Teenage fathers and the fathers of infants of urban, teenage mothers.

Data from Certificates of Live Birth, for recorded resident births in Baltimore in 1983, were used to describe fathers whose child was born to a teenage mother. Four groups were identified: 1) both father and mother were teenagers (12 per cent); 2) only the mother was a teenager (14 per cent); 3) only the father was a teenager (2 per cent); 4) both parents were aged 20 years of above (72 per cent). The fathers in the first three groups appeared at serious educational and financial disadvantage as compared with those where neither parent was a teenager. Within the teenage parent groups, White fathers had lower educational attainment than Black; one in four White fathers was married vs less than 5 per cent of Black. Although limited in scope, the data indicate that disadvantages associated with being a teenage father or the father of an infant born by a teenage mother are clear cut.     

Repeated exposure to media messages encouraging parent-child communication about sex: differential trajectories for mothers and fathers

Abstract Purpose . To examine changes in parent-child communication related to sexual behavior after exposure to public health messages. Design . Randomized, controlled trial that was part of precampaign message testing. Setting . Exposure occurred online or through DVDs mailed to participants and viewed on their personal computers. Data collection occurred via a secure Web site. Patients . Participants included parents (n = 1969) living with a child age 10 to 14?years drawn from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. Intervention . Treatment participants were exposed to video, audio, and print advertisements that promoted the benefits of speaking to their children early and often about delaying initiation of sexual activity; messages also directed parents to an informational Web site. Measures . The dependent variable assessed frequency of parent-child communication related to sexual behavior. The primary independent variable was treatment assignment. Analysis . Longitudinal growth modeling that included five waves of data. Results . The trajectory of growth over time differed between fathers in the treatment group and fathers in the control group (F[1, 2357] = 4.15; p < .042), indicating more frequent communication among treatment fathers than among control fathers. Trajectories did not differ between mothers in treatment and control groups. Conclusion . This study demonstrates that father-child and mother-child communication patterns differ over time in response to public health messages. Findings have implication for researchers developing health marketing campaigns.     

Adolescent clinic visits for contraception: support from mothers, male partners and friends

CONTEXT: To increase effective contraceptive use among adolescents at high risk of pregnancy, it is important to understand what factors influence them to visit a clinic for contraception, including support from their mothers, male partners and friends.
METHODS: Data from a prospective cohort study of 399 teenage clinic attendees using the pill, the implant or condoms were collected through a questionnaire at baseline and at a one-year follow-up interview. Data were analyzed using multivariate regression analysis to show differences in social support for adolescents' clinic visit at baseline and method continuation at one year.
RESULTS: Almost all teenagers (96%) reported that their mother, a male partner or a friend was aware of their clinic visit for contraception; of these, 92–96% also said that their mother or a male partner was supportive. Teenagers who chose the pill or implant were more likely than condom users to report that their mother and male partner were aware and that their mother was supportive of their contraceptive clinic visit. Implant users were significantly more likely than those who chose the pill or condom to continue using their chosen method for one year. Teenagers who took part in high-risk behaviors were more likely than others to involve a friend but not their mother or a male partner in their contraceptive decision-making.
CONCLUSIONS: Pregnancy prevention programs and counseling protocols that integrate supportive networks for teenagers into contraceptive services may help adolescents to use effective methods.     

Coping with a handicapped child: differences between mothers and fathers

This paper considers coping styles of mothers and fathers of handicapped children. Cautioning against stereotyping, the authors find that mothers and fathers differ in how they appraise and cope with the stress of rearing a developmentally disabled child. The need for systematic investigation of gender-related coping styles in families with handicapped children is discussed.     

