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Biomedical subjects

D Quadagno

Publications and source records attributed to D Quadagno.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Biosocial aspects of domestic violence.

Domestic violence, defined as acts of verbal abuse and physical violence performed against women by current intimate main partners, was surveyed by means of the Conflict Tactics Scale. We examined the relationships between a biological variable (testosterone level), social variables (demographics, social integration), and behaviour (substance use) and self-reported domestic violence. Forced-entry OLS regression models allowed us to study how social and behavioural variables modified the effects of testosterone on this specific violent behaviour. The sample consisted of 54 men who had a main sexual partner and who identified themselves as Black, White, or Hispanic. The men were recruited from various social-service-agency sites in the area of Miami, Florida, on the basis of their risk factors for HIV/AIDS. The sample can best be described as culturally diverse men of low socioeconomic status who had a main sexual partner. A high percentage of participants reported some level of both verbal and physical aggression towards their partners. Testosterone levels were significantly associated with levels of both verbal aggression and physical violence self-reported by the men. Testosterone level, demographic characteristics, and alcohol consumption contributed to explaining the variance in self-reported verbal and physical abuse. The high heritability of testosterone level and its association with violent behaviour warrant the inclusion of this variable in studies of antisocial and criminal behaviour including domestic violence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Ethnic differences in sexual decisions and sexual behavior.

Previous investigators have reported ethnic differences in the expression of sexual decision making and sexual behaviors in women. In a sample of women of low socioeconomic status between ages 18 and 45, we examined the influence of ethnicity and other variables (age, education, marital status, and comfort in discussing sex) on (i) who makes decisions on the timing and type of sex, (ii) whether a woman engages in vaginal, oral, and anal sex, (iii) the frequencies of each type of sex, and (iv) whether or not a woman has multiple partners. Multivariate analyses showed that, independent of other independent variables, ethnicity had little direct effect on most variables. The notable exception was that ethnicity influenced joint decision making regarding the timing and type of sexual activities for Hispanic but not for African American women. We conclude that ethnicity contributes to differences in sexual behaviors but that other variables are equally important.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Children's AIDS-related knowledge and attitudes: variations by grade, race, gender, socioeconomic status, and size of community.

Variations of AIDS-related beliefs by grade, race, gender, socioeconomic status, and size of the community were examined for a diverse group of elementary school children (n = 609). Consistent with prior research, beliefs about HIV transmission and willingness to interact with persons with AIDS increased across grades 1 to 5. Black children living in rural communities held most misconceptions about AIDS and, relative to white peers, black children were more reluctant to interact with persons with AIDS (PWA). Support for more negative attitudes toward PWA among boys was also found. Knowledge of transmission mediated grade and sex differences in willingness to interact, but not race differences. Implications of results for AIDS prevention programs are discussed, along with directions for future research.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1997

Magic Johnson and children's conceptions of AIDS.

Longitudinal data for a heterogeneous sample of 609 elementary school children are used to assess the long-term effects of Magic Johnson's announcement on children's HIV and AIDS conceptions. Four hypotheses are tested concerning these relationships, and background variables measured prior to Johnson's announcement are controlled. Findings suggest that Johnson's announcement increased children's HIV and AIDS knowledge and reduced their prejudice toward a hypothetical child with AIDS. No relationship is evident between the announcement and perceived vulnerability to HIV and AIDS. Males are more likely to be aware of Johnson's announcement, but its effects are more pronounced among blacks. Findings from the present research affirm the potential for celebrities like Johnson in HIV and AIDS education campaigns directed toward children.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1996

Assessing children's conceptions of AIDS.

Assessed intuitive theories of AIDS transmission through clinical method interviews in a cross-sectional design for a sample of 205 1st; 195 3rd; and 208 5th-grade students, balanced by sex and race (black/white). Analyses of relationships between the types of theories children held and their responses to closed-end questions about transmission and willingness to interact with a person with AIDS supported the validity of the interview method. Grade differences were noted for knowledge of high-risk routes, rejection of misconceptions, and cohesiveness and complexity of children's theories. Theories also differed by race and verbal abilities. Implications for most appropriate ways to assess children's understanding of illnesses and directions for future research are discussed.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1995

Early childhood differentials in mother-child AIDS-information interaction.

