The incidence of bulimic behavior in a secondary and University school population

A survey questionnaire was instructor administered to high school and university students (n=1500) to assess the incidence of bulimic behavior. The questionnaire was tested and found to be a reliable and valid index for bulimic symptomatology. Respondents included 59% high school and 41% university level students. Data was evaluated by school, grade, sex, race, and interest area. Bulimic behavior was demonstrated at an incidence of 4.30% for the total sample. There was a nonsignificant higher incidence found in university (5.31%) compared to high school (3.98%) respondents. A significantly greater percentage of females responded with bulimic behavior than did males; however, there were no significant differences found between university and high school females. Bulimic behavior appeared to peak at Grades 11 and 13. Significantly more whites reported bulimic behavior than did blacks. Several academic interest areas not previously indicated in the literature may be more vulnerable to bulimic behavior.Received her Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, M.P.H. from School of Public Health, University of North Carolina. Major interest is eating disorders.Received his Ph.D. from North Carolina State University. His major interest is statistical design and evaluation of Experiment Station projects.     

Incidence and correlates of bulimic behavior in a female high school population

To investigate the incidence and correlates of bulimic behavior, 1268 high school females were surveyed. A 47-item questionnaire was used to identify a group of students that would meet the DSM-III criteria for a probable diagnosis of bulimia. Students were then compared across the four content areas of demographics; body perception and weight information; dieting, exercise and menstrual behavior; and frequency of bingeing and purging behavior. Results indicated that 4.9% of the students met rigorous criteria for the diagnosis of bulimia. Between-group comparisons indicated that body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, and chronicity of dieting differentiated the two groups.This work was supported by Biomedical Research Grant #RR5476, the Sears Allstate Foundation, and the George and Tina Barr Foundation.Main interest is eating disorders.     

Educational correlates of adolescents' sexual attitudes and behavior

Parents' educational attainment is known to be related to their children's educational aspirations and plans, and these variables have been presumed to be inversely related to early adolescent sexual activity. Relationships between these educational variables and adolescents' sexual attitudes and behavior were analyzed in a sample of 810 high school students from two Western states. Parents' educational background was positively related to adolescents' educational plans and performance, and these educational variables were inversely related to adolescents' premarital sexual attitudes and intercourse experience. It seems most plausible to conclude that parents' educational backgrounds affect children's educational interests and grades, which, in turn, affect adolescent sexuality. However, the observed associations also could be interpreted to suggest that early sexual behavior reduces adolescents' educational plans and lowers their school grades.The data analyzed here were collected as part of a prevention demonstration grant (APH 003-6-01-0) awarded to Terrance D. Olson by the Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs. This paper is based on the master's thesis of the second author.Received Ph.D. in Family Sociology from the University of Minnesota. Research interests concern the antecedents and consequences of early adolescent sexual behavior.Received a master's degree from the Department of Family and Human Development at Utah State University. Interested in the problem behaviors of young teenagers.     

Family communication and the sexual behavior and attitudes of college students

Ninety-five college students and both of their parents completed questionnaires that measured sexual attitudes, sexual behavior, general family communication, and parent-child communication about sex. Generally, parents and children from high sexual communication families had sexual attitudes that were significantly correlated whereas those from low sexual communication families did not, although this relationship was not apparent for fathers and daughters. The quality of family communication seemed unrelated to the extent of family sexual discussions, although the parents' reports on the quality of general family communication was significantly related to sexual inexperience, particularly for males. Contraceptive use for females was significantly related to the extent of parent-child communication about sex reported by the student. General family communication as well as parent-child discussion about sex both seem important factors in the study of family impact on sexuality.Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Georgia. Current research interest is parent-child communication about sex.     

Drinking behavior,drinking attitudes,and attachment relationship of adolescents

In this article the connection between the drinking behavior and drinking attitudes of adolescents in relation to their attachment relationship with their parents is examined. The Family Episode Rating Task (FERT) was used, which was developed to measure the attachment relationship; it measures four patterns of parent-adolescent attachment. An Alcohol Questionnaire was used to measure the quantity and frequency of alcohol use, the amount of problem drinking, and the drinking attitudes of adolescents. It was hypothesized that anxiously attached adolescents have a greater risk of developing damaging drinking habits. One hundred sixty-one adolescents participated, all of them students in Grades 7, 9, and 11 of a high school. By means of an analysis of variance it was demonstrated that the Attitude scale's drinking to facilitate social contact was significantly related to the quality of the attachment relationship with the parents: this reason for drinking was mentioned most frequently among adolescents who were anxiously attached.Received Ph.D. at the same university. Currently studying psychological aspects of excessive alcohol intake.Received Ph.D. at the Catholic University, Nijmegen. Currently involved in stress management training.     

