News Archive: Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health
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2007
Schools were not prepared for students' mental health needs after hurricanes Katrina and Rita — December 17, 2007
Some schools who received displaced students following hurricanes Katrina and Rita made significant efforts to meet the mental health needs of those students, but the schools had limited ability to implement programs. Pre-crisis training in mental health may help schools implement disaster-focused programs after a disaster.
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Reducing child malnutrition in India — December 14, 2007
A RAND evaluation of a UNICEF India nutrition initiative finds that it has the potential to reduce child malnutrition cost effectively.
Working is associated with adolescent tobacco use — November 30, 2007
A study of about 800 predominately African American adolescents from Baltimore, MD found that adolescents who work for pay are more likely to use tobacco
Preventing partner violence in Latino youth
Break the Cycle, a non-profit organization seeking to end domestic violence, implemented a five-year demonstration project for Latino youth in Los Angeles, California. RAND's evaluation of the project explores lessons learned that can inform other prevention efforts.
Youth embrace "photovoice" method to identify personal health choices — Nov 1, 2007
More than a dozen participants from the UCLA/RAND Youth Advisory Board engaged in a participatory research project to identify unhealthy dietary practices and inducers of stress in their communities and to advocate for promoting positive health goals.
School-based suicide prevention program reaches majority of clients — Nov 1, 2007
Most students identified by this school-based suicide prevention program received follow-up care, but Latinos were less likely to access services outside the school.
Fruit and vegetable intake high in new immigrant women — October 25, 2007
Postpartum immigrant women ate more fruits and vegetables than native-born women in the U.S. However, the difference diminished with time.
Schools Not Sustaining Mental Health Aid to Children Displaced by Hurricane Katrina — October 19, 2007
Despite strong initial efforts to support the mental health needs of students displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, many schools have not been able to fulfill students' mental health needs over the long term.
Children of HIV–infected parents typically not in parental custody — October 19, 2007
More than half of the children involved in this study were not in the custody of their HIV–infected parent(s) at some time during the study period. 62% of parents cited drug use as reasons for losing custody.
Adolescent sexual abstinence associated with better mental health in females — October 16, 2007
Adolescent sexual abstinence predicts better adult mental health in females, but not males. Other factors such as educational prospects and family bonding also significantly influence on outcomes.
Impoverished women are likely to engage in unprotected sex when in committed relationships — October 15, 2007
For impoverished women, either sheltered or housed, "relationship commitment" predicted more frequent engagement in unprotected sex with their partner. Understanding how relationship commitment affects condom use is an important facet of HIV prevention among these women.
Factors related to depression in women with children identified — October 10, 2007
A study of a diverse sample of Los Angeles-area women found that non-Hispanic white mothers had greater odds of depression than did Hispanic mothers, and women with adolescent children who are single and less educated suffer depression more frequently than their counterparts.
Physical aggression of boys and girls tracked to multiple external factors — October 09, 2007
Parental supervision, deviant peer association, academic orientation, impulsivity, and emotional distress at Grade 7 all appear to be related to levels of aggression young boys and girls express. These associations do not differ by gender; boys and girls may undergo very similar processes in the development of physical aggression.
Medicaid managed care plans and children with special care needs
Special needs children enrolled in Medicaid managed care plans are significantly more likely to obtain occupational and physical therapy at school than their counterparts partaking in fee-for-service care plans.Can Adolescents Predict Significant Life Events?
Adolescents accurately judged significant life outcomes - except for premature death rates, which they greatly overestimated.Interim between prior pregnancies has implications for fetal loss in current pregnancy — July 17, 2007
Women whose pregnancies are between 15 and 75 months after a prior pregnancy have a lower likelihood of fetal loss than women with shorter or longer inter-pregnancy intervals.Inaccuracies in adolescent reporting of substance use analyzed — July 17, 2007
Adolescent reporting of substance use contains inconsistencies that impact well-established outcome measures.Better access to federal and employer-provided time off helps working parents of chronically ill children — June 22, 2007
Researchers found that 30 percent of parents interviewed had employer-provided leave benefits to care for ill family members and 15 percent had access to paid leave, though most reported missing work to care for an ill child at home.Positive Youth Development interventions show success— June 4, 2007
Positive Youth Development, an intervention designed for urban after-school settings, was effective in significantly lowering drug use among participants up to one year after the beginning of the program.