To date there have been no systematic inquiries into 1) the extent of parent-child AIDS interaction; or 2) the factors that influence whether young children and their parents talk about AIDS. In our sample, from a medium-sized Southern metropolitan area, 70 percent of mothers of children in the first, third, and fifth grades said they had talked to their child about AIDS, but only 41 percent of the mothers said their child had asked them questions about AIDS. Fourteen hypotheses about factors which might influence mother-child AIDS interaction are derived from the health/sex socialization literature. In the process of testing these bivariate hypotheses it is shown that, although sons and daughters are equally likely to ask their mother questions about AIDS, mothers are more likely to talk to their daughters than their sons about AIDS. This pattern maintains even after controls are introduced. It is suggested that discussing AIDS with young children as a health issue rather than waiting until adolescence and discussing it as a sex issue may be a more effective socialization route. Mothers may be able to do this with young daughters in the context of women's health, but because most AIDS education for adults generally is sex- rather than health-oriented they may lack the knowledge and framework to do this with their sons.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1992

Young children's awareness, knowledge, and beliefs about AIDS: observations from a pretest.

Starting from the assumption that AIDS education can be most effective when initiated prior to the age when AIDS risk behaviors emerge, a number of researchers and public health officials have advocated AIDS education for preadolescents. Yet there have been few published reports assessing children's awareness, knowledge, and attitudes about AIDS and persons with AIDS. In this paper, basic data are presented for each of these dimensions broken down by race, gender, and grade. The data suggest that, although many students are aware of AIDS by the first grade, it is not until the fifth grade that nearly all students are aware of the existence of the disease. Over all, nearly 44% of the students who know about the disease believe that they or someone they know will get it. Students in the fifth grade have a higher level of AIDS knowledge than those in the first grade, but even the former are relatively uniformed and have a number of misconceptions about the disease and persons with it. Children's attitudes reflect confusion and some anxiety over AIDS and the treatment of persons with it. Some significant race and gender differentials are noted.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1984

Sex differences in sexual needs and desires.

Female and male responses on attitudes toward foreplay prior to sexual intercourse, sexual intercourse, and afterplay following sexual intercourse, were compared. Foreplay was defined as the sexual activity that occurs before sexual intercourse, whereas afterplay was defined as the interaction such as hugging, holding, talking, and so forth that occurs after sexual intercourse. The subjects were 39 men and 49 women students enrolled in various courses at the University of Kansas. The mean age of the men was 22.1 years, while the women averaged 21.0 years. A voluntary questionnaire was given to the students, and they were asked to fill it out at home and return it during the next class meeting. The results indicated that there were significant sex differences in sexual needs and desires. When given a choice between foreplay, intercourse, and afterplay, women indicated that foreplay was the most important part of a sexual encounter, while men felt intercourse was the most important aspect. Women also indicated that they wanted to spend more time in foreplay, as well as more time in afterplay, than did men. It is concluded from this study that women are more likely than men to report enjoying both foreplay and afterplay more than intercourse, while men are more likely to report enjoying intercourse.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Relationship dynamics, ethnicity and condom use among low-income women.

CONTEXT: Women's protection against HIV and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) depends upon their ability to negotiate safer sex. It is important to know how cultural norms and gender roles, which vary by ethnicity, may either constrain or encourage negotiation of condom use. METHODS: Questionnaires were completed by 393 low-income non-Hispanic black, Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women who were sexually active and attending family planning and STD clinics and other public health and social service centers in Miami in 1994 and 1995. Multivariate logit techniques were used to identify ethnic differences in relationship dynamics and to determine couple- and individual-level factors associated with consistent use, occasional use or nonuse of condoms. RESULTS: Black and Hispanic women reported higher levels of consistent condom use (15-17%) than did white women (4%). Nearly all black and white women (90-95%) said that they were extremely or somewhat comfortable talking about condoms with their partner, whereas 76% of Hispanic women did so. A larger proportion of Hispanic women (55%) reported joint contraceptive decision-making than did black women (26%) or white women (31%). Among women who reported that their partner made contraceptive decisions, 28% used condoms consistently or occasionally, compared with 24% among women who made the decision themselves. When the couple made the decision jointly, 41% of them were condom users. Hispanic women scored the lowest on a scale of condom-related self-efficacy, yet also reported the highest levels of confidence in their condom negotiating skills. Multivariate analysis indicated that, compared with white women, black and Hispanic women were more likely to be consistent condom users than nonusers (odds ratios, 10.2 and 18.9, respectively). Women who shared financial decision-making with their partner were almost 80% less likely to be a consistent condom user, and women who did not participate in financial decisions were more than 90% less likely to do so, than were women who made monetary decisions independently. CONCLUSIONS: HIV prevention and intervention programs should emphasize birth control discussion between partners and the development of condom-related self-efficacy and negotiation skills, and these programs also should customize prevention messages according to ethnicity and social context.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The association between substance use, condom use and sexual risk among low-income women.

