AFL Research Grants 1982 - Present
Adolescent Sexual Behavior
Intrafamilial Sexual Socialization Patterns and Outcomes
Principal Investigator:
Greer Litton Fox, Ph.D.
University of Tennessee
Dept. of Child and Family Studies
115 Home Economics Bldg.
Knoxville, TN 37996-1900
Project Period: 10/1/82 - 8/31/85
Summary: The primary objective of the research was to describe and account for patterns of parental involvement and non-involvement in the socialization and social control of their teenaged children's sexual values and behavior. The second objective was to explore the effect and pattern of parental involvement on the teen's sexual attitudes and behavior. The design involved open-format interviews with 120 families in Detroit. Selection criteria include race, headship type, gender of the teen. A conceptual model was tested, and summary profiles of models of intergenerational sexual socialization were developed.
Sex and Pregnancy Among Mexican-American Adolescents
Principal Investigator:
Rosina M. Becerra, Ph.D.
School of Social Welfare
University of California at Los Angeles
405 Hilgard Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Project Period: 10/1/82 - 9/30/85
Summary: Factors were examined related to teenage sexuality and pregnancy among Mexican-American and white females, aged 13-19. An intensive case study of 45 young females in Los Angeles precedes a survey of 1000 teenage girls drawn from a household, community-based sample that is established after initial screening. An extensive range of sociodemographic, psychological, attitudinal, cultural and situational factors were examined to assess relationships with sexual behavior, contraceptive knowledge and practice, and pregnancy.
Familial Communication and Adolescent Sexual Behavior
Principal Investigator:
Janet R. Kahn
Associate Research Scientist
American Institutes for Research
Cambridge, MA
Project Period: 10/1/82 - 9/30/84
Summary: This study was designed to increase our understanding of the impact of home environment, particularly quality of parent-child communication, on adolescent sexual activity and contraceptive practices. The investigators re-interviewed families originally surveyed as part of the 1976 Cleveland Parent Study. The specific research questions were 1) what are the most important factors affecting adolescent sexual behavior, and 2) how have parents' roles as sex educators of their children evolved over the seven year period?
Role of the Family in Deterring Unwed Parenting
Principal Investigator:
Peter A. Morrison, Ph.D.
Senior Social Scientist
The Rand Corporation
1700 Main St.
Santa Monica, CA 90406
Project Period: 1/1/83 - 12/31/85
Summary: This study examined families' involvement with their teenage children and the extent to which it deters early childbearing and single-parenting. The role of the adolescent's peers, the school milieu, religious participation, sexual knowledge, and the young person's developing values, attitudes and aspirations were also studied. Existing data were utilized from a national panel of nearly 30,000 women 16 to 18 years old who were previously surveyed initially in 1980 and again in 1982.
Family and Institutional Factors in Adolescent Sexuality
Principal Investigator:
Arland D. Thorton, Ph.D.
Associate Research Scientist
Institute for Social Researc
University of Michigan
426 Thompson St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48106
Project Period: 2/1/83 - 1/31/86
Summary: This research examined the contribution of a wide range of family, religion, school and peer influences on adolescent sexual behavior, contraceptive use and experience with premarital pregnancy. The research used an intergenerational panel study of mothers and their children over an 18 year period from 1962 to 1980. The analysis involved a variety of multivariate techniques.
Parent, Peer, and Media Influence on Adolescent Sexual Behavior
Principal Investigator:
Jane D. Brown, Ph.D.
Carolina Population Center
University of North Carolina
University Square 300-A
Chapel Hill, NC 27514-3997
Project Period: 10/1/83 - 9/30/84
Summary: This study used data, previously collected by interview, from a sample of about 1100 adolescents in one school district. The study investigates three factors, parents, peers, and TV viewing, which might explain why some adolescents initiated sexual activity and some did not.
Starting Early: The Antecedents of Early Premarital Intercourse
Principal Investigator:
James L. Peterson, Ph.D.
Child Trends, Inc.
1990 M Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
Project Period: 10/1/83 - 6/30/85
Summary: This project used data from the National Survey of Children, for which a sample of children was interviewed in 1976 and again in 1981. The study investigated 6 factors which might explain why some adolescents initiated sexual activity and some did not. It included information on the characteristics of family, peers, schools, neighborhoods, media, and religion.
Short-Term Consequences of Adolescent Sexual Behavior
Principal Investigator:
John O. G. Billy, Ph.D.
Health and Population Study Center
Battelle Memorial Institute
4000 N.E. 41st St.
P.O. Box C-5395
Seattle, WA 98105
Project Period: 10/1/84 - 9/30/85
This research project examined the short-term effects of sexual behavior on selected behavioral and attitudinal changes in the adolescent, an area where very little research had been done even though the adolescent years are a time when changes in values, beliefs, attachments, and behaviors have far-reaching consequences. The researchers found that early sexual activity had important consequences for adolescents' social and psychological characteristics because by assuming an adult behavior prior to adulthood and marriage, adolescents are out of step with peers, family, and school.
Concurrent and Later Correlates of Early Premarital Sex
Principal Investigator:
Ora Simcha-Fagan, Ph.D.
Center for the Social Sciences
420 West 118th St.
New York, NY 10027
Project Period: 10/1/84 - 9/30/85
Summary: This study examined the extent to which premarital sexual activity is associated with other behaviors to form a relatively distinct pattern of adjustment. The researchers also examined the relationships between the early initiation of sexual activity and later social and behavioral developmental patterns.
Media Sexual Content and Adolescent Use and Perceptions
Principal Investigator:
Bradley S. Greenberg, Ph.D.
Department of Communications
409 Communications Arts and Sciences Bldg.
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1212
Project Period: 10/1/84 - 9/30/86
Summary: This project identified patterns of media viewing, including daytime and prime- time television and movies at commercial theaters, among samples of female high school students and pregnant teens. Those movies and television series found most popular with adolescents were content analyzed. A final phase of this project assessed adolescent perceptions and attitudes toward this material.
