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Biomedical subjects

Linda H Bearinger

Publications and source records attributed to Linda H Bearinger.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Parental notification laws for minors' access to contraception: what do parents say?

BACKGROUND: Recent years have seen new challenges to laws protecting minors' confidential access to reproductive health services. Little research has explored parental views on the issue. OBJECTIVE: To examine parents' views about laws requiring parental notification (PNLs) when minor children seek to obtain prescription contraceptives, the exceptions parents would endorse, and the consequences they would expect. DESIGN: Fifteen-minute telephone surveys conducted in 2002. SETTING: Minnesota and Wisconsin. PARTICIPANTS: Population-based sample of 1069 parents of adolescents aged 13 to 17 years with a working telephone number. An additional 1095 eligible parents declined and 360 were not available to participate. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Views about PNLs ("Do you think a law requiring notification of parents when a teen requests birth control from a clinic is a good idea, a bad idea, or neither a good nor a bad idea?"). RESULTS: Of the eligible parents, 42.4% completed the survey. More than half (55.1%) of participants thought PNLs were a good idea. However, 96.1% of parents expected at least 1 negative consequence and 47.6% expected 5 or more negative consequences to result with the enactment of PNLs. For exceptions to PNLs, 85.5% of parents endorsed at least 1, and 29.7% endorsed 5 to 6. Each additional anticipated positive consequence of enacting PNLs was significantly associated with more than twice the odds of favoring PNLs (odds ratio [OR], 2.28), and each additional negative consequence was associated with lower odds of supporting PNLs (OR, 0.87). Likewise, each additional exception endorsed was associated with lower odds of supporting PNLs (OR, 0.71). CONCLUSIONS: Many parents hold complex views on the need for confidentiality and the appropriate involvement of parents in adolescent health care services. Educating parents about the potential negative consequences of parental notification could change their support of PNLs.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Violence perpetration among urban american Indian youth: can protection offset risk?

OBJECTIVE: To predict the likelihood of violence perpetration given various combinations of the most statistically salient risk and protective factors related to violence perpetration. DESIGN: Urban Indian Youth Health Survey, conducted from October 9, 1995, to March 30, 1998, consisting of 200 forced-choice items exploring values, cultural identity, relationships, decision-making skills, and health and well-being. SETTING: Urban schools and an after-school youth development program at an urban American Indian center. PARTICIPANTS: Five hundred sixty-nine urban American Indian youth enrolled in grades 3 through 12. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Violence perpetration dichotomized in 2 ways: (1) level of violence perpetration (ie, hitting someone 1-2 times in the past year vs picking fights, hitting repeatedly, participating in group fights, or shooting or stabbing someone in the past year) and (2) having shot and/or stabbed someone during the past year. RESULTS: In the final multivariate models with age as a covariate, most protective against violence perpetration were connections to school (odds ratio [OR], 0.17), positive affect (OR, 0.29), and peer prosocial behavior norms against violence (OR, 0.35). School connectedness (OR, 0.01) and positive affect (OR, 0.46) were also protective against shooting and/or stabbing someone, as was parental prosocial behavior norms against violence (OR, 0.23). The strongest risk factors for violence perpetration were substance use (OR, 2.60) and suicidal thoughts/behaviors (OR, 2.71); for shooting and/or stabbing, it was substance use (OR, 5.26). The likelihood of violence perpetration increased markedly (from 10% to 85%) as the exposure to risk factors increased and protective factors decreased. For shooting or stabbing someone, the probabilities ranged from 3% (0 risks and 3 protective factors) to 64% (1 risk and 0 protective factors). CONCLUSION: The dramatic reduction in the likelihood of violence involvement when risk was offset with protective factors in the probability profiles suggests the utility of a dual strategy of reducing risk while boosting protection.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Predicting adolescents' longitudinal risk for sexually transmitted infection: results from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.

