Carolyn Tucker Halpern

Partner Violence Among Adolescents in Opposite-Sex Romantic Relationships: Findings From the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health

OBJECTIVES This report examines (1) the prevalence of psychological and minor physical violence victimization in a nationally representative sample of adolescents and (2) associations between sociodemographic factors and victimization. METHODS Analyses are based on 7500 adolescents who reported exclusively heterosexual romantic relationships in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Items from the Conflict Tactics Scale were used to measure victimization. Associations between victimization patterns and sociodemographic characteristics were assessed with polytomous logistic regression. RESULTS One third of adolescents reported some type of victimization, and 12% reported physical violence victimization. Although most sociodemographic characteristics were significantly associated with victimization, patterns varied by sex and type of victimization. CONCLUSIONS Psychological and minor physical violence victimization is common in opposite-sex romantic relationships during adolescence. The sex-specific associations between sociodemographic characteristics and patterns of partner violence victimization underscore the importance of pursuing longitudinal, theory-driven investigations of the characteristics and developmental histories of both partners in a couple to advance understanding of this public health problem.

Smart Teens Don't Have Sex (or Kiss Much Either)

PURPOSE To examine the relationship between an intelligence measure and a wide spectrum of partnered sexual activity ranging from holding hands to sexual intercourse among adolescents. METHOD Analyses are based on two separate samples of adolescents. The core sample of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) includes approximately 12,000 adolescents enrolled in the 7th to 12th grades. The Biosocial Factors in Adolescent Development projects followed approximately 100 white males and 200 black and white females over 3- and 2-year periods, respectively. Both studies used the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) as an intelligence measure, and confidential self-reports of sexual activity. Logistic regression models were used to examine the relationship between PPVT scores and coital status in Add Health data; proportional hazard models were used to examine the timing of initiation of noncoital and coital activities as a function of PPVT scores in the Biosocial Factors sample. RESULTS Controlling for age, physical maturity, and mothers education, a significant curvilinear relationship between intelligence and coital status was demonstrated; adolescents at the upper and lower ends of the intelligence distribution were less likely to have sex. Higher intelligence was also associated with postponement of the initiation of the full range of partnered sexual activities. An expanded model incorporating a variety of control and mediator variables was tested to identify mechanisms by which the relationship operates. CONCLUSIONS Higher intelligence operates as a protective factor against early sexual activity during adolescence, and lower intelligence, to a point, is a risk factor. More systematic investigation of the implications of individual differences in cognitive abilities for sexual activities and of the processes that underlie those activities is warranted.

Patterns of intimate partner violence victimization from adolescence to young adulthood in a nationally representative sample.

PURPOSE To determine the prevalence of patterns of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization from adolescence to young adulthood, and document associations with selected sociodemographic and experiential factors. METHODS We used prospective data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to group 4134 respondents reporting only opposite-sex romantic or sexual relationships in adolescence and young adulthood into four victimization patterns: no IPV victimization, adolescent-limited IPV victimization, young adult onset IPV victimization, and adolescent-young adult persistent IPV victimization. RESULTS Forty percent of respondents reported physical or sexual victimization by young adulthood. Eight percent experienced IPV only in adolescence, 25% only in young adulthood, and 7% showed persistent victimization. Female sex, Hispanic and non-Hispanic black race/ethnicity, an atypical family structure (something other than two biologic parents, step-family, single parent), more romantic partners, experiencing childhood abuse, and early sexual debut (before age 16) were each associated with one or more patterns of victimization versus none. Number of romantic partners and early sexual debut were the most consistent predictors of violence, its timing of onset, and whether victimization persisted across developmental periods. These associations did not vary by biological sex. CONCLUSIONS Substantial numbers of young adults have experienced physical or sexual IPV victimization. More research is needed to understand the developmental and experiential mechanisms underlying timing of onset of victimization, whether victimization persists across time and relationships, and whether etiology and temporal patterns vary by type of violence. These additional distinctions would inform the timing, content, and targeting of violence prevention efforts.

Growing Up With a Chronic Illness: Social Success, Educational/Vocational Distress

OBJECTIVES We compared adult educational, vocational, and social outcomes among young adults with and without childhood-onset chronic illness in a nationally representative U.S. sample. METHODS We used data from Wave IV (2008) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. We compared respondents who reported childhood-onset cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or epilepsy with young adults without these chronic illnesses in terms of marriage, having children, living with parents, romantic relationship quality, educational attainment, income, and employment. Multivariate models controlled for sociodemographic factors and adult-onset chronic illness. RESULTS As compared with those without childhood chronic illness, respondents with childhood chronic illness had similar odds of marriage (odds ratios [OR] = .89, 95% CI: .65-1.24), having children (OR = .99, 95% CI: .70-1.42), and living with parents (OR = 1.49, 95% CI .94-2.33), and similar reports of romantic relationship quality. However, the chronic illness group had lower odds of graduating college (OR = .49, 95% CI: .31-.78) and being employed (OR = .56, 95% CI: .39-.80), and higher odds of receiving public assistance (OR = 2.13, 95% CI: 1.39-3.25), and lower mean income. CONCLUSIONS Young adults growing up with chronic illness succeed socially, but are at increased risk of poorer educational and vocational outcomes.

Testosterone predicts initiation of coitus in adolescent females

Objective The purposes of this study were to demonstrate, using longitudinal data, that the pubertal rise in testosterone (T) is associated with subsequent increases in female sexual interest and activity, and to examine these relationships within the context of a social control variable. Methods Using data from a 2-year panel study of approximately 200 black and white postmenarcheal adolescent females, the relationships among semiannual measures of T, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), pubertal development, and self-reports of coital and noncoital sexual activity were assessed. Results Testosterone and changes in T were significantly related to the timing of subsequent transition to first coitus for blacks and whites. Frequency of attendance at religious services operated as a social control variable among white females, and was found to moderate T effects on sexual transition for this group. Conclusions These results are consistent with a biosocial model proposing T as a causal factor in female sexual activity, and suggest that biological effects are moderated by relevant social variables.