Premarital Sexual Relations Among Puerto Rican Youth
Principal Investigator:
Manuel J. Gutierrez, Ph.D.
ASPIRA, Inc. of PA
526 West Girard Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19123
Project Period: 10/1/84 - 9/30/86
Summary: In this project, researchers analyzed a sample of Puerto-Rican teenagers to determine the health and social consequences of adolescent premarital sexual relations on personal factors, familial and peer relationships, and socio-cultural behaviors of the teenagers as they enter early adulthood. This study expands the literature on male and female Hispanic youth, a group about which little information currently exists.
Sexual Behavior Among Mexican Adolescents: A Follow-Up
Principal Investigator:
Rosina Becerra, Ph.D.
Project Period: 10/1/85 - 9/30/88
Summary: This was a longitudinal, cross-cultural investigation to assess changes in the respondent's sexual attitudes and behaviors over time. The sample included Mexican-American and Anglo-American adolescents, a cohort from a previous cross-sectional study entitled "Sex and Pregnancy Among Mexican American Adolescents" which was re-interviewed. This was supplemented by 50 in-depth case studies of selected respondents in order to gain a richer understanding of changes in attitudes and behavior since the initial cross-sectional study was undertaken.
Adolescent Sexual Risk-taking: Antecedents and Sequelae
Principal Investigator:
Betty A. Chewning, Ph.D.
University of Wisconsin - Madison
1300 University Ave., Room 232
Madison, WI 53706
Project Period: 10/31/86 - 10/29/87
Summary: The proposed study aimed to (1) identify and compare antecedents and sequelae of sexual risk-taking for adolescents who begin their sexual activity at different ages; and (2) study the onset of health-related behaviors (e.g. alcohol and tobacco usage) in relation to the onset of sex as possible predictive markers of adolescent sexual risk-taking behavior. The research examined what happens to the adolescent after onset of sexual activity with particular interest in how sequelae may vary for adolescents whose sexual activity begins at different ages.
Contextual Effects on Adolescent Sexual Behavior
Principal Investigator:
John O.G. Billy, Ph.D.
Battelle Memorial Institute
Human Affairs Research Centers
Seattle, WA
Project Period: 9/30/87 - 9/29/89
Summary: The study investigated the effects of contextual or macro-level factors on four aspects of adolescent premarital sexual behavior: the likelihood of ever having inter-course; age at first intercourse; consistency of intercourse; and frequency of intercourse. The primary goal of the study was to better understand the processes by which macro or contextual factors, such as the community in which one lives, affects adolescent sexual behavior. It is believed that the general pattern of community norms may give rise to sexually permissive or restrictive attitudes which in turn may affect the behavior of adolescents.
Antecedents and Consequences of Teen Sexual Behavior
Principal Investigator:
Howard L. Barnes, Ph.D.
Dept. of Human Development and Family Studies
Kansas State University
Justin Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506
Project Period: 9/30/87 - 9/29/90
Summary: This study attempted to identify those factors or characteristics which distinguish between teens who are abstinent and teens who are sexually active. Subjects were drawn from three different rural school districts in Kansas with the sample consisting of adolescents from grades 7 through 12, parents of those adolescents, and parents of students in grades K through 6. Changes in the attitude and behavior of students and parents and the impact of these changes on other key variables such as self-esteem, parent-adolescent communication, family satisfaction, school success, among others were assessed. The longitudinal design also provided data on the impact of early sexual behavior on the individual teen and his/her relationship with peers and parents.
Preventing Teen Pregnancy: Attacking the Personal Fable
Principal Investigator:
Eli Saltz, Ph.D.
Merrill-Palmer Institute
Wayne State University
71-A East Ferry Ave.
Detroit, MI 48202
Project Period: 10/1/88 - 9/30/89
Summary: The purpose of the study was to test the hypothesis that male and female adolescents who enact the roles of teens involved in pregnancy dilemmas will be more likely to acknowledge their own pregnancy risk and their personal responsibility for avoidance of pregnancy and less likely to endorse casual premarital sexual activity. Four hundred and eighty male and female 10th and 11th grade high school students participated in a short-term video-making intervention, being involved in one of four groups: (1) role players, (2) active observers, (3) Passive observers, and (4) no intervention. A pre- and post-test of attitudes about sex was administered.
Premarital Sexual Activity in a Rural Black Community
Principal Investigator:
Anne L. Dean, Ph.D.
University of New Orleans
Psychology Department
Lakefront
New Orleans, LA
Project Period: 6/1/89 - 5/31/92
Summary: The objectives of the study were to collect and analyze qualitative data pertaining to the social context of a low-income, rural black community and to compare black and white samples of pregnant and never-pregnant black and white adolescent girls on their patterns of relationships with their parents and their attitudes about premarital sexual activity. An ethnographic approach was used, i.e., a method of research which attempts to understand behavior patterns from the point of view of the participants themselves. This involved the use of the methods of participant observation, formal and informal interviews, collaboration with key informants, and the gathering of demographic and census materials.
The Consequences of Early Childbearing
Principal Investigator:
Debra Kalmuss, Ph.D.
Center for Population and Family Health
Columbia University
New York, NY
Project Period: 9/30/90 - 9/29/93
Summary: The aim of this research project was to examine the consequences of teenage childbearing for young mothers and children. The consequences of interest are educational attainment, subsequent fertility, and child health and development. The data used in this study was from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Cohort (NLSY), a longitudinal survey of youth who were between the ages of 14 and 21 when they were first interviewed in 1979, and who were annually through 1986.
Influences on Adolescent Male Premarital Sexual Behavior
Principal Investigator:
Freya L. Sonenstein, Ph.D.
