Conclusions. Young people may be underestimating their risk of chlamydia infection due to the presence of unhelpful beliefs. Dialogue between health professionals and patients within GUM clinics, or through consultations as part of the National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP), could provide vehicles to deliver health education to target these. Suggested health education includes highlighting false reassurance provided by treatment beliefs and exposing the fallibility of using overt characteristics to judge the likelihood that a potential sexual partner poses a risk of infection.     

Maternal Intervention Strategies in Enforcing Children's Bicycle Helmet Use

We investigated maternal methods of enforcing helmet usage in children. Although the American Academy of Pediatrics recently called for stronger parenting strategies to increase bicycle-helmet use, there has been virtually no study of typical parenting strategies to influence children to wear their helmets. In the present study, mothers of second- and eighth-grade children responded to 12 vignettes portraying typical excuses children give for not wearing a helmet. Even after continued child refusal, mothers reported they would try to persuade, discuss or command their child to wear the helmet, more often than they would use consequences. Initially, there were no age or gender effects, but as the vignettes portrayed the child protesting, mothers of second-grade girls suggested the use of consequences more often than mothers of eighth-graders. The reverse was true for mothers of second-grade boys, although these differences typically did not reach statistical significance. Overall, the data support the American Academy of Pediatrics' suggestion for more effective parenting strategies, especially for children at highest risk for bicycle injury.     

儿童关于特质的性别差异信念的发展

目的:考察3~8岁儿童关于特质的性别差异信念及其发展特点。方法:采用个别测查法对379名儿童进行测查。结果:①从总体上看,各年龄组儿童倾向于将男性化特质归于男孩,将女性化特质归于女孩;②男孩比女孩更倾向于将男性化特质与男孩相联系,而女孩比男孩则更倾向于将女性化特质与女孩相联系;③从总体上看,学前阶段儿童将男性化特质与男孩相联系、将女性化特质与女孩相联系的倾向逐渐增强,6岁之后二者均处于稳定水平。结论:我国儿童从3岁起就持有关于特质的性别差异信念,他们对同性特质的性别差异信念强于对异性特质的性别差异信念,并且这些信念在学前期间不断增强,6岁左右趋于稳定。     

Gender differences in the transition to early parenthood

Data gathered over the course of a 25-year longitudinal study of 1,055 young people was used to examine gender differences in the onset of early parenthood and the developmental processes that place males and females at risk of becoming a young parent. Results revealed clear gender differences in the timing of early parenthood, with females being twice as likely as males to become a parent between the ages of 16 and 25 years. In contrast, the risk factors and life course processes that placed males and females at risk of an early transition to parenthood were very similar. Two exceptions were a gender-specific effect for maternal age and exposure to parental change, suggesting that having been raised by a younger mother and having experienced parental changes in your family of origin increased risks of early parenthood for females but not males. These findings contribute to our understanding of the effects of gender on life course development.     

Age and body make a difference in optimistic health beliefs and nutrition behaviors

Nutrition behaviors are governed by health beliefs such as risk perceptions, outcome expectancies, and optimistic self-beliefs. This study deals with the role that objective criteria such as age and body weight might play in forming subjective beliefs. The question is whether they can deter people from forming an overly optimistic judgment of their health risk. Six kinds of verbal judgments were assessed, namely self-reported health, vulnerability toward cardiovascular diseases, nutrition outcome expectancies, nutrition self-efficacy, intentions to change one’s diet, and reported nutrition behaviors. In a sample of 1,583 men and women between 14 and 87 years of age, these judgments were statistically related to age and body weight. It was found that people do take their objective risk status into account, but only to a certain degree. The self-serving bias continues to exist throughout all age groups and weight levels. Moreover, it was found that individuals report better intentions to adhere to healthy foods and better nutrition behaviors as they grow older and gain weight.     

Fetal gender impact on multiple-marker screening results

Maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP), human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), and unconjugated estriol (uE3) are used in combination with maternal age to calculate the risk for Down syndrome (DS) in pregnancy. Increased levels of hCG and decreased levels of MSAFP and uE3 are consistent with an increased risk for DS. We retrospectively evaluated second-trimester maternal serum marker levels in a large cohort of patients with known normal outcomes and documented fetal gender. These included 15,428 patients who had MSAFP measurements, 11,428 patients with both MSAFP and hCG, and 6,090 patients with all three markers including uE3. MSAFP levels in patients with female fetuses were consistently lower than those with males. Conversely, hCG was higher in pregnancies with females as compared to males. No gender-related difference was noted for uE3. These results would suggest that the computed DS risk for female fetuses is higher than for males, despite the fact that the incidence of DS is similar in both genders. This information could be useful for calculating gender-specific DS risk; however, this would require ultrasonographic determination of fetal sex. Am. J. Med. Genet. 76:369–371, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Cardiovascular Risk: Gender Differences in Lifestyle Behaviors and Coping Strategies

Background

Although cardiovascular disease (CVD) does not occur until mid to late life for most adults, the presence of risk factors, such as high blood pressure (BP) and cholesterol, has increased dramatically in young adults.

