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Biomedical subjects

Monica H Swahn

Publications and source records attributed to Monica H Swahn.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

The associations between victimization, feeling unsafe, and asthma episodes among US high-school students.

We examined the associations between victimization, missed school because of feeling unsafe, and asthma episodes among US high-school students using the 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Cross-sectional analyses on adolescents with asthma (n=1943) showed that any victimization and missed school because of feeling unsafe significantly increased the odds of having an asthma episode in the past year (adjusted odds ratio [OR]=1.45; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.07, 1.95 and adjusted OR = 2.93; 95% CI = 1.90, 4.53, respectively). Victimization and feeling unsafe are important but poorly understood risk factors for asthma.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed2006

Alcohol and violence: comparison of the psychosocial correlates of adolescent involvement in alcohol-related physical fighting versus other physical fighting.

This study examined the demographic and psychosocial correlates of alcohol-related physical fighting and other physical fighting to determine if the predictors for aggressive behaviors are similar or different when alcohol is involved. Analyses were based on the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health which is a nationally representative school based sample of adolescents in grades 7 through 12 (N=18,924). The current analyses were restricted to current drinkers who could be grouped into three categories of involvement in physical fights (n=8866): no fighting; fighting not related to alcohol use; fighting related to alcohol use. Regression models were computed using a backward-elimination procedure. Overall, 38% of adolescent drinkers reported fighting, including 12% who reported alcohol-related fighting and 26% who reported other physical fighting. Non-Hispanic African-American adolescents were most likely to report other physical fighting (37.1%) but they were least likely to report alcohol-related fighting (8.2%). The correlates of alcohol-related fighting differed by age and race/ethnicity. Moreover, since the correlates of alcohol-related fighting pertain mostly to the frequency and quantity of alcohol use and to having alcohol-related problems, prevention efforts that seek to reduce alcohol use or delay alcohol use initiation may also reduce alcohol-related fighting.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Stalking in the United States: recent national prevalence estimates.

BACKGROUND: Stalking is a major public health concern, primarily for women, and is associated with many adverse health outcomes, including death. However, the prevalence of stalking among adults in the United States has not been assessed since 1995-1996. The objective of this analysis is to provide more recent national estimates on lifetime stalking and demographic characteristics of stalking victims. METHODS: A sample of adults aged 18 years and older living in the United States (n = 9684) participated in the second Injury Control and Risk Survey (ICARIS-2), a cross-sectional, random-digit-dial telephone survey conducted from 2001 to 2003. Analyses conducted in 2005 focused on the respondents' reports of having ever been stalked in a way that was somewhat dangerous or life-threatening. RESULTS: In the United States, 4.5% of adults reported having ever been stalked. Women had significantly higher prevalence (7%) of stalking victimization than did men (2%) (odds ratio [OR] = 3.68, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.77-4.90). People who were never married (OR = 1.43, 95%CI = 1.03-1.99) or who were separated, widowed, or divorced (OR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.28-2.21) had significantly higher odds of being stalked than those who were married or had a partner. People aged 55 years or older and those who were retired were least likely to report stalking victimization. CONCLUSIONS: Comparable to previous national estimates, this study shows that stalking affects many adults. Nearly 1 in 22 adults (almost 10 million, approximately 80% of whom were women) in the United States were stalked at some time in their lives.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Concordance between self-reported maltreatment and court records of abuse or neglect among high-risk youths.

OBJECTIVES: We examined the concordance between measures of self-reported maltreatment and court records of abuse or neglect in a sample of detained youths. METHODS: Data were collected by the Northwestern Juvenile Project and include interviews from 1829 youths aged 10-18 years. Participants were newly detained youths in the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center in Illinois between 1995 and 1998. Self-reported cases of child maltreatment were compared with court records of abuse or neglect in the Cook County judicial system. RESULTS: We found that among detained youths, 16.6% of those who reported any maltreatment, 22.2% of those who reported the highest level of maltreatment, and 25.1% of those who reported that they required medical treatment as a result of maltreatment had a court record of abuse or neglect. Among those with any self-reported maltreatment, girls (vs boys) and African Americans (vs Whites) were more likely to have a court record (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=2.18; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.53, 3.09; and AOR=2.12; 95% CI=1.23, 3.63, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Official records seriously underestimate the prevalence of maltreatment, which indicates that multiple data sources are needed to document the true prevalence of maltreatment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Predictors of fighting attributed to alcohol use among adolescent drinkers.

