Stephen D. Whitney

Risk Factors for Unidirectional and Bidirectional Intimate Partner Violence among Young Adults.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to identify common and unique risk factors for intimate partner violence (IPV) among young adults in relationships. Guided by two models of IPV, the same set of risk factors was used to examine outcomes of unidirectional (perpetration or victimization) and bidirectional (reciprocal) IPV separately for males and females. METHODS The sample included 10,187 young adults, ages 18-27, from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The respondents were drawn from Wave 3 and stated they had a romantic relationship during the time of the study. The risk factors were primarily related to violent socialization (e.g., childhood maltreatment, youth violence) and personal adjustment (e.g., alcohol use, depression). RESULTS Approximately 47% of the respondents experienced some form of IPV in romantic relationships, and the majority of respondents reported bidirectional violence. For males, childhood sexual abuse was associated with perpetration and bidirectional IPV, and childhood neglect was associated with bidirectional IPV. For females, childhood neglect was associated with all three IPV outcomes, and childhood physical abuse was associated with bidirectional IPV. Youth violence perpetration during adolescence increased the odds for all IPV outcomes among females, while low self-esteem increased the odds for all IPV outcomes among males. A history of suicide attempts predicted bidirectional IPV across genders. Being married and living with a partner predicted all three IPV outcomes for males and females. CONCLUSIONS The results revealed more common risk factors for bidirectional IPV than unidirectional IPV and few common risk factors across genders. The results indicate that IPV prevention and intervention strategies should be tailored to the unique risk experiences of males and females rather than focus on a common factors approach. However, child abuse, youth violence, and suicide prevention efforts may reduce incidents of later IPV for males and females, and these strategies should continue to be an emphasis in practice and research.

Examining Symmetry in Intimate Partner Violence Among Young Adults Using Socio-Demographic Characteristics

Over the past few decades, research on symmetry in intimate partner violence (IPV) has continued to yield mixed results. This article examines symmetry in the prevalence of four types of IPV perpetration and victimization based on socio-demographic characteristics of gender, race, relationship status, sexual orientation, age, and socioeconomic status. Socio-demographic characteristics are examined individually and in combination based on subgroups of unidirectional (perpetration-only and victimization-only) and bidirectional IPV using a nationally representative sample of young adults. Results indicate nearly 40% of the study sample reported at least one act of intimate partner violence and the majority of relationships involved bidirectional violence. Study findings reveal a lack of symmetry on some types of IPV based on the individual and combined socio-demographic characteristics of age, race, and gender. Overall findings show IPV to be prevalent in the relationships of young adults and implications for primary prevention programs are discussed.

Academic achievement despite child maltreatment: a longitudinal study.

PURPOSE Although researchers have concluded that child maltreatment has a negative effect on childrens learning and academic achievement, not all children are negatively affected by maltreatment, and some children seem to succeed academically despite being maltreated. Drawing on risk and resilience theory, we examined a broad range of potential risk, promotive, and protective factors within children and their environments along with characteristics of the maltreatment to account for variability in test scores. METHODS A national longitudinal probability sample of 702 maltreated school-aged children, ages 6-10, and their caregivers was used to predict reading and math scores among maltreated children over three years. RESULTS We found that chronic maltreatment, poorer daily living skills, and lower intelligence explained a substantial proportion of the variance in maltreated childrens math scores (39%), whereas type of maltreatment, poorer daily living skills and lower intelligence explained a substantial proportion of the variance in reading scores (54%) over time. Contrary to our prediction, having a behavior problem seemed to protect chronically maltreated children from poorer performance in math over time. CONCLUSIONS To increase academic achievement among maltreated children, it is imperative that we prevent chronic maltreatment and help children increase their competency on daily living skills.

Moderating Factors of Natural Mentoring Relationships, Problem Behaviors, and Emotional Well-Being.

This study examines naturally occurring mentors by the quality and presence of a mentor (no mentor, low quality, high quality), type of mentors (adult mentors vs. peer mentors), and mentor quality within mentor type. A sub‐sample of adolescents from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent‐Health is used. Results indicate the effect of mentoring is dependent upon the quality and type of mentor and is different for different measured outcomes, as various characteristics of the mentoring process are associated with later problem behaviors and emotional affect in different ways. Specifically, high‐quality mentoring is significantly related to increasing self‐esteem, fewer alcohol problems and less depressed affect when compared to low‐quality mentors. Mentees with adult mentors are significantly lower in depressed affect and have fewer alcohol problems when compared to mentees with peer mentors. Implications for the use of mentoring with specifically at‐risk students are discussed to help improve positive youth development.

Gender Differences in Risk and Promotive Classifications Associated With Adolescent Delinquency

ABSTRACT How likely are children exposed to multiple risk factors to engage in delinquent behavior, to what extent do promotive factors mitigate exposure to these risk factors, and do the predictors of delinquent behavior differ by gender? To address these questions, the authors analyzed data from youths (229 boys, 187 girls) who completed the third wave of the Lehigh Longitudinal Study using Latent Profile Analysis. A unique risk and promotive class with slightly elevated rates of exposure to parental violence, mean levels of other risk factors and low levels of promotive factors was present for girls but not for boys. Additionally, for boys and girls, high-risk, low-promotive individuals were significantly more likely to engage in delinquent behavior than low-risk, high-promotive cases. Findings suggest the need to examine risk and promotive factors in combination to account for their shared influences on developmental outcomes for youth.