BACKGROUND: Influencing adolescents' sexual behaviors has the potential to influence trajectories of risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among young adults. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether family, school, and individual factors associated with increased duration of virginity also protect against STIs in young adulthood. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. Wave I of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health occurred in 1995 when participants were in grades 7 through 12. Six years later, all wave I participants who could be located were invited to participate in wave III and provide a urine specimen for STI testing. SETTING: In-home interviews in the continental United States, Alaska, and Hawaii. PARTICIPANTS: Population-based sample. Of 18,924 participants in the nationally representative weighted wave I sample, 14,322 (75.7%) were located and participated in wave III. Test results for Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Trichomonas vaginalis were available for 11,594 (81.0%) of wave III participants. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Positive test result for C. trachomatis, N. gonorrhoeae, or T. vaginalis. RESULTS: Controlling for biological sex, age, race/ethnicity, family structure, and maternal education, adolescents who perceived that their parents more strongly disapproved of their having sex during adolescence were less likely to have STIs 6 years later (adjusted odds ratio, 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.81-0.99). Those with a higher grade point average during adolescence were also less likely to acquire STIs (adjusted odds ratio, 0.84; 95% confidence interval, 0.71-0.99). Stratified analyses confirmed these findings among female, but not male, adolescents. Feelings of connection to family or school, reported importance of religion, attending a parochial school, and pledges of virginity during adolescence did not predict STI status 6 years later. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived parental disapproval of sexual intercourse and higher grades in school during adolescence have protective influences on the trajectory of risk for acquiring STIs, primarily among female adolescents. Most factors associated with increased duration of virginity in adolescence do not influence the trajectory of STI risk.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Adolescent use of complementary therapies.

PURPOSE: Interest in alternative/complementary therapies (A/CTs) is on the rise, yet little is known about adolescents' use of A/CTs. The study purpose was to examine A/CT utilization patterns among a clinic-based sample of adolescents. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 401 adolescents, aged 12-18 years, was conducted in one Midwest urban adolescent ambulatory clinic in 2002. RESULTS: Overall, 68.1% of the adolescents reported using one or more A/CT; most commonly, herbal medicines (27.2%), massage therapy (26.7%), and megavitamins (21.7%). Use by friends and family was the primary influence for adolescent A/CT use; lack of familiarity was the greatest reason for nonuse (53.9%). Alleviation of physical pain (66.3%) was the most common desired health outcome. Few adolescents (13.8%) disclosed A/CT use to their health care providers. Insurance coverage was provided for 10.2% of the therapies and out-of-pocket costs averaged 67 dollars/month. Age, race/ethnicity, having a health condition, taking medications, health responsibility, and work status were associated with overall A/CT use in bivariate analyses. Of these, only associations between A/CT use and race/ethnicity and health responsibility remained statistically significant after adjusting for the other variables. CONCLUSIONS: Use of A/CTs was common among these adolescents, yet very few disclosed their use to health care providers. Providers must ask about A/CT use to gain a more complete understanding of health practices among adolescents in clinical settings. Future research is needed to better understand representative patterns of A/CT use.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Correlations between family meals and psychosocial well-being among adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between frequency of family meals and multiple indicators of adolescent health and well-being (tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use; academic performance; self-esteem; depressive symptoms; and suicide involvement) after controlling for family connectedness. METHODS: Data come from a 1998-1999 school-based survey of 4746 adolescents from ethnically and socioeconomically diverse communities in the Minneapolis/St Paul, Minn, metropolitan area. Logistic regression, controlling for family connectedness and sociodemographic variables, was used to identify relationships between family meals and adolescent health behaviors. RESULTS: Approximately one quarter (26.8%) of respondents ate 7 or more family meals in the past week, and approximately one quarter (23.1%) ate family meals 2 times or less. Frequency of family meals was inversely associated with tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use; low grade point average; depressive symptoms; and suicide involvement after controlling for family connectedness (odds ratios, 0.76-0.93). CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that eating family meals may enhance the health and well-being of adolescents. Public education on the benefits of family mealtime is recommended.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Measuring sexual orientation in adolescent health surveys: evaluation of eight school-based surveys.