Purpose

The present study examined the relationships between gender and coping strategies, lifestyle behaviors, and cardiovascular risks.

Method

The sample consisted of 297 (71% female) university students. Participants completed a survey to assess demographics, lifestyle behaviors, and coping strategies, and a physiological assessment including lipid and blood pressure (BP) measurements. Data collection occurred from January 2007 to May 2008.

Results

Analyses revealed that age, ethnicity, greater body mass index (BMI), greater use of social support, and less frequent exercise were associated with higher cholesterol, while gender, age, greater BMI, and less frequent exercise were associated with higher systolic BP. There were two significant interactions: one between gender and avoidant coping and the other between gender and exercise on systolic BP, such that for men greater use of avoidant coping or exercise was associated with lower systolic BP.

Conclusion

Understanding how young adults manage their demands and cope with stress sets the stage for understanding the developmental process of CVD. Both coping strategies and lifestyle behaviors must be considered in appraising gender-related cardiovascular risk at an early age before the disease process has begun.     

Managing risk associated with cryopreservation

Patients who consent to the frozen storage of sperm or embryos quite rightly expect the storing centre to do everything reasonably possible to keep them in optimum conditions. Both the process of cryopreservation and the cryofacility are loaded with risk, from patient/sample processing, through to the eventual utilization or disposal of specimens. The risk management process should focus on minimizing losses, including staff injury, premature warming of cells and tissues, mistaken identity, and transmission of infection. Early warning and monitoring systems should be in place for quality assurance and to prevent incidents involving cryovessels turning critical. Centres must ensure that every reasonable practical measure that can be put in place is done so, and that resourcing of the service adequately reflects the liability it represents.     

Gender differences in the recognition of depression in old age

Objective: The study should answer the question of whether identical symptom presentations of depression in male and female patients leads to similar recognition rates in primary care. Method: We performed a survey in primary care. Two written case vignettes were presented to 170 family physicians in a face-to-face interview which took place in their practices. The case vignettes described either a mildly depressed otherwise healthy old patient (case 1) or a severely depressed patient with somatic comorbidity (case 2). For each case different versions with regard to patients’ gender were used: in case 1 only the gender of the patient varied; in case 2 both the gender and the anamnesis (stroke/hypothyroidism) varied. Afterwards the interviewers asked standardised open questions. The physicians were not aware of the mental health focus and the gender focus of the study. Results: The study is representative with a response rate of 77.6%. For primary diagnosis, the female versions were given the diagnosis of depression more often. There was a non-significant trend that female physicians considered depression more often. Conclusion: The results show that gender-related experience and stereotypes on the physicians’ side influence the diagnosis of (old age) depression in primary care. Further studies should elucidate the influence of the physicians’ gender on the management of psychiatric disorders.     

Gender differences in factors influencing alcohol use and drinking progression among adolescents

While prevalence rates for alcohol use and related disorders differ widely between adult men and women, male and female adolescents do not exhibit the same disparity in alcohol consumption. Previous research and reviews do not address the emergence of differences in drinking patterns that occur during late adolescence. Therefore, a developmental perspective is presented for understanding how various risk and protective factors associated with problematic drinking affect diverging alcohol trajectories as youth move into young adulthood. This review examines factors associated with risk for developing an alcohol use disorder in adolescent girls and boys separately. Findings indicate that certain biological (i.e., genetic risk, neurological abnormalities associated with P300 amplitudes) and psychosocial (i.e., impact of positive drinking expectancies, personality characteristics, and deviance proneness) factors appear to impact boys and girls similarly. In contrast, physiological and social changes particular to adolescence appear to differentially affect boys and girls as they transition into adulthood. Specifically, boys begin to manifest a constellation of factors that place them at greater risk for disruptive drinking: low response to alcohol, later maturation in brain structures and executive function, greater estimates of perceived peer alcohol use, and socialization into traditional gender roles. On an individual level, interventions which challenge media-driven stereotypes of gender roles while simultaneously reinforcing personal values are suggested as a way to strengthen adolescent autonomy in terms of healthy drinking decisions. Moreover, parents and schools must improve consistency in rules and consequences regarding teen drinking across gender to avoid mixed messages about acceptable alcohol use for boys and girls.