Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Perceptions Of Peer Sexual Behavior: Do Adolescents Believe In A Sexual Double Standard?, Michael Young, Susan Cardenas, Joseph Donnelly, Mark J. Kittleson

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

BACKGROUND

The purpose of the study was to (1) examine attitudes of adolescents toward peer models having sex or choosing abstinence, and (2) determine whether a “double standard” in perception existed concerning adolescent abstinence and sexual behavior.

METHODS

Adolescents (N = 173) completed questionnaires that included 1 of 6 randomly assigned vignettes that described male and female peer models 3 ways: (1) no information about model's sexual behavior, (2) model in love but choosing abstinence, and (3) model in love and having sex. Participants read the vignette to which they had been assigned and responded to statements about the peer …

‘Because I Don’T Know’: Uncertainty And Ambiguity In Closed-Ended Reports Of Perceived Discrimination In Us Health Care, Chih-Yuan Lee, Amy Irby-Shasanmi

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Objective

Surveys often ask respondents to assess discrimination in health care. Yet, patients’ responses to one type of widely used measure of discrimination (single-item, personally mediated) tend to reveal prevalence rates lower than observational studies would suggest. This study examines the meaning behind respondents’ closed-ended self-reports on this specific type of measure, paying special attention to the frameworks and references used within the medical setting.

Design

Twenty-nine respondents participated in this study. They were asked the widely used question: ‘Within the past 12 months when seeking health care do you feel your experiences were worse than, the same as, or …

Young People’S Perceptions Of Advice About Sexual Risk Taking, Christopher Donoghue, Consuelo Bonillas, Jennifer Moreno, Melissa Cheung

Department of Sociology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Sexual and reproductive health indicators for young people in the USA have improved in recent decades, but teenage pregnancies remain high, and large differences between Whites and non-Whites persist in teenage births, abortions, and the acquisition of sexually transmitted infections. Prior research shows that young people are receptive to communication about sex from parents and friends, but peers have been found to be more influential on sexual risk taking. In this study of 617 young people aged 13–20 years in high-risk neighbourhoods for teenage pregnancy in New Jersey, we asked whether sexually inexperienced young people differed from sexually experienced young …

Technology And Opportunity: People With Serious Mental Illness And Social Connection, Lisa Townsend, Allison Zippay, Kyle Caler, Bradley Forenza

Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Objective: Little information exists regarding how individuals with serious mental illness use technology and whether this usage facilitates social connections. This study contributes to filling this knowledge gap by examining ways in which a sample of persons with serious mental illness use cell phones and the Internet. Methods: Interviews with 50 consumers living in supported housing were asked about their use of cell phones and computers and their perceptions of social connections. Results: Cell phones and computers allowed greater linkage with social, medical, mental health, and employment resources. Nearly all obtained phones through publicly funded programs. “Running out of minutes” …

Inequitable Chronic Lead Exposure: A Dual Legacy Of Social And Environmental Injustice, Tamara Leech, Elizabeth A. Adams, Tess D. Weathers, Lisa K. Staten, Gabriel M. Filippelli

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Both historic and contemporary factors contribute to the current unequal distribution of lead in urban environments and the disproportionate impact lead exposure has on the health and well-being of low-income minority communities. We consider the enduring impact of lead through the lens of environmental justice, taking into account well-documented geographic concentrations of lead, legacy sources that produce chronic exposures, and intergenerational transfers of risk. We discuss the most promising type of public health action to address inequitable lead exposure and uptake: primordial prevention efforts that address the most fundamental causes of diseases by intervening in structural and systemic inequalities.

Breastfeeding: The Illusion Of Choice, Yeon Bai, Lauren Dinour

Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Scholarship and Creative Works

Background

Breastfeeding is frequently described as a woman's decision, yet this choice is often illusionary owing to suboptimal social and structural supports. Despite the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010) that requires all qualifying employers to provide mothers “reasonable” break time and a private, non-bathroom space to express breast milk, the majority of women in the United States still do not have access to both accommodations.

The Problem

At least three issues may be influencing this suboptimal implementation at workplaces: 1) federal law does not address lactation space functionality and accessibility, 2) federal law only …

Relationships Between Delinquency And Substance Use Among Adolescents Emancipating From Foster Care, Svetlana Shpiegel, Jamey J. Lister, Richard Isralowitz

Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Adolescents emancipating from foster care exhibit high rates of both delinquency and substance use, although it is less clear how these behaviors relate to one another. We aimed to examine the reciprocal relationships between these risk behaviors while accounting for relevant child welfare factors. We use data from the Multi-Site Evaluation of Foster Youth Programs to explore longitudinal associations between delinquent behaviors and substance use (tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana) among youths ages 17 and 18 (N = 429). Delinquency at age 17 was a positive predictor of substance use at age 18, after controlling for baseline use of substances. …