Urban Institute
Washington, DC
Project Period: 7/1/90 - 6/30/91
Summary: The overall objective of this study was to increase our knowledge and understanding and identifying the demographic, economic and social psychological antecedents of the initiation of sexual activity. The analyses were based on the National Survey of Adolescent Males, a representative survey of 1880 never-married males. Its specific aims were to (1) provide national estimates of patterns of sexual activity among U.S. males ages 15-19; (2) identify factors affecting the initiation of sexual activity and the timing of first intercourse among young men, ages 15-19; (3) examine the predictors of likely intercourse in the next year among young men 15-19 who have not yet initiated sexual activity; and (4) analyze the correlates of differential patterns of sexual behavior among young men ages 15-19.
Antecedents of Adolescent Sexual Attitudes and Behavior
Principal Investigator:
Kristin Moore, Ph.D.
Child Trends, Inc.
Washington, DC 20037
Project Period: 3/1/92 - 2/28/95
Summary: The aim of this research was to examine the socio-cultural, peer, family, psychosocial, and biological factors that influence attitudes regarding sexual behavior and the initiation of sexual intercourse during the teen years. Analyses involved data from the National Survey of Children, a nationally representative survey with longitudinal data on a sample of 1150 youth aged 18-22 in 1987.
Adolescents at Risk: Predictors of Problem Behavior
Principal Investigator:
Frank Most, Ph.D.
Ohio State University
Center for Human Resource Research
Columbus, OH
Project Period: 7/1/92 - 6/30/95
Summary: Using data from the NLSY longitudinal child and mother data bases, this project investigated the linkages between longer and shorter term maternal and family circumstances and a full range of child delinquent and trouble-related behaviors during adolescence. This included dimensions of school problem behaviors, early substance use, inferior intellectual development, and precocious heterosexual behaviors. The data were drawn from the annual 1979-1990 interviews with NLSY women aged 14-21 in 1979 (25-32 in 1990) and the three biennial assessments of their children conducted in 1986, 1988, and 1990.
Communication about Health Between Adults and Teens
Principal Investigator:
Marilyn J. Hoppe, Ph.D.
School of Social Work
University of Washington
927 N. Northlake Way, Suite 210
Seattle, WA 98103-8871
Project Period: 4/01/98 - 3/31/01
Summary: The goal of this project is to develop and pilot test a prevention-oriented sexuality curriculum for children in sixth through ninth grades. The proposed pilot project will be known as CHAT (Communication about Health Among Adults and Teens), which is an outgrowth of the Children's Health Awareness Project (CHAP), a longitudinal study of adolescent attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors about health and illness, including AIDS, funded by the National Institutes of Drug Abuse. In addition to having a knowledge-based curriculum, it will incorporate the social and cultural contexts of adolescents lives as well. Consequently, a major consideration in conducting this effort will be to actively involve children in the target populations, their parents and community leaders by eliciting their input and evaluative feedback throughout the process.
For this study, parent and student focus groups will be sampled from families whose children are in middles school (sixth, seventh, and eighth grades) and in the first year of high school (ninth grade). The researchers will recruit approximately 45 students and parents per grade for a total of 180 families, 72 of which will be Southeast Asian. Students will be chosen randomly (after stratification of Southeast Asian students) from lists provided by the Seattle School District. While using a diverse sample, the investigators intend to concentrate efforts on the Southeast Asian American students and parents to develop a model for incorporating culturally relevant aspects of sexuality education into the curriculum.
Reducing the Risk Curriculum: Replication and Evaluation
Principal Investigator:
Lynn M. Pike, Ph.D.
College of Environmental Sciences
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO 65211
Project Period: 4/01/98 -3/31/01
Summary: The goal of this study is to build on the previous evaluation of Reducing the Risk (RTR) curriculum in a study conducted by Kirby and others (1991) with the following modifications: a) involving a larger sample and larger numbers of African Americans, b) involving both rural and urban adolescents, (c) updating the instrumentation to track adolescents' use of current reproductive technology for three years, d) extending the follow-up from 18 to 36 months, and e) including two different comparison groups to control threats to internal validity. These objectives will be addressed through a quasi- experimental study conducted in 16 schools in Missouri. The initial treatment sample will be 1400 never-married students in grades 8 through 11. Eighth graders were included in order to involve a significant number of participants who had not initiated sexual activity. Two different comparison groups will be selected from the student bodies of both treatment and non-treatment schools. Information will be collected on the amount and type of school-based education the comparison Students receive, other than through exposure to RTR.
Teen Sexual Behavior: Demographic Risk and Trajectories
Principal Investigator:
Frank L. Mott, Ph.D.
Center for Human Resource Research
Ohio State University
921 Chatham Lane, Suite 100
Columbus, OH 43221-2418
Project Period: 9/01/98 - 8/31/01
Summary: Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this project will follow a large sample of male and female adolescents who are at higher than average risk of engaging in sexual activities that increase their likelihood of pregnancy and/or contracting sexually transmitted diseases. The aim of the study is to investigate the association between a variety of factors related to the child's background and his/her family and the subsequent pattern of adolescent relationships. The study will also attempt to differentiate between those youth who progress through adolescence at little or no risk of pregnancy or contracting a sexually transmitted disease from their peers who follow riskier paths.
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Adoption
Orientation of Pregnancy Counselors Toward Adoption
Principal Investigator:
Edmund Mech, Ph.D.
School of Social Work
University of Illinois
1207 West Oregon
Urbana, IL 61801
Project Period: 10/1/82 - 9/30/83
Summary: This study investigated the orientations of pregnancy counselors toward adoption and to determine the extent to which adoption is presented to pregnant adolescents as a plausible alternative. A random sample of 100 counselors on the staffs of social programs and health facilities in Illinois are studied with regard to 1) beliefs/values about adoption, 2) factual information about adoption, and 3) perceived counselor influence on decisions made by pregnant adolescents.
Adoption and Parenting Decision-Making Among Adolescent Females
Principal Investigator:
Jane D. Bose
Program Director
Children's Home Society of Minnesota
D136 Mayo Memorial Bldg.
