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Biomedical subjects

M D Resnick

Publications and source records attributed to M D Resnick.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

The association of consensual sexual intercourse during childhood with adolescent health risk and behaviors.

OBJECTIVE: The association of childhood sexual intercourse, excluding sexual abuse, with adolescent health and risk behaviors was examined using the urban component of a statewide study on adolescent health, risky behaviors, and resiliency factors. METHODOLOGY: A specialized cohort design was used to derive a two-group sample. Index cases consisted of all adolescents who indicated that they had first intercourse at or before age 10 years, and controls were adolescents who either had not yet had intercourse or had done so at age 16 years or older. To avoid confounding with issues of sexual abuse, all adolescents who also indicated a history of sexual abuse on the survey were removed from the analysis, so that the comparison could focus on health and behavioral correlates of respondents who did not define their childhood sexual intercourse as constituting abuse. Comparisons were conducted separately for girls and boys. RESULTS: A significantly greater proportion of index cases than controls indicated problem substance use by parents, poor school performance, gang involvement, frequent and unprotected sexual intercourse, history of pregnancy involvement, desire to leave the home, history of mental health treatment, emotional distress, and suicidal involvement. Logistic regression revealed significant group differences including academic risk, gang involvement, frequency of sexual intercourse, and history of mental health treatment. Correct group classification with the logit model was approximately 90% for both girls and boys. CONCLUSIONS: The results underscore the importance of childhood sexual intercourse as an indicator of other health-compromising behaviors and risk factors. Clinicians should be alert to this clustering of risk behaviors in their psychosocial assessment of young people.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

The impact of caring and connectedness on adolescent health and well-being.

This study of over 36,000 7th-12th grade students focused on protective factors against the quietly disturbed and acting out behaviours, which together represent the major social morbidities of adolescence. Multivariate models developed separately for girls and boys repeatedly demonstrated the protective function of caring and connectedness in the lives of youth, particularly a sense of connectedness to family and to school. A sense of spirituality, as well as low family stress (referring to poverty, unemployment, substance use and domestic violence) also functioned as protective factors. Measures of caring and connectedness surpassed demographic variables such as two parent vs single parent family structure as protective factors against high risk behaviours. Interventions for youth at-risk must critically examine the ways in which opportunities for a sense of belonging may be fostered, particularly among youth who do not report any significant caring relationships in their lives with adults.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

American Indian--Alaska Native youth health.

OBJECTIVE: To assess risk behaviors, health problems, worries and concerns, and resiliency-promoting factors among American Indian-Alaska Native adolescents. DESIGN: Survey. SETTING: Nonurban schools from eight Indian Health Service areas. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 13,454 seventh- through 12th-grade American Indian-Alaska Native youths. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: revised version of the Adolescent Health Survey, a comprehensive, anonymous, self-report questionnaire with 162 items addressing 10 dimensions of health. RESULTS: Poor physical health was reported by 2% of the study sample and was significantly correlated with social risk factors of physical and/or sexual abuse, suicide attempts, substance abuse, poor school performance, and nutritional inadequacies. Injury risk behaviors included never wearing seatbelts (44%), drinking and driving (37.9% of driving 10th through 12th graders), and riding with a driver who had been drinking (21.8%). Physical and sexual abuse prevalence was 10% and 13%, respectively, with 23.9% of females reporting physical abuse and 21.6% of females reporting sexual abuse by the 12th grade. Almost 6% of the entire sample endorsed signs of severe emotional distress. Eleven percent of the teens surveyed knew someone who had killed himself or herself, and 17% had attempted suicide themselves. Sixty-five percent of males and 56.8% of females reported having had intercourse by the 12th grade. Weekly or more frequent alcohol use rose from 8.2% of seventh graders to 14.1% by the 12th grade; for males, the survey noted an increase in regular alcohol use of 3% to 5% a year to 27.3% by the 12th grade. For each variable measured, rates are much higher for American Indian adolescents than those for rural white Minnesota youth, except for age at first intercourse and alcohol use. CONCLUSIONS: American Indian-Alaska Native adolescents reported high rates of health-compromising behaviors and risk factors related to unintentional injury, substance use, poor self-assessed health status, emotional distress, and suicide. Interventions must be culturally sensitive, acknowledge the heterogeneity of Indian populations, be grounded in cultural traditions that promote health, and be developed with full participation of the involved communities.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Physician attitudes toward confidentiality of treatment for adolescents: findings from the Upper Midwest Regional Physicians Survey.

The provision of confidential medical services to adolescents is an enduring health policy issue in the United States, and the focus of policy statements by several professional medical organizations. Physician attitudes toward confidential service provision to teenagers were examined in the Upper Midwest Regional Physician Survey, a representative sample of community-based pediatricians and family physicians. Overall, three-quarters of participants favored confidential service provision for youths. Multivariate analysis revealed that the most salient reasons for favoring confidentiality were perception of unique needs among adolescents, year of licensure, high self-assessed competency in addressing sexual concerns of adolescence, adequacy of training in interpersonal and sexual issues, frequency of addressing interpersonal issues, and lower self-assessed adequacy of training in traditional medical problems of youths. Implications for state and federal legislation are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Adolescent pregnancy options.

The range of pregnancy options available to adolescents each have significant ramifications for future educational and economic achievement. The changing societal context of adolescent pregnancy decision-making are described, and the characteristics of adolescents who choose to terminate their pregnancy, parent their child, or place for adoption are examined. The role of significant others in decision-making and the implications of mandatory parental involvement in pregnancy decision-making is discussed, as well as the roles of schools in promoting the well-being and potential of adolescents considering pregnancy decisions.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed1991

Family and peer issues among adolescents with spina bifida and cerebral palsy.

