R. Jean Haurin

Linkages Between Sexual Activity And Alcohol and Drug Use Among American Adolescents

Among a nationally representative cohort of young men and women reaching maturity in the late 1970s and early 1980s, over three-fourths of males and half of females had sexual intercourse by age 19, and a substantial minority used marijuana prior to their 16th birthday. However, in most cases, much smaller proportions began weekly alcohol consumption, tried drugs besides marijuana or experienced sexual intercourse before age 16. Males are generally more likely to have begun participating in these activities, at all ages, than are females. Only modest percentages of youths participated in more than one activity at early ages or engaged in them in close proximity to one another. Indeed, only by age 19 did even one-third of the young women engage in sexual intercourse and use both marijuana and alcohol. In fact, the norm for girls under 17 and for boys under 16 is either abstention or participation in just one activity. Although younger blacks are more likely to have initiated sexual activity than are their white or Hispanic counterparts, young minority women are less likely than white women to have begun using alcohol or marijuana. Young people who use one or more substances by a given age are more likely than those who do not to become sexually active within a year. However, marijuana use at a young age appears to be more strongly linked to subsequent sexual initiation than is regular monthly alcohol use.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Independent Living and Home Ownership: An Analysis of Australian Youth

This study extends recent work that developed and tested economic models of the joint decisions of household formation and homeownership. The cost of shelter is an important determinant of whether youth live independently (apart from parents and other nonrelated adults), and the cost of homeownership relative to renting is important to the tenure decision. Simulations suggest that the post-1985 decline and eventual removal of the Australian subsidy for first time homeowners has lowered the homeownership rate among young households by 23 percent, which is equivalent to slowing the time to first ownership by two years for such households.

Being an Only Child Effects on Educational Progression and Career Orientation

This study uses data from the young mens and womens cohorts of the National Longitudinal Surveys of Labor Market Experience to measure the independent effects of sibling number and placement on a number of educational, family, career, and social-psychological outcomes as of age 24 for nationally representative samples of American youth. In particular, the study compares separately for young men and women the effects of being an only child with being the older of two children as well as the general importance of coming from a smaller rather than a larger family. The authors conclude that, while confluence theory is frequently supported by the data for both sexes, the corollary tutoring hypothesis is generally only validated for young women. The authors conjecture that this sex discrepancy may reflect a greater likelihood that the tutoring role within the family may be substantially affectively based, thus making it an activity that is more likely to be associated with female intrafamily role behavior.

The Migration of Youth and the Business Cycle: 1978 to 1984

This study examines the migration patterns of youth from 1978 to 1984. It compares the movement of youth into and out of four areas: Ohio, Michigan, Texas, and New England. Ohio and Michigan represent areas of high unemployment during the 1980-1982 recession, Texas represents a high growth state, and New England an area in the process of reindustrialization. The authors find that the immigration of youth is highly cyclical and that in a downturn relative to the rest of the nation, a state can lose a substantial portion of its youth, the next generation of the states labor supply. Youths migrating from depressed regions tend to be more highly educated males. However, there is some support for the hypothesis that a state-supported jobs program can tide youth over the downturn and raise their long-term retention probability.