420 Delaware St. S.E.
St. Paul, Minnesota
Project Period: 1/1/83 - 12/31/84
Summary: This research on decision-making about adoption or parenting posed five research topics the relationship between psychological development and adoption-parenting decisions; family, peer, and male partner influence on decisions to place or keep a child; socio-demographic attributes correlated with parenting-adoption decisions; critical incidents in the adolescent's past that impact on parenting-adoption decision; and how agency or institutional policy influences parenting adoption decisions.
Adoption Decision-Making in Pregnant Minority Youth
Principal Investigator:
Byron R. Egeland, Ph.D.
Department of Educational Psychology
University of Minnesota
7548 Elliott Hall
75 E. River Rd.
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Project Period: 10/1/83 - 3/31/85
Summary: For this study, interviews were conducted with a sample of recently delivered black adolescent mothers. Information was obtained about the factors which influenced the mother's decision to care for the child herself in an independent household or put the child in the care of relatives or friends.
Adoption Behavior and the Propensity to Adopt in the U.S.
Principal Investigator:
Dudley L. Poston, Jr., Ph.D.
The University of Texas at Austin
Population Research Center
Austin, TX 78712
Project Period: 10/1/83 - 6/30/86
Summary: Data from national fertility studies conducted in 1955, 1973, 1976 and 1982 were used to describe trends in the characteristics of women who adopted children, or indicated a desire to adopt children. The study also investigated the relationship between having adopted a child and the later fertility of women.
Adoption Decisions: Personal and Social Context
Principal Investigator:
David J. Kallen, Ph.D.
Department of Pediatrics and Human Development
3240 Life Science Bldg.
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824
Project Period: 1/1/84 - 6/30/87
Summary: This was a study of the process by which adolescent mothers decide to keep their child or place it for adoption. Data were collected by means of interviews and questionnaires from a sample of adolescent mothers, their parents, the fathers of the children, and professional care providers who serve adolescent mothers. An assessment was made of the extent and nature of the influence exerted by each of these major factors in the decision-making process.
The Consequences of the Adoption Decision
Principal Investigator:
Steven D. McLaughlin, Ph.D.
Battelle Human Affairs Research Center
Health and Population Study Center
4000 N.E. 41st St.
Seattle, WA 98105
Project Period: 10/1/84 - 9/30/86
Summary: This research project examined the consequences for teen mothers who chose an adoption plan and adolescents who decided to raise their infants. The two groups were compared on a series of outcomes including educational attainment, marriage, subsequent fertility, earned income and public sector support.
Consequences of the Relinquish Versus Parent Decision
Principal Investigator:
Steven D. McLaughlin, Ph.D.
Battelle Human Affairs Research Center
Health and Population Study Center
4000 N.E. 41st St.
Seattle, WA 98105
Project Period: 10/1/86 - 9/30/89
Summary: The objective of the proposed study was to determine the consequences of an adolescent's decision either to relinquish a first birth for adoption or parent the child herself. The consequences which were examined included subsequent educational attainment, marriage, subsequent pregnancies and fertility, labor force participation, earned income, welfare dependency, and global life satisfaction. Panel data was collected from all adolescents who received pregnancy counseling services from the Options for Pregnancy Program of the Adoption Services of the Western Association of Concerned Adoptive Parents (WACAP) and who resolved the pregnancy with a live birth.
Openness in Adoption: Outcomes for the Adoption Triad
Principal Investigator:
Ruth G. McRoy, Ph.D.
University of Texas at Austin
School of Social Work
2609 University Ave.
Austin, TX 78712
Project Period: 6/1/87 - 5/31/90
Summary: The goal of this study was to assess the consequences of the varying degrees of openness in adoption for the members of the adoption triad: the birth mother, adopted child, and adoptive parents. Three degrees of openness were examined: traditional adoption, in which little information is shared at placement and no contact of any kind is permitted between adoptive and birth parents; semi-open adoption, in which some non-identified communication between parties may exist but is typically mediated by the adoption agency; and fully disclosed open adoption, in which the adoptive family and birth mother have ongoing face-to-face contact.
Decision-Making Regarding Adoption and Parenting
Principal Investigator:
Pearila B. Namerow, Ph.D.
Center for Population and Family Health
Columbia University
60 Haven Ave.
New York, NY 10032
Project Period: 10/1/87 - 9/30/90
Summary: The specific aims of this study were (1) to describe young women's values and attitudes toward both parenting and adoption; (2) to test the utility of an expectancy- value model in predicting pregnancy resolution decision-making; (3) to identify the determinants of women's pregnancy resolution decisions; (4) to investigate why a sizeable minority of young women who actively consider the adoption option eventually choose instead to parent their babies; and (5) to assess the consequences of parenting and adoption for pregnant young women.
Evaluating the Adoption Components of AFL Care Projects
Principal Investigator:
Steven D. McLaughlin, Ph.D.
Battelle Memorial Institute
Human Affairs Research Centers
Seattle, WA
Project Period: 9/15/87 - 9/14/90
Summary: The primary objective of this study was to investigate whether the characteristics and practices of Adolescent Family Life pregnancy counseling programs influence the likelihood that pregnant adolescent clients place their child for adoption after controlling for the characteristics of the clients and the communities within which they live.
To Parent or Relinquish: Consequences Two Years Later
Principal Investigator:
Steven D. McLaughlin, Ph.D.
Battelle Memorial Institute
Human Affairs Research Centers
4000 N.E. 41st St.
Seattle, WA 98105
Project Period: 7/1/88 - 6/30/91
Summary: This study investigated the long-term consequences of the adolescent mother's decision to either parent the child herself or relinquish the child for adoption. It examined the impact of the parent versus relinquish decision on subsequent educational attainment, marriage subsequent pregnancies and fertility, labor force participation, household income, and social and psychological well-being 26-month after the birth of the child.