Abortion research: attitudes,sexual behavior,and problems in a community college population

One hundred fifty community college students, 95% Caucasian, were surveyed regarding their attitudes toward abortion, their sexual behavior, and their problems. Although 70% of the students were raised Catholic, 82% supported abortion choice. Eighty-six percent had engaged in premarital sex, 70% used contraception, and 26% had premarital pregnancies. When anti-abortion students were compared with pro-abortion students, they had more religiosity, believed that abortion was murder, were more punitive toward the woman and medical personnel involved, were less sexually active, and less likely to know someone who had an abortion. Many students had a history of, and were currently experiencing, serious problems, especially the females.Received Ph.D. in psychology from Tufts University. Research interests include gender development and abuse.Received C.A.S. in school psychology from Harvard University. Research interests include corporal punishment and battered wives.     

Contraceptive embarrassment and contraceptive behavior among young single women

The objective of this paper was to determine factors predictive of contraceptive embarrassment and to determine the relationship of contraceptive embarrassment to contraceptive use among young unmarried females. Contraceptive embarrassment was measured by an eight-item scale (a=0.88]. Data were obtained from 265 nonvirgin high school and university females who were currently dating. Using simple multiple regression, 30% of the variance of the embarrassment scale was explained, with the most important predictors being parental attitude to premarital intercourse and sexual guilt. Other significant predictors were attitude to planning ahead to use contraception, perveived difficulty in obtaining contraceptive devices, and peer attitudes toward premarital intercourse. The embarrassment scale had significant correlations with contraceptive use.Sponsorship from Health and Welfare Canada through Family Planning Grant No. 4470-5-10 provided for the data collection, and sponsorship from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, DH&W, Contract No. N01-HD-92809 provided for the data analysis.Received his Ph.D. from Department of Sociology, Iowa State University and is interested in the sociology of adolescence, particularly dating, sexual relations, and use of contraception.     

Risky Sexual Behavior: A Race-specific Social Consequence of Obesity

Scant attention has been given to the consequence of actual weight status for adolescents’ sexual wellbeing. In this article, we investigate the race-specific connection between obesity and risky sexual behavior among adolescent girls. Propensity scores and radius matching are used to analyze a sample of 340 adolescents aged 16–17 who participated in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Young Adult Survey in 2000 or 2002. Nearly even numbers of these participants identified as white and black (183 and 157, respectively). We find that compared to their non-obese white peers, obese white adolescent girls exhibit higher rates of multiple sex partners and sex with older partners, and are also less likely to use condoms. None of these factors are significantly related to high BMI within the black sample. These findings indicate that the negative social consequences of obesity extend beyond future economic and marriage outcomes to adolescent white women’s sexual outcomes. They also highlight the importance of context: the implications of being obese during adolescence depend on cultural meanings of obesity.     

Public toilet provision for women in Britain : An investigation of discrimination against urination

This article investigates the problem of the inadequate and unequal nature of public toilet provision in Britain, where men are required under current statutory to be provided with almost twice more provision than women. The cultural and urological attitudes which legitimate this situation are investigated with reference to medical, sociological, town planning, building, and plumbing literature. It is found that “women's toilets” are a topic which does not quite fit into the jurisdiction of either medical or municipal authorities, although the issue should be seen as a key component of any preventative, public health programme, as was the case in Victorian and Edwardian times. But the need for better facilities is generally not taken seriously by the predominantly male committees who set provision standards. Recommendations are made for the amelioration of the situation by means of introducing mandatory enlightened standards operated through zoning compliance procedures within the town planning system.     

Delinquent behaviors and male adolescent development: A preliminary study

Commonly identified developmental tasks of male adolescence were examined for their relationship to delinquent behavior during adolescence among a general sample of 11-to 18-year-old males (N=337). Evaluations of the prevalence and mean level of delinquent acts across the age groups confirms previous suggestions that delinquent behavior follows the adolescent years quite closely. Measures of three primary developmental domains—family relations, social relations, and educational/vocational orientations—were taken and correlated with delinquent behavior across three substages of adolescence. The patterns of correlations suggest there is support for the view that a substantial portion of delinquent behavior is tied to struggles with adolescent development tasks.This work was conducted while the author was a Clinical Research Training Fellow in Adolescence (funded by T32 MH 14668) at the Institute for Psychosomatic and Psychiatric Research and Training, Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center, in a program also sponsored by the Departments of Behavioral Science and Psychiatry, University of Chicago and the Adolescent Program of the Illinois State Psychiatric Institute. It is based, in part, on a presentation made at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, August 1985.Dr. Tolan received his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Tennessee in 1983. Primary research interests are delinquency, prevention, and families.     

