Ann Meier

Overweight, obesity, and health-related quality of life among adolescents: The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health

Objective. Childhood and adolescent overweight and obesity have increased substantially in the past 2 decades, raising concerns about the physical and psychosocial consequences of childhood obesity. We investigated the association between obesity and health-related quality of life in a nationally representative sample of adolescents. Methods. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using the 1996 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a nationally representative sample of adolescents in grades 7 to 12 during the 1994–1995 school year, and 4743 adolescents with direct measures of height and weight. Using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts to determine percentiles, we used 5 body mass categories. Underweight was at or below the 5th percentile, normal BMI was between the 5th and 85th percentiles, at risk for overweight was between the 85th and 95th percentiles, overweight was between the 95th and 97th percentiles + 2 BMI units, and obese was at or above the 97th percentile + 2 BMI units. Four dimensions of health-related quality of life were measured: general health (self-reported general health), physical health (absence or presence of functional limitations and illness symptoms), emotional health (the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and Rosenbergs self-esteem scale), and a school and social functioning scale. Results. We found a statistically significant relationship between BMI and general and physical health but not psychosocial outcomes. Adolescents who were overweight had significantly worse self-reported health (odds ratio [OR]: 2.17; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.34–3.51), as did obese adolescents (OR: 4.49; 95% CI: 2.87–7.03). Overweight (OR: 1.81; 95% CI: 1.22–2.68) and obese (OR: 1.91; 95% CI: 1.24–1.95) adolescents were also more likely to have a functional limitation. Only among the youngest adolescents (ages 12–14) did we find a significant deleterious impact of overweight and obesity on depression, self-esteem, and school/social functioning. Conclusions. Using a nationally representative sample, we found that obesity in adolescence is linked with poor physical quality of life. However, in the general population, adolescents with above normal body mass did not report poorer emotional, school, or social functioning.

Adolescents' Transition to First Intercourse, Religiosity, and Attitudes about Sex

Using two waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study examines two sets of relationships between attitudes, religiosity, and first sex among adolescents. First, I estimate the effects of religiosity and attitudes about sex on the likelihood of engaging in first sex. Then, I estimate the effect of having sex on subsequent religiosity and attitudes. The findings are consistent with past research that finds attitudes are a significant predictor of sexual activity. The effect of religiosity on first sex is mediated by attitudes about sex. Regarding reciprocal effects, having sex for the first time has a significant effect on later attitudes, but not religiosity. This study highlights the importance of going beyond traditional, recursive models that consider only one side of a causal relationship.

Adolescent First Sex and Subsequent Mental Health1

The 1996 Welfare Reform Legislation and its reauthorization in 2002 included financial provisions for programs promoting sexual abstinence until marriage. Under this legislation, programs are encouraged to teach that nonmarital sex is likely to have harmful psychological effects. Life course concepts and identity theory suggest that sex may be consequential for the mental health of some adolescents. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this article investigates mental health consequences of adolescent sex. The analyses reveal important contingencies of the effect of first sex. Timing relative to age norms, romantic relationship factors, and gender interact to condition the effect of first sex on mental health. While some adolescents experience mental health decrements, the majority of those who had first sex did not. This finding highlights the importance of considering contingencies when investigating the effects of life events on mental health.

ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS FROM ADOLESCENCE TO YOUNG ADULTHOOD : Evidence from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health

Theories of romantic relationship development posit a progression of involvement and intensity with age, relationship duration, and experience in romantic relationships. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study tests these propositions by considering relationship type and patterns of relationships over the course of adolescence and their influence on relationship formation in young adulthood. Results confirm recent theories of relationship progression and the findings of smaller-scale empirical studies. Moreover, the findings add depth to debates on racial differences in relationship formation and demonstrate the developmental currency of adolescent relationship experience for young-adult relationship formation. Rather than being trivial or fleeting, adolescent romantic relationships are an integral part of the social scaffolding on which young-adult romantic relationships rest.

Are Both Parents Always Better Than One? Parental Conflict and Young Adult Well-Being

Using data from three waves of the National Survey of Families and Households (N=1,963), we examine associations between adolescent family experiences and young adult well-being across a range of indicators, including schooling, substance use, and family-related transitions. We compare children living with both biological parents, but whose parents differ in how often they argue, to children in stepfather and single-mother families, and we assess the extent to which differences can be understood in terms of family income and parenting practices. Findings suggest that parental conflict is associated with childrens poorer academic achievement, increased substance use, and early family formation and dissolution. Living in single mother and stepfather families tend to be more strongly associated with our indicators of well-being, although differences between these family types and living with high conflict continuously married parents are often statistically indistinguishable. Income and parenting largely do not account for associations between adolescent family type and later life outcomes. We conclude that while children do better, on average, living with two biological married parents, the advantages of two-parent families are not shared equally by all.

The potential of comprehensive sex education in China: findings from suburban Shanghai.

CONTEXT More and more Chinese adolescents are engaging in premarital sexual activity. As a result, the numbers of unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among Chinese young adults have increased markedly. METHODS A comprehensive sex education program, including information on abstinence, contraception and healthy sexual behaviors, was carried out in a suburb of Shanghai. The program used six methods for providing information and services to unmarried 15-24-year-olds over a period of 20 months. Sexual behavior surveys were conducted among intervention participants and among controls in a comparable town, who did not receive a similar intervention; chi-square tests and logistic regression were used to compare the results. RESULTS Participation in the intervention was not associated with delayed sexual initiation, but was associated with reduced odds that youth coerced a partner into having sex (odds ratio, 0.3) and with increased odds of contraceptive use (6.2) and condom use (13.3) during the intervention period. The greater the level of participation, the larger the protective effects. Furthermore, the proportion of youth reporting pregnancy involvement during the intervention period was significantly lower in the intervention group than among controls (19% vs. 26%). CONCLUSION Comprehensive, community-based interventions may be effective in reaching large numbers of Chinese youth and in promoting sexual negotiation, contraceptive use, and pregnancy and STI/HIV prevention.