Openness in Adoption: Birth Mother Adjustment Patterns
Principal Investigator:
Ruth G. McRoy, Ph.D.
University of Texas at Austin
School of Social Work
2609 University Ave.
Austin, TX 78712
Project Period: 8/1/90 - 7/31/92
Summary: The goal of this project was to conduct four studies on developmental patterns of birth mothers participating in confidential, semi-open, and fully-disclosed adoptions. Study one tested predicted outcomes in both the self-concept and relational domains for birth mothers who have placed their children in varying degrees of open adoptions. Study two was designed to develop a predictive model of birth mother adjustment by examining personal and social background factors that influence post-placement adjustment. Study three compared teen birth mothers and adult birth mothers on the factors which led to their choice of openness, satisfaction with their choice and adjustment factors as measured by identity and intimacy development, subsequent fertility and health problems. Study four intensively explored the links between birth mothers' close relationships with peers and with the adoptive family.
Consequences of the Adoption Decision: 5-Year Follow-up
Principal Investigator:
Steven D. McLaughlin, Ph.D.
Battelle Memorial Institute
Human Affairs Research Centers
4000 N.E. 41st St.
Seattle, WA 98105
Project Period: 5/1/91 - 4/30/94
Summary: The objective of this study was to examine the consequences of the decision to either parent or relinquish a child through adoption for the well-being of the adolescent mother five years after the birth. The specific outcomes that were examined included: educational attainment; subsequent pregnancies and their resolution; marriage and living arrangements; marital dissolution; and economic and social-psychological well-being.
Adoption Versus Parenting: Consequences for Young Women
Principal Investigator:
Pearila B. Namerow, Ph.D.
Center for Population and Family Health
Columbia University
60 Haven Ave.
New York, NY 10032
Project Period: 3/1/92 - 2/28/95
Summary: This study compared young women who parent with those who relinquish their children four years after they made their decision. It examined the consequences of parenting versus placing a child for adoption. Parenting and placing mothers were compared on a series of outcomes related to education, occupation, fertility , marital and economic status, and on a series of social psychological and psychological outcomes including comfort with the pregnancy resolution decision, life satisfaction, future outlook, self-esteem and other measures of psychological well-being.
Adoption Openness: Longitudinal Birth Mother Outcomes
Principal Investigator:
Ruth G. McRoy, Ph.D.
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX
Project Period: 11/1/97 - 10/31/00
Summary: The aim of this project is to investigate the long-term adjustment outcomes for birth mothers participating in four types of adoption options: confidential adoptions, in which no information is shared between birth and adoptive parents after 6 months post-placement; time-limited mediated adoptions in which information exchange is mediated by the adoption agency for a specified period of time; or indefinite sharing, ongoing mediated adoptions; and fully disclosed adoptions, in which direct sharing of information occurs between adoptive and birth family member(s) and is usually accompanied by face-to-face meetings. This research is a longitudinal follow-up of McRoy's study of 169 birth mothers who placed children for adoption four to twelve years earlier. At the time of placement, the birth mothers ranged in age from 14 to 36 years and approximately two-thirds were adolescents.
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Adolescent Pregnancy Services
Resource Use by Pregnant and Parenting Adolescents
Principal Investigator:
Janet B. Hardy, M.D.
Department of Pediatrics
405 N. Caroline St.
The Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine
Baltimore, MD 21231
Project Period: 10/1/82 - 12/31/85
Summary: This study examined issues related to the availability, coordination and use of services for pregnant and parenting adolescents in the Baltimore community. A survey of community resources and interviews of a random sample of adolescent mothers were used to measure the scope of existing resources for pregnant and parenting adolescents, identify the barriers impeding access to those services and identify the high risk subgroups for whom services need to be provided. Cost-benefits of intervention were also assessed.
Adolescent Family Life: A Longitudinal Study
Principal Investigator:
Harold Richman, Ph.D.
Center for the Study of Social Policy
National Opinion Research Center
6030 S. Ellis Ave.
Chicago, Illinois
Project Period: 10/1/82 - 3/31/85
Summary: This project involved a longitudinal survey of pregnant or parenting teenagers who are on Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). The purpose was to investigate what factors are associated with adolescent parents' ability to achieve independence. Education, employment, family support, birth of subsequent children, the availability and utilization of particular services, including child care, family planning, medical and special school programs, and the mother's goals and expectations were addressed.
Developing Comprehensive Services for Teenage Parents
Principal Investigator:
Richard A. Weatherly, Ph.D.
The Florence Heller Graduate School
for Advanced Studies in Social Welfare
Brandeis University
Waltham, MA
Project Period: 10/1/82 - 9/30/84
Summary: This research attempted to explain why some localities have developed comprehensive services for teenage parents while others have not. Six localities (2 rural, 4 mid- sized cities) with services were matched with six which do not have services. Various local officials are interviewed to try to determine differences and what resources and constraints have facilitated or impeded program development. Importance of leadership, governmental policies, voluntary organizations, media, administration, culture, etc., were assessed.
Contraceptive Use and Clinic Continuation Among Adolescents
Principal Investigator:
Frank F. Furstenberg, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology
University of Pennsylvania
3718 Locust Walk CR
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Project Period: 10/1/82 - 3/31/84
Summary: The project was designed to learn: a) how do individual attributes affect adolescent contraceptive use, b) how are social conditions and context related to adolescent contraceptive use, and c) what are the organizational features of programs that promote contraceptive continuation and thus lower rates of unwanted pregnancy and adolescent childbearing. Analyses were conducted on four related data sets: 1) three interviews with a sample of 443 adolescent clients attending one of nine family planning clinics in the Philadelphia area; 2) interviews with approximately 100 mothers of the 443 clients; 3) clinic visit records for the 443 clients and a larger population of about 12,000 adolescent clients who initiated services during the same time as the 443; and 4) information on clinic attributes for both sets of attenders.