Sexual Minority-Related Victimization as a Mediator of Mental Health Disparities in Sexual Minority Youth: A Longitudinal Analysis

Sexual minority youth (youth who are attracted to the same sex or endorse a gay/lesbian/bisexual identity) report significantly higher rates of depression and suicidality than heterosexual youth. The minority stress hypothesis contends that the stigma and discrimination experienced by sexual minority youth create a hostile social environment that can lead to chronic stress and mental health problems. The present study used longitudinal mediation models to directly test sexual minority-specific victimization as a potential explanatory mechanism of the mental health disparities of sexual minority youth. One hundred ninety-seven adolescents (14–19 years old; 70 % female; 29 % sexual minority) completed measures of sexual minority-specific victimization, depressive symptoms, and suicidality at two time points 6 months apart. Compared to heterosexual youth, sexual minority youth reported higher levels of sexual minority-specific victimization, depressive symptoms, and suicidality. Sexual minority-specific victimization significantly mediated the effect of sexual minority status on depressive symptoms and suicidality. The results support the minority stress hypothesis that targeted harassment and victimization are partly responsible for the higher levels of depressive symptoms and suicidality found in sexual minority youth. This research lends support to public policy initiatives that reduce bullying and hate crimes because reducing victimization can have a significant impact on the health and well-being of sexual minority youth.     

Sexual risk behavior,knowledge, and condom use among adolescents in juvenile detention

This paper reports on sexual behavior, knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases (including AIDS) and condoms, and condom use among African-American and white incarcerated adolescents in Seattle, Washington. One hundred nineteen adolescents in a juvenile detention facility completed questionnaires that assessed their lifetime and recent sexual behaviors, an objective test of disease and condom knowledge, attitudes and norms regarding condom use with steady and casual partners, prior condom use, and intentions to use condoms. The results indicate that these adolescents are at high risk by a number of indicators: They have a high average number of partners, have unprotected vaginal and anal sex, and many have sex with known or suspected drug users. Their overall knowledge of condoms and sexual transmitted diseases risks is high, but high knowledge is not correlated with positive attitudes; for one attitude measure, high knowledge is significantly correlated with negative attitudes toward condom use. These findings suggest that programs designed solely to increase knowledge are unlikely to effect behavior change.This research presented in this paper was supported by a research grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.Received Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Washington. Research interests are in sexual decision making and attitude-behavior relationships.Received Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of Washington. Research interests are in sexual behavior and health.Received Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Washington. Research interests are in problem behaviors of adolescence.     

Family Cohesion and Romantic and Sexual Initiation: A Three Wave Longitudinal Study

Although the relation between family relationships and the timing of sexual debut has been the focus of many studies, research on mediating factors is scarce. This study examines whether low levels of family cohesion result in an earlier onset of romantic and sexual experiences, and whether the link between family cohesion and an early sexual debut is mediated by early romantic initiation. A longitudinal sample of 314 adolescent girls and 222 boys, aged 12–17 at Wave 1, completed questionnaires at three measurement points with three year intervals. The results showed that sexual debut followed romantic initiation for 77% of the participants. For early adolescent females (aged 12–14), high levels of family cohesion resulted in a later sexual debut and this association was fully mediated by a delay of romantic initiation. Among boys and older girls, timing of romantic initiation did not mediate the link between family cohesion and timing of sexual initiation. Early adolescent girls who have negative relationships with their parents turn to romantic relationships for intimacy and support, which subsequently provide the opportunity for an early sexual debut. Low levels of family cohesion thus primarily precipitate romantic initiation and sexual initiation appears to be secondary to this process among girls in this age group.     

Cognitive development,egocentrism, self-esteem,and adolescent contraceptive knowledge,attitudes, and behavior

The relationship of cognitive development, egocentrism, and self-esteem to adolescent contraceptive knowledge, attitudes, and behavior was investigated in 300 high school and college students (101 males and 199 females) 14-19 years old. There was general support for the study's hypothesis that students with higher levels of cognitive development and self-esteem and lower egocentrism would be more knowledgeable about contraception, be more likely to use birth control, and have more positive attitudes about contraception. Cognitive development was positively associated with all of the knowledge variables and with self-reported condom use. Self-esteem was linked to two of the four knowledge variables, self-reported condom use, and positive attitudes toward contraception. There was an inverse relationship between egocentrism and contraceptive use, but, contrary to expectations, a positive association between egocentrism and knowledge of contraceptive effectiveness. Gender-specific analyses revealed that male students had significantly higher scores than females on the cognitive development and self-esteem measures, while female students scored higher on items measuring knowledge of contraceptive methods and attitudes toward their use. The association of cognitive development with knowledge variables suggests that the ability of adolescents to retain information is related to their capacity to reason and generate alternatives. Overall, these findings suggest a need for attention to the goodness of fit between sex education curricula and the level of cognitive development of the intended audience.