Family meals. Associations with weight and eating behaviors among mothers and fathers

Few studies have looked at the relationship between family meals and adult weight and health behaviors. The current study investigates the association between frequency of family meals and mothers' and fathers' body mass index (BMI), dietary intake, dieting behaviors and binge eating. Data from Project F-EAT (Families and Eating and Activity in Teens) were used for the current analysis. Socio-economically and racially/ethnically diverse mothers and fathers (n=3488) of adolescents participating in a multi-level population-based study (EAT 2010) completed surveys mailed to their homes. Predicted means or probabilities were calculated for each outcome variable at each level of family meal frequency. Interactions between race/ethnicity and marital status with family meals were evaluated in all models. Overall, results indicated that having more frequent family meals was associated with increased consumption of fruits and vegetables for mothers and fathers, after adjusting for age, educational attainment, marital status and race/ethnicity. Other findings including less fast food intake for fathers and fewer dieting and binge eating behaviors for mothers were significantly associated with family meal frequency, but not consistently across all family meal categories or with BMI. Interactions by race/ethnicity and marital status were non-significant, indicating that family meals may be important for more healthful dietary intake across race and marital status. Future research should confirm findings in longitudinal analyses to identify temporality and strength of associations.     

Communication between parents and their children about sexual health

BACKGROUND: Communicating about sex with parents has been shown to influence some aspects of sexual behavior in young people. The aim of this study was to investigate how comfortable parents and children find this type of discussion and to compare parental responses with those of their children. STUDY DESIGN: Self-completed questionnaires were distributed to 317 teenagers from a state school in Edinburgh, Scotland, and to 575 of their parents. The questionnaire was designed to appraise relative levels of comfort/discomfort about discussing six sexual health topics. Where a parent and their child had both completed questionnaires, their responses were compared. RESULTS: Three hundred forty-five parents, 162 girls and 155 boys, completed questionnaires. Most parents considered themselves "comfortable" or "very comfortable" discussing sexual health issues with their children, with "boyfriends/girlfriends" as the most comfortable (p< or =.001) and "sexual intercourse" the least comfortable topic (p<.0005). However, many children stated they "definitely would not" talk to parents (19-65% of participants, depending on the topic), citing "embarrassment" as the main reason. Eight-six pairs of parent-child responses were matched and compared showing that on all topics the least communication occurred between fathers and their daughters. CONCLUSIONS: There are clearly barriers to communicating about sexual health issues between parents and their children in this population, and this seems to stem from reluctance on the part of the children rather than of their parents.     

Rural parents' communication with their teen-agers about sexual issues

This survey assessed rural parents' (n = 374) perceptions of the characteristics, content, and comfort level of discussions about sexual issues with their teens. Almost all parents (94%) reported they had talked with their teens about sex. Two-thirds (65%) reported being comfortable talking with their teens about sexual issues. From a list of 17 potential topical areas in sexual communication, parents were most likely to discuss with their teens the responsibilities of being a parent (46%), sexually transmitted diseases (40%), dating behavior (37%), and not having sex until marriage (36%). Most parents (80%) believed that the majority of sexuality education should be provided by the family and supplemented by outside organizations, preferably schools. Almost all parents (92%) believed sexuality education should include information on birth control methods including condoms. Almost two of three parents (64%) believed schools should begin teaching sexuality education before students reach seventh grade. Parents (52%) claimed they could best be helped in communicating with their teens by receiving a regular newsletter regarding teen sexual issues.     

‘He supported me 100%’: Mexican-immigrant fathers,daughters, and adolescent sexual health

ABSTRACT

Objective: First and second generation Mexican-origin adolescents in the U.S. face social and economic disadvantage and sexual health disparities. Although fathers can support child and adolescent development, the literature has portrayed Mexican-origin immigrant fathers as emotionally distant and sexist. This study aims to treat migration as a social determinant of health to examine father-daughter relationships and adolescent sexual health in Mexican-origin immigrant families.

Methods: Integrating qualitative data from life history interviews with 21 Mexican-origin young women in immigrant families with quantitative data on first and second generation Mexican-origin young women in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, this study describes father-daughter relationships, examines the association between father-daughter relationships and daughters’ early sexual initiation, and considers the impact of migration on the father-daughter relationship and sexual health among Mexican-origin young women.

