Mary Rogers Gillmore

Longitudinal Effects of Domestic Violence on Employment and Welfare Outcomes

This study uses longitudinal data spanning 13 years from a study of 234 adolescent mothers to evaluate the effects of cumulative domestic violence on employment and welfare use before and after welfare reform. Domestic violence increased the odds of unemployment after welfare reform, but not before; domestic violence had no effect on welfare use during any time period. Psychological distress after welfare reform was associated with unemployment, but not with welfare outcomes. Thus, the authors found that the direct effect of domestic violence on unemployment is not mediated by concurrent level of psychological distress. The relationship of psychological distress to unemployment exists only for those with a history of domestic violence. Cumulative domestic violence can have negative effects on economic capacity many years after the violence occurs, suggesting that policymakers recognize the long-term nature of the impact of domestic violence on womens capacity to be economically self-reliant.

Comparison of Daily and Retrospective Reports of Vaginal Sex in Heterosexual Men and Women

This study examined the agreement between daily and retrospective reports of vaginal sex over a two-month period in a sample of 376 heterosexually active men and women. We also examined whether gender, age, or method of daily data collection (self-administered vs. interviewer administered) were related to agreement between daily and retrospective reports. Both counts and categorical measures of frequency of the behaviors were examined. There were no gender, age, or data collection method effects. When measured as a count, participants reported more instances of vaginal intercourse in the retrospective reports than on the daily reports. In contrast, comparison of retrospective categorical measures of frequency to daily reports showed considerable variability. Possible reasons for the over-reporting of counts of vaginal sex in retrospective reports are explored.

Pathways to Sexual Risk Taking Among Female Adolescent Detainees

Sexual risk taking among female delinquents represents a significant public health problem. Research is needed to understand the pathways leading to sexual risk taking among this population. This study sought to address this issue by identifying and testing two pathways from child maltreatment to non-condom use among 329 White and 484 African American female adolescent detainees: a relational pathway and a substance use coping pathway. The relational pathway indicated that child maltreatment would be related to non-condom use via depressive self-concept and condom use self-efficacy. The substance use coping pathway suggested that depressive self-concept and alcohol-based expectancies for sexual enhancement would mediate the relationship between child maltreatment and non-condom use. As hypothesized, the relational pathway variables were associated with one another in the expected directions; however, evidence of mediation was not found. Support for mediation was found for the substance use coping pathway. Exploratory across group comparison analysis indicated that the relational pathway was significant for White girls whereas the substance use coping pathway was significant for African American girls. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.

Young mothers’ decisions to use marijuana: A test of an expanded theory of planned behaviour

The current study examines the Theory of Planned Behaviours (TPB) ability to predict marijuana use among young women who experienced a premarital pregnancy before the age of 18 years, using longitudinal data. The validity of the TPB assumption that all other variables work through TPB constructs is also tested. Indicators of four constructs that have been shown in the literature to be predictive of marijuana use–persistent environmental adversity, emotional distress, adolescent marijuana use and drug use in the social network–were tested as predictors of attitudes, norms and self-efficacy, in a structural equation modelling framework. All paths from distal predictors were through the mediating TPB constructs, in accordance with the tenets of the model. Implications of these findings for the TPB model and for understanding factors that lead to marijuana use are discussed.

Effects Of Friendship Closeness In An Adolescent Group Hiv Prevention Intervention

Although many interventions for youth rely, explicitly or implicitly, on group effects, sparse theoretical or empirical attention has been paid to the rationale for choosing a small-group design. The present study assesses the role of friendship closeness among youth in prevention intervention groups in shaping their HIV risk-related attitudes, intentions, perceived self-efficacy and perceived norms. Data from an experimental test of a group HIV prevention intervention are used to assess the relationship of friendship on cognitive outcomes at posttest and 6-month follow-up, in a multilevel regression design. Friendship among group members was assessed at baseline and post-intervention, for youth in the experimental intervention and in a control, career exploration, condition. Level of friendship within the group was positively related to attendance and enjoyment of the intervention in the control group only. Most cognitive outcomes were unaffected by individual or group levels of friendship closeness, but those effects observed were opposite to those desired. Friendly groups were no more likely to converge in their cognitions over time than were less-friendly groups. The need for more research on the effects of friendship on intervention outcomes, and for multilevel analyses of group effects, are discussed.