A relational view of causality in normal and abnormal development

An understanding of developmental phenomena demands a relational or coactive concept of causality, as opposed to a conceptualization that assumes that singular causes can act in isolation. In this article we present a developmental psychobiological systems view of relational (bidirectional, coactional) causality, in which it is proposed that developmental outcomes are a consequence of at least two specific components of coaction from the same or different levels of a developmental system. The levels are genetic, neural, behavioral, and environmental; the latter level includes the cultural, social, and physical aspects of an organisms environment. We show the applicability of this view to the understanding of the development of normal and abnormal behavioral and psychological phenotypes through illustrations from the existing animal and human literature. Finally, we discuss future possibilities and potential stumbling blocks in the implementation of a more fully realized bidirectional, coactional perspective in developmental psychopathological research.

Gender differences in associations between depressive symptoms and patterns of substance use and risky sexual behavior among a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents

SummaryObjective: This study uses a cluster analysis of adolescents, based on their substance use and sexual risk behaviors, to 1) examine associations between risk behavior patterns and depressive symptoms, stratified by gender, and 2) examine gender differences in risk for depression. Methods: Data are from a nationally representative survey of over 20,000 U.S. adolescents. Logistic regression was used to examine the associations between 16 risk behavior patterns and current depressive symptoms by gender. Results: Compared to abstention, involvement in common adolescent risk behaviors (drinking, smoking, and sexual intercourse) was associated with increased odds of depressive symptoms in both sexes. However, sex differences in depressive symptoms vary by risk behavior pattern. There were no differences in odds for depressive symptoms between abstaining male and female adolescents (OR = 1.07, 95% CI 0.70–1.62). There were also few sex differences in odds of depressive symptoms within the highest-risk behavior profiles. Among adolescents showing light and moderate risk behavior patterns, females experienced significantly more depressive symptoms than males. Conclusions: Adolescents who engage in risk behaviors are at increased risk for depressive symptoms. Girls engaging in low and moderate substance use and sexual activity experience more depressive symptoms than boys with similar behavior. Screening for depression is indicated for female adolescents engaging in even experimental risk behaviors.

Gene-Environment Contributions to the Development of Infant Vagal Reactivity: The Interaction of Dopamine and Maternal Sensitivity

This study investigated dopamine receptor genes (DRD2 and DRD4) and maternal sensitivity as predictors of infant respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and RSA reactivity, purported indices of vagal tone and vagal regulation, in a challenge task at 3, 6, and 12 months in 173 infant-mother dyads. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) revealed that at 3 and 6 months, RSA withdrawal in response to maternal separation was greater (suggesting expected physiological regulation) in infants without the DRD2 risk allele than those with the risk allele. At 12 months, infants with the risk allele who were also exposed to maternal sensitivity showed levels of RSA withdrawal comparable to infants who were not at genetic risk. Findings demonstrate the importance of developmental analysis of gene-environment interaction.

Testosterone and pubertal development as predictors of sexual activity: a panel analysis of adolescent males.

&NA; Strong cross‐sectional relationships between testosterone (T) and sexual activity have been found for human adolescent males, even when level of pubertal development is controlled; however, it has not been demonstrated that sexual behavior increases over time as a consequence of hormonal changes. The purpose of this paper was to extend previous cross‐sectional findings by demonstrating that sexual behavior is initiated and increases within individuals over time as a direct function of changes in T levels, rather than indirectly through pubertal development. Analyses are based on a 3‐year panel study of about 100 7th‐ and 8th‐grade adolescent boys. Pubertal development and changes in pubertal development were significantly and positively related to changes in sexual ideation, noncoital behavior, and to the transition to sexual intercourse. Testosterone levels at study entry were significantly related to coital status at Time 1 and also predicted the transition to nonvirgin status. However, changes in hormone levels during the 3 years of study participation did not predict changes in ideation or noncoital sexual activity, regardless of the period of change or the lag time to effects. The panel data suggest, in contrast to earlier cross‐sectional results, that change in pubertal development is related to the initiation of sexual activity because of its social stimulus value, and not solely because it is determined by, or is a proxy for, changing hormone levels. Possible causes of the different findings in the cross‐sectional and panel data are examined, and the implications and meaning of hormone/behavior relationships based on single measures are discussed.

Supporting Adolescent Orphan Girls to Stay in School as HIV Risk Prevention: Evidence From a Randomized Controlled Trial in Zimbabwe

OBJECTIVES Using a randomized controlled trial in rural eastern Zimbabwe, we tested whether comprehensive support to keep orphan adolescent girls in school could reduce HIV risk. METHODS All orphan girls in grade 6 in 25 primary schools were invited to participate in the study in fall 2007 (n = 329). Primary schools were randomized to condition. All primary schools received a universal daily feeding program; intervention participants received fees, uniforms, and a school-based helper to monitor attendance and resolve problems. We conducted annual surveys and collected additional information on school dropout, marriage, and pregnancy rates. We analyzed data using generalized estimating equations over 3 time points, controlling for school and age at baseline. RESULTS The intervention reduced school dropout by 82% and marriage by 63% after 2 years. Compared with control participants, the intervention group reported greater school bonding, better future expectations, more equitable gender attitudes, and more concerns about the consequences of sex. CONCLUSIONS We found promising evidence that comprehensive school support may reduce HIV risk for orphan girls. Further study, including assessment of dose response, cost benefit, and HIV and herpes simplex virus 2 biomarker measurement, is warranted.