Results: Qualitative data identify four types of father-daughter relationships: ‘good,’ hostile, distant, and conflicted. Supporting the qualitative patterns, quantitative data find that positive or ‘good’ father-daughter relationship quality is significantly associated with reduced risk of early sexual initiation. Importantly, father-daughter separation across borders and economic inequality facing immigrant families is associated with hostile or distant father-daughter relationship quality and increased risk of early sexual initiation.

Conclusions: Reports of good father-daughter relationships are common and may protect against early sexual initiation in Mexican-origin immigrant families. Policies that keep families together and reduce economic inequality among immigrants may also reduce sexual health disparities among immigrant adolescents.     

Children's representations of relationships with mothers,teachers, and friends,and associations with social competence

This study describes the use of story stems in order to determine children's representations of relationships with mothers, teachers, and friends, and how these representations are related to mother- and teacher-rated social competence. Thirty preschool-aged children were administered the story stem tasks featuring three different interactional partners, which were then coded for quality of the portrayed relationship. Mothers and teachers were also asked to rate children's social competence. Findings suggest that children generally have similar, but not identical, working models of their relationships with mothers and teachers which are related to internal working models of their relationships with friends. Furthermore, elements of children's narratives about teachers and friends were related to teacher's ratings of children's social competence. Findings from this study demonstrate the dynamic and interactive nature of children's representations of relationships with their mothers, teachers, and friends.     

Problems and hopes perceived by mothers,fathers and physicians of children receiving palliative care

Background

The quality of shared decision making for children with serious illness may depend on whether parents and physicians share similar perceptions of problems and hopes for the child.

Objective

(i) Describe the problems and hopes reported by mothers, fathers and physicians of children receiving palliative care; (ii) examine the observed concordance between participants; (iii) examine parental perceived agreement; and (iv) examine whether parents who identified specific problems also specified corresponding hopes, or whether the problems were left ‘hopeless’.

Method

Seventy‐one parents and 43 physicians were asked to report problems and hopes and perceived agreement for 50 children receiving palliative care. Problems and hopes were classified into eight domains. Observed concordance was calculated between parents and between each parent and the physicians.

Results

The most common problem domains were physical body (88%), quality of life (74%) and medical knowledge (48%). The most common hope domains were quality of life (88%), suffering (76%) and physical body (39%). Overall parental dyads demonstrated a high percentage of concordance (82%) regarding reported problem domains and a lower percentage of concordance on hopes (65%). Concordance between parents and physicians regarding specific children was lower on problem (65–66%) and hope domains (59–63%). Respondents who identified problems regarding a child's quality of life or suffering were likely to also report corresponding hopes in these domains (93 and 82%, respectively).

Conclusion

Asking parents and physicians to talk about problems and hopes may provide a straightforward means to improve the quality of shared decision making for critically ill children.     

Reliability of demographic, smoking and occupational data provided by mothers vs. fathers in a childhood cancer study

A large case-control study of children was used to test mothers' reporting of information on fathers' background, lifestyle and occupational factors. For a subset (104) of 1341 enrolled families, both parents were interviewed about fathers' characteristics. Reliability of reporting was determined for fathers' race, education, smoking status, non-recent job history and use of occupational agents. The ability of mothers to report fathers' race, education and smoking status was high (kappa > 0.70). Mothers were generally able to report jobs held by the fathers in the 5 years preceding the birth of the child, but reliability was higher for jobs held for longer (kappa typically above 0.70), rather than shorter periods (kappa above 0.40). The finding that mothers' reporting on fathers' background, lifestyle and non-recent job history was reliable is encouraging, because many studies on childhood health rely exclusively on information from interviews with mothers. However, mothers were not reliably able to describe exposure to specific occupational agents.     

大学生朋友间性话题沟通及其对性适应的影响

目的 考察大学生与现实朋友和网友进行性话题沟通状况及其对性适应的影响,为开展性健康教育提供参考.方法 采用大学生性话题沟通频率问卷和性心理健康量表性适应分量表,对随机抽取的成都市3所综合性大学746名大学生进行施测.结果 不同性别、生源地的大学生对朋友进行性话题的沟通频率差异具有统计学意义,女生性适应状况优于男生;大学生对网友(特别是异性网友)的性话题沟通对其性适应有消极影响,而对异性现实朋友的性话题沟通与性适应各因子均呈现正相关,但相关无统计学意义.结论 大学生与不同类型朋友的性话题沟通状况与性适应状况有显著相关.应帮助大学生建立现实、健康和自然的异性沟通渠道,避免依赖网络进行相关沟通.     