Increasingly, children with disabling conditions are surviving through childhood into adolescence and beyond. This places increased importance on understanding adolescent, family, and peer relationships, which are critical to healthy development among adolescents in general and to transitions to successful adulthood among youths with physical disabilities in particular. The purpose of this study was to identify the patterns of family and peer interactions. One hundred two youths with spina bifida and 60 adolescents with cerebral palsy between the ages of 12 and 22 completed written psychological measures as well as an in-depth structured interview. Approximately 90% of youths with spina bifida and cerebral palsy resided at home, of whom 80.4% and 72% lived with both parents. Almost without exception, parental relationships were defined as positive, with no difference of attitude noted toward the mother and father. Relationships with parents for teenagers with spina bifida were marked by high levels of dependence on parents for personal care such as bowel programs and, for both groups, low levels of responsibility at home and lack of discussion with parents about sexuality or menstruation. Although friends were viewed as very important by most respondents (approximately 83%), relationships were characterized by extremely limited out-of-school contacts, negligible participation with organized social activities, and a primary orientation toward sedentary activities. Finally, regarding heterosexual relationships, whereas 44.1% of respondents with spina bifida and 54.2% of respondents with cerebral palsy said their friends dated, only 14.7% and 28.3% of study participants indicated that they had ever been on a date and, even for those teenagers, heterosexual social contacts were infrequent.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Informal adoption among black adolescent mothers.

While adolescent decision-making about adoption and parenting is an area of growing concern for researchers, few studies have been made of informal adoption. This paper examines the practice of informal adoption as a response to out-of-wedlock pregnancy among 54 black urban adolescent females.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1990

Characteristics of unmarried adolescent mothers: determinants of child rearing versus adoption.

The sociodemographic and biographical characteristics of a group of unmarried adolescent mothers who opted to rear their children were compared with those of a matched group who placed their children for adoption. Those choosing adoption were more likely to be of higher socioeconomic status, to have higher educational aspirations, and to be from suburban residences. Suggestions for intervention and appropriate services are offered.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Family functioning of adolescents who parent and place for adoption.

While an extensive body of knowledge on adolescent sexual behavior and outcome has developed, current sociological and psychological studies of adolescents who place their babies for adoption are scant, often with inconclusive results. The level of family of origin functioning of adolescent parents and placers is even less frequently studied. This cross-sectional study of 84 adolescents attending an alternative high school for pregnant girls who recently made a placement or parenting decision assesses the family environment of teenagers in order to provide a broader understanding of these characteristics, which would assist practitioners in provision of services to this population. Using FACES II as the measure of family cohesion and adaptability, it was hypothesized that: (1) adolescent parents or placers would describe their families as being less functional than adolescent norms, (2) adolescents who placed their children for adoption would describe their families as being more functional than adolescents who parented their children, and (3) adolescents from the more functional families would report greater satisfaction with the placement decision than those from less functional families. Results indicate that Hypothesis 1 was supported, but contrary to Hypothesis 2, there were no significant differences in family functioning between placers and parents. Also, when comparing the discrepancy between adolescents' current and ideal family descriptions, no between-group differences were found. Because the vast majority of the respondents were satisfied with their placement or parenting decision, Hypothesis 3 also was not supported. Research needs and practice applications stemming from this study are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1987

The impact of a parental notification law on adolescent abortion decision-making.

In 1984, we investigated the impact of a parental notification statue with judicial bypass procedures in Minnesota. Subjects were interviewed on the day of their abortion at four Minnesota and two Wisconsin clinics. Relatively few were aware of the statute in Minnesota. Parental notification rates were similar in Minnesota and Wisconsin, which has no parental notification statute.

Abortion, Legal↗
PubMed1985

Adventure, Etc.--a health-promotion program for chronically ill and disabled youth.

Adolescents with a chronic illness or physical disability have a more difficult time separating from parents, achieving a sense of mastery, developing social skills among peers, and achieving a positive body-image than do able-bodied adolescents. To promote attainment of these developmental tasks, Adventure, Etc. was created as a wilderness/urban Outward Bound experience for chronically ill, physically disabled, and able-bodied teens. Pre- and posttesting and interviewing assessed locus of control, self-image, family environment, and family dynamics. Over a two-year period, 37 teens completed the program and were tested; 23 were chronically ill or disabled. The chronically ill/disabled group showed a significant increase in internal locus of control. No change was found in the able-bodied group. Both the able-bodied and the disabled/chronically ill groups showed a significant improvement in body image. Reported family conflict declined, as did family recreational involvement, while individual recreational activities among these adolescents increased. Based on these results, new follow-up activities for the parents and adolescents were initiated to further the gains of program participants.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Use of age cutoff policies for adolescents in pediatric practice: report from the Upper Midwest Regional Physician Survey.

Increased pediatric participation in the health and medical care of adolescents has been encouraged over the last several years, both through the redefinition of the age range of pediatric practice by the American Academy of Pediatrics, and by the 1978 Task Force Report on Pediatric Education. Whereas the Task Force Report enunciated a framework for pediatric leadership in adolescent medicine, little is known about the extent to which adolescents are actually included in pediatric practice. Based upon the findings of the 1980-1981 Upper Midwest Regional Physician Survey, the use of age "cutoff" policies for adolescents is explored. The various types of such policies are examined, in addition to reasons for their use and non-use, the characteristics of pediatricians who include and exclude adolescents from their practice, exceptions made to adolescent age limits, differential enforcement by patient and physician gender, and anticipated changes in cutoff policies in light of projected demographic changes for infants, children and youth, and physician supply.

Adolescent↗