Substance use is frequently assumed to be associated with higher levels of sexual risk-taking and lower levels of condom use. An analysis of 668 black, Hispanic and white low-income women at public health and public assistance facilities in Miami show that 19% engaged in risky sexual behavior over the preceding six months, 24% in substance use and 31% in condom use. Overall, substance users are nearly four and one-half times more likely to take sexual risks than nonusers, but are about half as likely to have relied on condoms. When the probability of condom use is considered in the context of both substance use and sexual risk, substance users who take sexual risks appear just as likely to rely on condoms as are nonusers who take sexual risks and those who do not (odds of 0.43-0.49). However, substance users who do not take sexual risks are much less likely to use condoms (odds of 0.15). This pattern holds among black, Hispanic and white women, and suggests that perceptions of risk and the risks that partners bring to sexual encounters may be more important determinants of condom use than substance use per se.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Factors associated with use of the female condom.

Black, Hispanic and white women recruited for an HIV prevention intervention were instructed in the use of the female condom and encouraged to try the device. Of the 231 women who completed the intervention, 29% tried the condom over the course of a month; 30% of those who tried it used it during at least half of their sexual encounters. Both ethnicity and age were associated with trying the device: Nearly 40% of black women and 30% of Hispanic women did so, compared with 18% of white women; 37% of those aged 25-34 tried the female condom, compared with 22% of women younger than 25. Trying the device was more likely among women living with a partner, those with a history of sexually transmitted disease infection, women who had had an HIV test, those who did not believe that the method afforded them a greater degree of overall control than did the male condom and those who had no prior knowledge of the device. Among women who used the device during at least half of their sexual encounters, 27% were black and 44% were Hispanic: 38% were younger than 25, and 43% were single. More regular users were about half as likely as less regular users to experience difficulty with insertion and one-eighth as likely to report the device slipping during use; they were more likely than less regular users to report that sex was more pleasurable with the female condom than with the male condom.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Dual-method use among an ethnically diverse group of women at risk of HIV infection.

CONTEXT: Few U.S. women protect themselves against both pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) by using an efficient contraceptive method and a condom. Understanding the factors that influence dual-method use could help improve interventions aimed at encouraging protective behaviors. METHODS: Interviews were conducted with 552 low-income women at risk of HIV who attended public health or economic assistance facilities in Miami in 1994 and 1995. Multinomial logit analyses were used to determine the influence of women's background characteristics, perceived vulnerability to pregnancy and AIDS, and relationship characteristics on the odds of dual-method use. RESULTS: Overall, 20% of the women used dual methods. Women who were not married, who worried about both pregnancy and AIDS, who had ever had an STD, who were confident they could refuse a sexual encounter in the absence of a condom and who made family planning decisions jointly with their partner were the most likely to use dual methods rather than a single method (odds ratios, 2.0-3.5); those who considered the condom only somewhat effective in preventing AIDS or who shared economic decision-making with their partner were the least likely to use dual methods rather than a single method (0.5-0.6). The results were generally similar in analyses examining the odds of dual-method use involving an efficient contraceptive, except that black and Hispanic women were significantly more likely than whites to use condoms in conjunction with efficient contraceptives (3.3-7.1). CONCLUSIONS: Both women's individual characteristics and the context of their sexual relationships influence whether they simultaneously protect themselves from pregnancy and HIV. The involvement of male partners in family planning decision-making and women's control over economic decision-making ensure greater protection against HIV infection.

Adolescent↗