Adolescent males,fatherhood, and abortion

The event of elective abortion to terminate unplanned pregnancies brought to the fore and allowed exploration of issues of fatherliness normally latent and, therefore, not observable in adolescence. This is consistent with the psychoanalytic view that fatherly development is an ongoing process begun long before actual parenthood, encompassing an array of conflicts and themes which are conscious to varying degrees in different developmental stages. Issues expressed by the group of adolescent boys studied were compared with those described in the psychoanalytic literature. Most prominent were regressive wishes for nurturance, competition with one's own father, and efforts to meet paternal ego ideals of maturity and responsibility. Parturition envy and strivings for immortality through offspring were not expressed in this group. Themes of fatherliness were not exclusive; they became intertwined with normal tasks of adolescence and individual dynamics as is illustrated with a clinical case.Received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University. Research interests include parenthood, child development, and child psychopathology.     

The correlates of the initiation of sexual intercourse among young urban black females

We explored the factors associated with the initiation of early sexual activity among a group of black urban young female adolescents (N=53) considered at-risk by virtue of their residence in poor urban communities with high rates of infant mortality and adolescent pregnancy. Six of the adolescents were nonvirgins at the pretest; 12 young women made the transition from virginity to nonvirginity between the pretest and posttest (Spring 1984 to Spring 1985). Using multivariable logistic regression, we found the three most important correlates of the initiation of early sexual intercourse to be mother's educational level, being the daughter of a teenage mother, and the school attended by the adolescent. While each of these factors might be considered markers of socioeconomic status, their independent relationship to the initiation of early sexual intercourse implies that each represents a unique phenomenon. These factors may reflect particular experiences and values maintained by individual families and communities and may distinguish a high-risk subgroup within an at-risk population.Received Dr.P.H. from the University of Illinois School of Public Health. Her major interest is in maternal and child health status and service utilization.