Breast Cancer Knowledge and Awareness among High School and College Students in Mid-Western USA

Early detection of breast cancer and its subsequent treatment lead to better patient prognosis and survival rates. However, despite advanced screening and detection techniques, the disease all too frequently remains undetected until it has reached an advanced stage. Despite a number of means of disseminating breast cancer awareness, such as public health programs, public and private media and the internet, breast cancer remains a major health problem which exerts a tremendous economic burden on the health care system. Consequently, promoting early awareness of the disease to students at both high school and college levels might potentially lead to improved health habits later in life. This study investigated breast cancer awareness among college and high school students. A self-administered questionnaire was given to 355 high school students and 132 college students in a mid-western area of the USA to determine their perceptions of breast cancer, risk factors and the need for breast self-examination. Despite many annual efforts to disseminate breast cancer awareness and the availability of information about the disease, our study showed that both college and high school students have a poor understanding of breast cancer. Most participants, however, were receptive to the provision of more information at school. Based on our findings, we recommend more breast cancer awareness programs targeting high school and college students. Breast cancer awareness could be included as a component of the high school curriculum, as well as via the internet and public health programs.

Exploring Psychosocial Mechanisms and Interactions: Links Between Adolescent Emotional Distress, School Connectedness, and Educational Achievement

Internalizing mental health issues are a significant developmental and clinical concern during adolescence, but rarely identified as a problem among school staff. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study examined the associations between adolescent emotional distress, school connectedness, and educational achievement by exploring potential mechanistic and interactive roles of perceived school connectedness on the emotion–education association. Emotional distress was negatively associated with adolescents’ perceptions of belonging to school, which, in turn, may negatively influence educational achievement. School connectedness also had both additive and multiplicative interaction effects on the emotion–education relationship. Results support previous evidence of school connectedness as a protective factor for adolescents with internalizing mental health concerns, although much of the work to date has focused on externalizing problems. This study informs our understanding of how, why, and for whom emotional problems influence educational outcomes in light of social support in the school context.

Individual and interpersonal risk factors for physical intimate partner violence perpetration by biological sex and ethnicity

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a public health problem that reaches across age, sex, and ethnicity. In this study, we examined risk factors for physical IPV perpetration among young adult males and females from four ethnic groups. Data were taken from Waves 1–3 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). The sample included 10,141 Wave 3 respondents (ages ranged from 18–27 years old) who reported being in a current romantic relationship. Physical IPV perpetration was reported by 14.10% of White, 23.28% of Black, 18.82% of Latino, and 18.02% of Asian males. Physical IPV perpetration was reported by 19.01% of White, 24.80% of Black, 25.97% of Latina, and 19.21% of Asian females. Following an ecological framework, proximal risk factors at intrapersonal and interpersonal levels were included in the analyses. Despite finding fairly consistent percentage of physical IPV perpetration across sample groups, the risk factors for physical IPV perpetration were rather uncommon across sex and ethnicity. Only 1 factor—psychological IPV perpetration toward a romantic partner—was consistently associated with physical IPV perpetration across all groups. Our findings have implications for tailoring prevention and intervention efforts toward risk factors of physical IPV perpetration that are uniquely associated with biological sex and ethnicity.

Abstract 4460: Breast cancer knowledge and awareness among high school and college students in mid-Western USA

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States among women. Each year approximately 200,000 new cases are reported and 40,000 women succumb to the disease. Early detection and treatment results in good prognosis and higher rates of patient survival; however, despite advanced methods of screening, breast cancer is often detected at an advanced stage when it has metastasized to other organs, particularly in younger, premenopausal patients who typically have a poor understanding of the disease. While educational activities meant to promote breast cancer awareness among women are conducted every year in the USA, especially during the month of October, previous studies show a widespread ignorance of the disease, in both the USA and in women around the world. At present there are no programs in place that specifically promote breast cancer awareness among high school and college students. Such programs would potentially engender the adoption and development of health habits likely to lead to early detection and treatment, including regular screenings and effective self-examination. The main goal of this study was to investigate breast cancer awareness among college and high school students. We used self-administered questionnaires to assess breast cancer perceptions and misconceptions, awareness of risk factors and understanding of breast self-examination. A total of 355 high school students and 132 college students in a Mid-Western area of the USA participated in the study. Our findings were in accordance with previous studies carried out in other regions of the world, showing that a high proportion of students at both high school and college level were largely ignorant of the risk factors associated with breast cancer. Furthermore, a number of misconceptions regarding the disease were common. Only 66% of female college students and 40% of female high school students reported having ever received information on breast self-examination. Interestingly, only half the students who had received instruction reported that they could perform breast self-examination with confidence. Most of the participants however, expressed an eagerness to have more information provided in schools. Consequently we strongly urge the adoption of more breast cancer awareness programs targeting college and high school students. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4460. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-4460