Effects of Family Involvement on AFL Program Clients
Principal Investigator:
Sandra L. Hanson, Ph.D.
Center for Study of Youth Development
Catholic University of America
Washington, DC
Project Period: 9/30/87 - 9/29/89
Summary: This study investigated the family involvement strategies that are employed in Adolescent Family Life care programs. Family involvement is defined here as those program practices and procedures that encourage the participation of significant family members (including male partners) in program services. The nature of family involvement strategies and the relationship of family involvement to outcomes for teens were examined.
School-Based Services for Teen Parents: A Study
Principal Investigator:
Ms. Diane Fuscaldo
New Jersey Chapter, National Committee
for Prevention of Child Abuse
35 Halsey St.
Newark, NJ
Project Period: 10/1/90 - 9/30/93
Summary: This project had as its aim the evaluation of a program in New Jersey, which provides services for young mothers and their babies in a school setting. The aims of the evaluation were to (1) test the utility of a corporate/private/public partnership in achieving positive outcomes for teen mothers and their babies; (2) improve upon previous evaluations of programs of this kind by the inclusion of control groups and follow-up of teen mothers and their babies; (3) measure outcomes for mothers such as the success of this program in relieving stress and its symptoms as major barriers to achievement among mothers in school and in their parenting roles; (4) measure the impact of a school-based facility of this kind on the broader population of high school students, the faculty, and the staff of the school.
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Adolescent Pregnancy And Parenting
Factors Influencing Quality of Adolescent Parenting
Principal Investigator:
Louise Flick, Ph.D.
School of Nursing
St. Louis University Medical Center
3525 Caroline St.
St. Louis, MO 63104
Project Period: 10/1/82 - 9/30/84
Summary: This study added an additional subsample to a study that was previously conducted. It examined the social cognitive development and maternal behavior of adoles- cent mothers, testing the validity of Newberger's parental awareness model. The study tested two hypotheses: among adolescent mother, parental awareness relates positively to mother's age and to the quality of mother-child interaction. The additional sample was primarily black, low SES mothers referred to urban programs.
Fathers of Infants of Adolescent Mothers
Principal Investigator:
Arthur B. Elster, M.D.
Department of Pediatrics
University of Utah
50 N. Medical Dr.
Salt Lake City, UT 84112
Project Period: 10/1/84 - 9/30/88
Summary: The goal of this four-year study was to learn more about fathers of infants born to adolescent mothers. The study attempted to: describe the characteristics of young fathers as a function of their level of commitment with their partner; use these characteristics to predict the level of commitment; describe the social and financial involvement which fathers have with the adolescent mother and infant as a function of the couple's relationship; describe the medical, psychological, and vocational educational outcomes of adolescent mothers and their infants as a function of their relationship with the father of the baby; and describe the problems perceived by fathers and the father's perception of parenthood.
The Grandmother's Role in Teenage Parenthood
Principal Investigator:
Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Ph.D.
Educational Testing Services
Rosedale Road
Princeton, NJ 08541
Project Period: 10/1/85 - 9/30/88
Summary: This study investigated the role of grandmothers and family networks in families where an adolescent pregnancy has occurred. In particular, the flow of support and influence of grandmothers on their daughters who are teenage mothers and their grandchildren born to early childbearers were examined. Four generations of 300 primarily Black low-income families were studied in what is known as the Baltimore Study. Emphasis was on the role of two different generations of grandmothers in these families vis-a-vis the development of their grandchildren.
Social Support and Adolescent Childbearing
Principal Investigator:
Carolyn E. Cutrona, Ph.D.
University of Iowa
Dept. of Psychology
Seashore Hall
Iowa City, IA 52242
Project Period: 10/1/85 - 9/30/88
Summary: This was a longitudinal study designed to investigate the effects of adolescent childbearing on the psychological and social development of the adolescent mother and to determine the extent to which social support and other social network variables can prevent the deleterious effects of adolescent childbearing on both the young mother and her infant. Outcomes that were examined included the mother's mental health, self-esteem, and social competence, and health care behaviors, as well as the infant's cognitive development and the security of the infant's attachment to its mother.
Parenting Among Low-Income Teenage Mothers
Principal Investigator:
Denise F. Polit, Ph.D.
Humanalysis, Inc.
74 Henry St., Ste. 139
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
Project Period: 10/1/85 - 12/31/86
Summary: This study examined the extent to which a teen mother's parenting knowledge was influenced by her age at first birth and her exposure to parenting education classes and other factors. Also, the model predicted that child development outcomes are a function of parenting behaviors and the home environment as well as child characteristics.
Longitudinal Study of Adolescents and Their Children
Principal Investigator:
Arlene R. Stiffman, Ph.D.
The George Warren Brown
School of Social Work
Washington University
Box 1196
St. Louis, MO 63130
Project Period: 11/1/85 - 10/31/86
Summary: The two major objectives of this study were: (1) to examine the impact of adolescent pregnancy on adolescent physical and mental health and, (2) to examine the development of the infants of adolescents as both parents and infants are influenced by health service utilization, family and peer support, environmental stress and the adolescent's personal factors.
Psychological Impact of Pregnancy for Rural Adolescents
Principal Investigator:
Judith R. Vicary, Ph.D.
Pennsylvania State University
201 Human Development East
University Park, PA 16802
Project Period: 10/1/85 - 9/30/90
Summary: This was a five-year prospective longitudinal study of the psychological and social impact of pregnancy and childbearing on a sample of white, rural adolescent females in junior high school. The study identified factors that predict a pregnancy during adolescence and compares the later development of girls who become pregnant with those who do not.
Attachment Across Generations in Families of Adolescents
Principal Investigator:
Mary J. Ward, Ph.D.