Adaptation to parenthood: Differing expectations of social supports for mothers versus fathers

One hundred and twenty-three first-time parent-couples of five-month-old infants were studied to determine the relationship between dyadic adjustment and marital satisfaction and selected social supports. The identification of need for support, the utilization of support, and the satisfaction with those supports utilized for both child care and household tasks were examined. Mothers and fathers responded separately to Guerney'sRelationship Change Scale, Spanier'sDyadic Adjustment Scale, and to a demographic and social support inventory. One finding was that factors promoting satisfactory marital adjustment were different for new mothers and new fathers. In particular, social supports for child care and household tasks were related to a satisfying adjustment only in new mothers, following culturally stereotypic delineation of concerns.This investigation was supported by Grant #1R21 NU-00829-02, Division of Nursing, Department of Health and Human Services under the direction of Dr. Elizabeth Lenz and Dr. Mary Neal.     

Health and healthcare utilization among single mothers and single fathers in Sweden

AIMS: To analyse self-rated health and healthcare utilization with regard to whether the respondents were single or couple parents, mothers or fathers. METHODS: A postal questionnaire was distributed nationwide to 4,000 randomly chosen individuals 20-64 years of age, with a response rate of 66%. A total of 1,041 respondents had legal custody of a child (150 were single parents and 891 were couple parents), and thus met the definition of a parent used for this study. Analyses of self-rated health and health care utilization were performed according to sex, age, sociodemographic, and socioeconomic characteristics. Three different statistical methods were applied: Spearman correlation analyses, chi-square analyses and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Both single fathers and single mothers reported worse health than their couple counterparts. However, single fathers had contact with a physician more frequently (OR 1.84) than couple fathers, whereas single mothers did not. Furthermore, single mothers refrained from seeing a physician despite a medical need much more often (OR 2.07) than couple mothers. CONCLUSIONS: An uneven distribution of sociodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics might help us to understand why single parents, both mothers and fathers, have worse health than parents who live together. Previously recognized gender differences with regard to healthcare utilization were present in our study as well, and it is possible that these differences are related to the unequal distribution of sociodemographic and socioeconomic assets between single fathers and single mothers found here.     

Urinary pesticide concentrations among children, mothers and fathers living in farm and non-farm households in iowa

In the spring and summer of 2001, 47 fathers, 48 mothers and 117 children of Iowa farm and non-farm households were recruited to participate in a study investigating take-home pesticide exposure. On two occasions approximately 1 month apart, urine samples from each participant and dust samples from various rooms were collected from each household and were analyzed for atrazine, metolachlor, glyphosate and chlorpyrifos or their metabolites. The adjusted geometric mean (GM) level of the urine metabolite of atrazine was significantly higher in fathers, mothers and children from farm households compared with those from non-farm households (P < or = 0.0001). Urine metabolites of chlorpyrifos were significantly higher in farm fathers (P = 0.02) and marginally higher in farm mothers (P = 0.05) when compared with non-farm fathers and mothers, but metolachlor and glyphosate levels were similar between the two groups. GM levels of the urinary metabolites for chlorpyrifos, metolachlor and glyphosate were not significantly different between farm children and non-farm children. Farm children had significantly higher urinary atrazine and chlorpyrifos levels (P = 0.03 and P = 0.03 respectively) when these pesticides were applied by their fathers prior to sample collection than those of farm children where these pesticides were not recently applied. Urinary metabolite concentration was positively associated with pesticide dust concentration in the homes for all pesticides except atrazine in farm mothers; however, the associations were generally not significant. There were generally good correlations for urinary metabolite levels among members of the same family.