How Parents Fare Mothers’ and Fathers’ Subjective Well-Being in Time with Children

The shift to more time-intensive and child-centered parenting in the United States is widely assumed to be positively linked to healthy child development, but implications for adult well-being are less clear. We assess multiple dimensions of parents’ subjective well-being in activities with children and explore how the gendered nature of time potentially contributes to differences in mothers’ and fathers’ parenting experiences. Relying on nationally representative time diary data linked to respondents’ feelings in activities from the 2010, 2012, and 2013 well-being module of the American Time Use Survey (N = 12,163 persons and 36,036 activities), we find that parents consistently report greater subjective well-being in activities with children than without. Mothers, however, report less happiness, more stress, and greater fatigue in time with children than do fathers. These gaps are relatively small and can be accounted for by differences in the activities that mothers and fathers engage in with children, whether other adults are present, and the quality of their sleep and leisure. We go beyond prior work on parental happiness and life satisfaction to document how contemporary parenting is woven differently into the lives of mothers and fathers.

Mothering Experiences: How Single Parenthood and Employment Structure the Emotional Valence of Parenting

Research studies and popular accounts of parenting have documented the joys and strains of raising children. Much of the literature comparing parents with those without children indicates a happiness advantage for those without children, although recent studies have unpacked this general advantage to reveal differences by the dimension of well-being considered and important features in parents’ lives and parenting experiences. We use unique data from the 2010, 2012, and 2013 American Time Use Survey to understand emotions in mothering experiences and how these vary by key demographic factors: employment and partnership status. Assessing mothers’ emotions in a broad set of parenting activities while controlling for a rich set of person- and activity-level factors, we find that mothering experiences are generally associated with high levels of emotional well-being, although single parenthood is associated with differences in the emotional valence. Single mothers report less happiness and more sadness, stress, and fatigue in parenting than partnered mothers, and these reports are concentrated among those single mothers who are not employed. Employed single mothers are happier and less sad and stressed when parenting than single mothers who are not employed. Contrary to common assumptions about maternal employment, we find overall few negative associations between employment and mothers’ feelings regarding time with children, with the exception that employed mothers report more fatigue in parenting than those who are not employed.

The Changing Landscape of Love and Marriage

Celebrities breaking up, making up, and having kids out of wedlock. Politicians confessing to extramarital affairs and visits to prostitutes. Same-sex couples pushing for, and sometimes getting, legal recognitionfor their committed relationships. Todays news provides a steady stream of stories that seem to suggest that lifelong love and (heterosexual)marriage are about as dated as a horse and carriage. Social conservatives continue sounding the alarm about the consequences of the decline ofmarriage and the rise of unwed parenting for children and for society at large. Are we really leaving behind the old model of intimacy, or are these changes significant but not radical? And what are the driving forces behind the changes?

The family environment: Structure, material resources and child care

Contents: Preface-Indicators of Child and Youth Well-Being: Completing the Picture. B. Brown, Introduction: About the Chapters. Part I: Health Indicators. D.P. Hogan, M.E. Msall, Key Indicators of Health and Safety: Infancy, Pre-School, and Middle Childhood. M.W. Stagner, J.M. Zweig, Indicators of Youth Health and Well-Being: Taking the Long View. Part II: Education Indicators. T. Halle, M. Reidy, M. Moorehouse, M. Zaslow, C. Walsh, J. Calkins, N.G. Margie, A. Dent, Progress in the Development of Indicators of School Readiness. A. Flanagan, D. Grissmer, What Do National and State NAEP Scores Tell Us About the Achievement of American K-12 Students. Part III: Social and Emotional Development Indicators. M. Ripke, A.C. Huston, J. Eccles, J. Templeton, The Assessment of Psychological, Emotional, and Social Development Indicators in Middle Childhood. J.L. Roth, C.J. Borbely, J. Brooks-Gunn, Developing Indicators of Confidence, Character, and Caring in Adolescents. J. Eccles, B. Brown, J. Templeton, A Developmental Framework for Selecting Indicators of Well-Being During the Adolescent and Young Adult Years. Part IV: Social Context of Development Indicators. G.D. Sandefur, A. Meier, The Family Environment: Structure, Material Resources, and Child Care. K.M. Harris, S. Cavanagh, Indicators of the Peer Environment in Adolesence. D. Mayer, J. Ralph, Key Indicators of School Quality. J.D. Morenoff, R.J. Sampson, Constructing Community Indicators of Child Well-Being. Part V: Child and Youth Indicators in Practice. T. Corbett, Social Indicators as Policy Tool: Welfare Reform as a Case Study. D. Murphey, Creating Community Capacity to Use Social Indicators. Part VI: Social Indices of Child Well-Being. K.C. Land, V.L. Lamb, S.K. Mustillo, Child and Youth Well-Being in the United States, 1975-1998: Some Findings From a New Index. N.G. Bennett, H-H. Lu, Methodological Issues Surrounding the Construction of an Index of Child Well-Being.