Box 578
New York Hospital
Cornell University Medical Center
New York, NY 10021
Project Period: 10/1/85 - 9/30/88
Summary: This was a longitudinal study which investigated the influence of individual differences (personality, family and environmental factors) on attachment across generations. Patterns of group and individual change in childrearing knowledge and behavior were analyzed, and an attempt was made to identify factors which distinguish teenage parents who provide adequate care from those not providing adequate care for their children.
Teen Mothers: Maternal Care and Child Development
Principal Investigator:
Byron R. Egeland, Ph.D.
University of Minnesota
n517 Elliott Hall
75 E. River Rd.
St. Paul, Minnesota
Project Period: 11/1/85 - 10/31/87
Summary: This research project assessed parental characteristics, quality of caretaking, as well as developmental outcomes for adolescent mothers and their children. Included in the analysis was a comparison group of older mothers and children. The two-year study analyzed secondary data covering the third trimester of pregnancy through elementary school. These data were from the Mother-Child Project, a longitudinal study of high risk mothers and their children.
Teen Mothers and Attachment
Principal Investigator:
Eli Saltz, Ph.D.
Merrill-Palmer Institute
Wayne State University
71-A East Ferry Ave.
Detroit, MI 48202
Project Period: 10/1/85 - 9/30/86
Summary: The aims of this study were 1) to determine if teenage mothers and their infants are at risk for developing insecure attachment relationships; 2) to determine if the maternal grandmothers (with whom the teenagers reside) are likely to assume the primary caretaker role and, particularly for younger mothers become the focus of the infant's attachment; and 3) to determine the factors related to the development of secure vs. insecure attachments in infants of teenage mothers, with particular emphasis on those factors which might be amenable to change.
Predicting and Modifying Parenting in Adolescent Mothers
Principal Investigator:
John G. Borkowski, Ph.D.
University of Notre Dam
Dept. of Psychology
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Project Period: 7/1/86 - 6/30/89
Summary: The project was designed to accomplish three goals: (1) Descriptive phase - To identify personal-social factors that differentiate pregnant teenagers and adults; (2) Structural modeling phase - To use prepartum individual differences in measures of Readiness for Parenting, Ability to Learn, Personal Adjustment, Social Supports, and Neonatal Integrity to predict childrearing practices and child development; (3) Intervention phase - To assess the impact of several theoretically-driven interventions on improving parenting skills and enhancing child development.
Adolescent Parenting Behavior
Principal Investigator:
Marguerite B. Stevenson, Ph.D
Child and Family Studies
University of Wisconsin
Madison, WI 53706
Project Period: 10/1/86 - 9/30/89
Summary: The aims of this study were: (1) the comparison of the environments provided for the infant by adolescent single mothers and adult single mothers in terms of the amount of stimulation, the variety and appropriateness of experiences provided and the mother's responsiveness to signals from her infant; (2) to examine possible influences of knowledge of infant development and child care assistance on the adolescent mother's parenting behavior; and (3) to examine the possible influence of the adolescent mother's parenting behavior on the socio-emotional and cognitive development of her infant.
Pregnancy and Parenthood in the Adolescent Life Course
Principal Investigator:
Cynthia A. Robbins, Ph.D.
Dept. of Sociology
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40506-0027
Project Period: 4/1/87 - 3/31/90
Summary: The objectives of this study were to: (1) identify demographic and psycho-social risk factors for premarital adolescent pregnancy; (2) test hypotheses concerning how a premarital adolescent pregnancy will be resolved; (3) develop models concerning the effects of pregnancy and parenthood on early adult social role functioning and satisfaction; (4) examine the effects of adolescent pregnancy and parenthood on adult psychological well-being; and (5) identify conditioning or buffering factors for effects of early pregnancy and parenthood on adult psychological well-being.
Rural Adolescent Family Life: Health and Well-Being
Principal Investigator:
Sara A. Quandt, Ph.D.
Dept. of Anthropology
University of Kentucky
208 Lafferty Hall
Lexington, KY 40506-0024
Project Period: 9/30/87 - 9/29/89
Summary: The objectives of this study were (1) to assess individual, household, and community environmental factors in predicting parenthood among male and female rural adolescents; (2) compare the predictors of parenthood for rural and urban adolescents; (3) assess environmental factors in predicting the well-being of rural adolescent parents and their children; (4) analyze the mediation of health and social behaviors between environment and well-being of adolescent parents; (5) identify variations in rural adolescent family life and their correlation of family life and well-being; and (6) compare the effect of environment on well-being of parenthood; and the correlation of family life and well-being between rural and urban adolescents.
Teen Mothers' Attachment Relationships: 3-Year Followup
Principal Investigator:
Mary J. Ward, Ph.D.
Box 578
New York Hospital
Cornell University Medical Center
New York, NY 10021
Project Period: 7/1/88 - 6/30/91
Summary: This project was an extension of two longitudinal studies of approximately 120 adolescent mothers, their firstborn children, and their own mothers followed from before the infants' births. It covered the period from the child's second to third birthdays. Mother-child dyads were seen at 24 and 36 months; mother- grandmother dyads at 30 months; mother-secondborn dyads at the child's 12 month birthdays. Four major questions were addressed in this study: (1) continuity in mother-child attachment from infancy to three years, (2) mother and child behavior sequelae of infant-mother attachment, (3) associations between mother-child and mother-grandmother relationships, and (4) the role of social support, relationship with partner, and caregiving attitudes in change and continuity in relationships.
The Background, Education and Employment of Teen Fathers
Principal Investigator:
Maureen Pirog-Good, Ph.D.
Indiana University
School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Bloomington, IN
Project Period: 9/1/90 - 8/31/94
Summary: Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Labor Market Experiences - Youth Cohort (NLSY), this study examined the distinctive characteristics of those males who become teen fathers. The research focused on the background and social-psychological characteristics of the young men as well as their educational attainment and labor force participation. The aim of the study was to determine how the experiences of teen fathers change over time and whether these changes compare favorably or unfavorably with non-fathers.