Related Research:Parents of children with special needs report unmet demand for leave from work — May 31, 2007
Fully-employed parents with children who have special needs experience severe work–family conflicts and many report an unmet needs for leave, even if they already have leave benefits.
Adolescent drinking is associated with alcohol advertising and marketing — April 19, 2007
A study of 1,786 sixth and seventh graders in South Dakota finds that a child's exposure to alcohol advertising during early adolescence appears to influence beer drinking and their intent to drink a year later.
School playgrounds are key resource in fighting childhood obesity — April 19, 2007
The physical activity of over 1,500 sixth grade girls from six metropolitan areas was monitored on select Saturdays during the spring of 2003. Researchers found that, of school-ground parks within a half-mile radius of the girls' homes, only 57 percent were unlocked and had accessible facilities for weekend physical activities. Such facilities could be playgrounds, athletic fields, basketball courts, or paved playing surfaces. Findings imply that a policy change could help increase healthier activity among adolescent girls.
Can neighborhood design stimulate walking? — April 18, 2007
Data from the US 2000 Census and other sources were used to test whether the New Urbanism Smart Scorecard criteria would be useful in designing walkable communities. Results indicate neighborhood designs that contain dense businesses districts alongside four-way intersections were associated with more walking.
Youth's prior experience with drugs or alcohol negates prevalence perception — April 18, 2007
8th graders who think that their peers often use alcohol and marijuana are more likely to use it themselves, hence some intervention programs are aimed at correcting this misperception. However, youth who already use these drugs and have contact with other users are not influenced by a more accurate perception of widespread use among their peers.
Social context of food purchasing and preparation poses constraints to low–income women with children — April 4, 2007
This study conducted focus groups with 44 low–income mothers to explore patterns of food preparation and purchasing in the daily life of U.S. and foreign–born mothers. The study found that scarcity of food and access to food stores did not influence food purchasing as much as limited time for shopping and cooking, and difficulties getting to stores and childcare. Policies designed to improve diet qualty would benefit from considering the social context in which food is purchased and prepared.
Giving consent forms directly to parents may increase active consent — Mar 8, 2007
This study examined alternative ways to obtain parental consent for a school-based mental health program. Parents who received the forms directly in a school meeting were more likely to give consent and return the forms than were parents whose forms were distributed to their children in a classroom.
Opportunities to participate in high school extracurricular sports are limited — Feb 26, 2007
A survey of Los Angeles County public high schools revealed that no more than 31% of students participated in school sports programs. Schools offering fewer sports programs had lower rates of participation. Taking into account demographic differences, schools with more extracurricular sports had lower juvenile arrest rates and teen birth rates.
Mental health and substance abuse parity has benefited children — Feb 26, 2007
Children covered by 7 Federal Employees Health Benefits plans were compared to assess the likelihood of mental health and substance abuse service use, total spending, and out-of-pocket spending since the plans implemented parity (for physical health, mental health, and substance abuse coverage) in 2001. Out-of-pocket spending had decreased in all 7 plans, although to various degrees. While equivalence of coverage is shown, the need for expanded access for children remains an issue.
Birth pain may be under-treated in black and Hispanic patients — Feb 26, 2007
Hispanic and black women were less likely than white women to receive epidural analgesia, regardless of socioeconomic status, provider practice, and insurance coverage, according to a retrospective cohort study that included over 81,000 women admitted for childbirth between 1998 and 2003.
Latino teens experiencing dating violence are unlikely to seek help from adults — Jan. 31, 2007
Latino teens' attitudes about dating violence were explored through surveys and focus groups. Although teens are more likely to seek help from other teens than to confide in formal support networks (health professionals) or other adults, peers are reluctant to intervene in dating violence situations.
Latino teens' reactions to dating violence vary — Jan. 24, 2007
In a recent study that used simulations to assess Latino teens' reactions to dating violence, reactions varied, depending on the gender of the viewers, as well as the gender and familiarity of the instigator.
Monitoring teen television viewing limits exposure to sexually explicit content — Jan. 15, 2007
Adolescents who spend more time watching television unsupervised by adults watch programs with heavier sexual content, particularly when the television viewing occurs in their bedrooms.
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