PURPOSE: To examine the performance of various items measuring sexual orientation within 8 school-based adolescent health surveys in the United States and Canada from 1986 through 1999. METHODS: Analyses examined nonresponse and unsure responses to sexual orientation items compared with other survey items, demographic differences in responses, tests for response set bias, and congruence of responses to multiple orientation items; analytical methods included frequencies, contingency tables with Chi-square, and ANOVA with least significant differences (LSD)post hoc tests; all analyses were conducted separately by gender. RESULTS: In all surveys, nonresponse rates for orientation questions were similar to other sexual questions, but not higher; younger students, immigrants, and students with learning disabilities were more likely to skip items or select "unsure." Sexual behavior items had the lowest nonresponse, but fewer than half of all students reported sexual behavior, limiting its usefulness for indicating orientation. Item placement in the survey, wording, and response set bias all appeared to influence nonresponse and unsure rates. CONCLUSIONS: Specific recommendations include standardizing wording across future surveys, and pilot testing items with diverse ages and ethnic groups of teens before use. All three dimensions of orientation should be assessed where possible; when limited to single items, sexual attraction may be the best choice. Specific wording suggestions are offered for future surveys.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A national needs assessment of nurses providing health care to adolescents.

Nurses, as the largest group of health providers in the United States, and by virtue of their scope of practice, are in an important position to promote the health of adolescents. A national survey of nurse members of the American Public Health Association, the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates and Practitioners, and the National Association of School Nurses was conducted in 1997 (n = 520) and was compared with findings from a parallel survey conducted in 1985 that assessed perceived competence in addressing common adolescent health issues, relevance of those issues to nurses' practice, and leadership skills. Findings provided a hopeful yet cautious picture of nurses' competencies. Strong increases in the proportion of nurses who felt equipped to address common health problems of youth suggest improved adolescent health education among nurses. Yet, at least 25% of nurses indicated a low level of knowledge in half of the adolescent health areas, and, like 1985's nurses, most nurses in 1997 did not feel competent to address the needs of gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth. Several priority areas in Healthy People 2010 were considered by 25% or more of the nurses to be irrelevant to their practice, including smoking cessation, suicide, violence, and pregnancy. The task remains to assure that all nurses who work with adolescents are equipped to respond to their diverse and unique health needs.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Parents' beliefs about condoms and oral contraceptives: are they medically accurate?

CONTEXT: Parents are encouraged to be the primary sex educators for their children; however, little is known about the accuracy of parents' views about condoms and oral contraceptives. METHODS: Telephone surveys using validated measures provided data on beliefs about the effectiveness, safety and usability of condoms and the pill among 1,069 parents of 13-17-year-olds in Minnesota and Wisconsin in 2002. Pearson chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression models were used to compare beliefs according to sex, age, race, religion, education, income and political orientation. RESULTS: Substantial proportions of parents underestimated the effectiveness of condoms for preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Only 47% believed that condoms are very effective for STD prevention, and 40% for pregnancy prevention. Fifty-two percent thought that pill use prevents pregnancy almost all the time; 39% thought that the pill is very safe. Approximately one-quarter of parents thought that most teenagers are capable of using condoms correctly; almost four in 10 thought that most teenagers can use the pill correctly. Fathers tended to have more accurate views about condoms than mothers did; mothers' views of the pill were generally more accurate than fathers'. Whites were more likely than nonwhites to hold accurate beliefs about the pill's safety and effectiveness; conservatives were less likely than liberals to hold accurate views about the effectiveness of condoms. CONCLUSION: Campaigns encouraging parents to talk with their teenagers about sexuality should provide parents with medically accurate information on the effectiveness, safety and usability of condoms and the pill.

Adolescent↗