Paternity and Pregnancy Among Adolescent Males
Principal Investigator:
Freya L. Sonenstein, Ph.D. Urban Institute 2100 M Street, N.W. Washington, DC
Project Period: 7/1/93 - 6/30/95
Summary: Using longitudinal data from a nationally representative cohort of never-married 15-19 year old males, interviewed in 1988 in the National Survey of Adolescent Males (NSAM) and in 1990-1991, this study examined the antecedents and sequelae of adolescent pregnancy and birth among adolescent males. Analyses of NSAM were augmented with the 1988 National Maternal and Infant Health Survey (NMIHS), which provided the first available data about characteristics of fathers for a nationally representative sample of live births.
Cross-Ethnic/Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Fatherhood
Principal Investigator:
Paul W. Florsheim, Ph.D.
University of Utah
Dept. of Psychology
Salt Lake City, UT
Project Period: 4/1/96 - 3/31/99
Summary: This research project was designed to test a model of adolescent paternal involvement across three ethnic groups (African-American, Hispanic, and White) In examining adolescent fatherhood from a developmental-ecological perspective, the study is specifically designed to: 1) identify risk and protective factors associated with different patterns of paternal involvement; 2) clarify the relationship between paternal attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors and child development; 3) determine whether risk and protective factors function similarly across ethnic groups and social-ecological contexts. One of the primary goals of this study was to better understand the process through which young fathers develop or fail to develop as parents.
Evaluating an African-Centered Pregnancy Model
Principal Investigator:
Ann A. O'Connell, Ed.D.
The University of Memphis
Memphis, TN
Project Period: 8/1/96 - 7/31/97
Summary: The aim of this study was to translate an Africentric conceptual model into a school-based program for pregnant and parenting adolescents and to evaluate the efficacy of the approach on adolescent pregnancy outcomes. The investigation involved randomly assigning schools with high rates of adolescent pregnancy either to an Intervention Treatment condition or to a Comparison (Control) condition. African-American females who are pregnant and/or parenting and attending a Memphis City School, serving grades 7 through 12, will be involved in "Rites of Passage" training that will run for 8 months. It was hypothesized that, relative to students in the Comparison (Control) Condition, pregnant and parenting adolescents who are assigned to the Intervention/Treatment Condition ("Rites of Passage") will be more sexually responsible, will have better pregnancy outcomes and better parenting skills, will have better school performance, will have a higher level of self-esteem, and will be less likely to experience a repeat pregnancy.
Young Adult Outcomes of Adolescent Sexuality and Pregnancy
Principal Investigator:
Judith R. Vicary, Ph.D.
Pennsylvania State University
S-152 Henderson Bldg.
University Park, PA
Project Period: 8/1/96 - 7/31/97
Summary: The goal of this project was first, to follow-up a sample of rural adolescent females initially studied as part of a longitudinal study into their young adulthood to determine the present outcomes of their early, middle or late initiation of sexual intercourse and second, to examine the consequences of teen childbearing in the same sample by comparing the outcomes for: (a) girls who were not sexually active in adolescence; (b) girls who were sexually active at that stage but did not become pregnant; and (c) girls who became pregnant as teenagers.
The Demographic Context of Teen Motherhood, 1980-1995
Principal Investigator:
Jennnifer S. Manlove, Ph.D.
Child Trends, Inc.
1990 M Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
Project Period: 10/1/97 - 9/30/00
Summary: This study will assess multiple hypotheses to help explain why the U.S. teen birth rate, after declining for several decades, experienced a dramatic and unprecedented increase of nearly 25 percent between 1986 and 1991. The project will use data from Cycle V of the National Survey of Family Growth (1995), augmented with census-level and state-level data. It will compare teenage mothers who had a birth during the period of dramatic increases in the teen birth rate (1987-1991) with teen mothers who gave birth in the period prior to the increase (1980-1986), as well as with teen mothers who gave birth during a period of stable or declining birth rates (1992-1995).
Follow-up of Younger Siblings of Teen Mothers
Principal Investigator:
Patricia L. East, Ph.D.
University of California- San Diego
San Diego Medical Center
Department of Pediatrics
San Diego, CA 92103-8449
Project Period: 1/01/98 - 12/31/00
Summary: This study is a short-term longitudinal follow-up which will examine the factors resulting from an older sister's birth that contribute to younger siblings' risk of early pregnancy and childbearing. Are younger sisters more adversely affected than younger brothers? What are the processes by which younger brothers become vulnerable to such risk and is it different from or similar to younger sisters' pathway to vulnerability? These issues will be addressed by this study. The sample consists of 313 younger siblings (169 younger sisters, 144 younger brothers, their 218 older sisters, and their 176 mothers. Approximately half of the older sisters had never been pregnant by time 1; the remaining older sisters were either currently pregnant for the first time or had delivered their first child not longer than six months previously. This would continue a study of the younger siblings and older sisters for a Time 3 assessment scheduled 3.5 years after Time 2 to allow for follow-up of the younger siblings through the age at which their older sister gave birth.
Adolescent Fathers: Patterns of Involvement
Principal Investigator:
Maureen M. Black, Ph.D. University of Maryland at Baltimore School of Medicine
Department of Pediatrics
655 West Lombard Street, Suite 311
Baltimore, MD 21201
Project Period: 01/01/98 - 12/31/01
Summary: This study will examine the paternal roles of fathers of babies born to adolescent mothers. Its aims are to examine the parenting roles of both biological and non-biological father figures, the determinants of those roles, the relationship between paternal roles and children's behavior and development, and the impact on paternal roles of an ongoing intervention targeted toward parenting and adolescent role development of adolescent mothers. The investigation includes both qualitative and quantitative components. The qualitative component includes 20 biological fathers of infants born to adolescent mothers and the quantitative component includes 180 biological fathers and /or non-biological father figures. Both groups will be followed over the first two years of the child's life.
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