This study examined demographic and psychosocial factors to determine the predictors of fighting attributed to alcohol use among adolescent drinkers. Analyses were based on the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health which is a nationally representative sample of adolescents in Grades 7 through 11. The prospective analyses were restricted to those adolescent drinkers who participated in both data waves (n=6041) collected in 1995 and 1996. A logistic regression model was constructed using a backward elimination procedure to identify the significant predictors of initiating fighting attributed to alcohol use at Time 2 (1996). We found that frequent drinking, high-volume drinking, trouble in school, low college expectations and weekly involvement in sports were significant predictors of initiating fighting attributed to alcohol use. These findings suggest that prevention efforts targeting the reduction of frequent and heavy alcohol use may be particularly useful strategies for preventing fighting attributed to alcohol use.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Alcohol-consumption behaviors and risk for physical fighting and injuries among adolescent drinkers.

This study examined the associations between specific alcohol-use measures and physical fighting, injuries received, and injuries inflicted on others while fighting. We conducted cross-sectional analyses of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) limiting our analyses to adolescent drinkers (n=8885) between the ages of 12 and 21 years. Results revealed that adolescent drinkers who reported problem drinking and peer drinking were more likely to engage in physical fighting, being injured, and injuring others in fights than drinkers who did not report these drinking behaviors even after controlling for drinking frequency and binge drinking. The findings highlight the need for violence prevention programs that focus on the reduction of alcohol use among adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Correlates and predictors of violent behavior among adolescent drinkers.

PURPOSE: To examine a wide range of demographic characteristics and psychosocial factors to determine the cross-sectional correlates of violence and longitudinal predictors of violent initiation among adolescent drinkers. METHODS: We conducted secondary analyses of the 1995 (Time 1) and 1996 (Time 2) in-home surveys of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). This study included a nationally representative school-based sample (N=18,924) of adolescents in grades 7-12. The analyses were restricted to adolescent drinkers (n = 8885). Two logistic regression models were constructed using a backward elimination procedure to identify statistically significant cross-sectional correlates of violence and prospective predictors of violence initiation. RESULTS: Half (49%) of all adolescent drinkers reported violent behavior at Time 1 and 15% of those who were not violent at Time 1 reported initiating violent behavior at Time 2. A total of 14 significant cross-sectional correlates of violence were identified that included measures of alcohol use, drug use and selling, exposure to drugs, delinquency, and poor school functioning. Four variables (high-volume drinking, illicit drug use, low grade point average, and having been suspended and/or expelled from school) were significant longitudinal predictors of the initiation of violent behavior. CONCLUSIONS: The factors significantly associated with violence pertain mostly to alcohol use, drug use and selling, exposure to drugs, delinquency, and poor school functioning. However, most of these problems and behaviors tend to occur in closer temporal proximity to violent behavior (i.e., within a year) and do not seem to developmentally precede initiation in violent behavior.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Alcohol-related emergency department visits among people ages 13 to 25 years.

OBJECTIVE: Data from a large, nationally representative sample of hospital emergency departments (EDs) were used to assess the prevalence and characteristics of alcohol-related ED visits among people ages 13 to 25 years in the United States. METHOD: Emergency department visits recorded in the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-All Injury Program were coded for alcohol involvement based on alcohol product codes and abstractions of chart narratives. National estimates and confidence intervals were calculated using SUDAAN statistical software. RESULTS: Based on these chart data, in the United States in 2001 there were an estimated 244,331 alcohol-related ED visits among people ages 13 to 25 (3.2% of total visits). Of these, an estimated 119,503 (49%) involved people below the legal drinking age of 21. The number of alcohol-related visits increased throughout adolescence and young adulthood to the age of 21, after which they decreased to levels similar to those seen for 18 to 20 year olds. Alcohol-related visits were most frequent on weekends and among males and were more strongly associated with visits related to assault or self-harm than to visits for unintentional injuries or injuries of unknown intent. In this population, 38% of alcohol-related visits involved no external cause of injury (e.g., drinking to excess only). CONCLUSIONS: These data highlight the need for stronger efforts to delay initiation of alcohol use among adolescents as long as possible and to limit access to alcohol for underage drinkers.

Adolescent↗