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Introduction Exposure to physical and sexual violence is common among US adolescents. Data from the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) indicate that almost a third (32%) of US students [...], The objective of this study is to examine the association between physical and sexual violence exposure and somatic symptoms among female adolescents. We studied a nationally representative sample of 8,531 females, aged 11-21 years, who participated in the 1994-1995 Wave I of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Female adolescents were asked how often they had experienced 16 specific somatic symptoms during the past 12 months. Two summary categorical measures were constructed based on tertiles of the distributions for the entire female sample: (a) total number of different types of symptoms experienced, and (b) number of frequent (once a week or more often) different symptoms experienced. Groups were mutually exclusive. We examined associations between adolescents' violence exposure and somatic symptoms using multinomial logistic regression analyses. About 5% of adolescent females reported both sexual and non-sexual violence, 3% reported sexual violence only, 36% reported non-sexual violence only, and 57% reported no violence. Adolescents who experienced both sexual and non-sexual violence were the most likely to report many different symptoms and to experience very frequent or chronic symptoms. Likelihood of high symptomatology was next highest among adolescents who experienced sexual violence only, followed by females who experienced nonsexual violence only. Findings support an exposure-response association between violence exposure and somatic symptoms, suggesting that symptoms can be markers of victimization. Treating symptoms alone, without addressing the potential violence experienced, may not adequately improve adolescents' somatic complaints and well-being. Keywords Somatic symptoms * Violence * Sexual violence * National sample * Adolescence

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a widespread problem that has been linked to deleterious physical and mental health consequences for both male and female victims (Coker et al. 2005; Fletcher [...], This paper examines the relationships between alcohol outlet density, alcohol use, and perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) among young adult women in the US. Data were from Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health; N = 4,430 in present analyses). Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine occurrence of past year IPV perpetration toward a male partner based on tract-level on-premise and off-premise alcohol outlet density, controlling for individuals' demographic, alcohol use, and childhood abuse characteristics and neighborhood socio-demographic factors. Higher off-premise alcohol outlet density was found to be associated with young women's perpetration of physical only IPV, controlling for individual-level and ecological factors. Alcohol use had an independent association with IPV perpetration but was not a mediator of the outlet density-IPV relationship. Findings suggest that considering alcohol-related environmental factors may help efforts aimed at preventing young women's use of physical violence toward partners. Keywords Domestic violence * Female perpetration * Off-premise outlet density * Alcohol use * Young adults * Neighborhoods * Drinking

Using data from the North Carolina Violent Death Reporting System and other sources, we examined ecologic relationships between county (n = 100) disadvantage and intimate partner homicide (IPH), variability by victim gender and county urbanicity, and potential mediators. County disadvantage was related to female-victim homicide only in metropolitan counties (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.25); however, disadvantage was associated with male-victim IPH regardless of county urbanicity (IRR 1.17). None of the potential intervening variables examined (shelter availability, intimate partner violence services' funding) was supported as a mediator. Results suggest disparities across North Carolina counties in IPH according to county disadvantage. Future research should explore other potential mediators (i.e., service accessibility and law enforcement responses), as well as test the robustness of findings using additional years of data. Keywords: gender; domestic violence; socioeconomic status; prevention DOI: 10.1891/0886-6708.25.3.363

Over the last two decades, in‐person interviewing costs continued to increase while the data quality advantages traditionally identified with this data collection mode have faded. Consequently, some longitudinal surveys have begun transitioning from in‐person to web data collection despite risks to data quality and longitudinal comparability. This paper addresses the major issues involved in the transition process and proposes a multi‐sample, multi‐phase responsive design that attempts to minimize the data quality risks while preserving the considerable cost savings promised by the transition. The paper describes the design as it was applied to the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health)—a nationally representative panel survey of around 20,000 adolescents selected from grades 7 to 12 (typically 13 to 18 years of age) in the 1994–95 school year. Also described are key results from several experiments embedded within the design and the analysis of mode effects. Also presented are some lessons learned and recommendations for other in‐person panel surveys that may be contemplating a similar transition to web or mixed‐mode data collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three year panel study of 100 boys aged between 12 and 13 revealed lack of significant correlation between testosterone (T) and aggression. Current assessment of development at puberty and testosterone showed a correlation with the variable Argues, a measure of aggression, while lagged evaluation of T did not relate to any aggression variable. T, the variable Fights and the ACL aggression scale in the concurrent one-year change model were closely related.

Cash transfer programmes have recently emerged as promising interventions for HIV prevention among adolescents in Africa. However, the pathways through which risk reduction occurs are not well understood. We examine data on 1429 adolescents and youth from the Kenya Cash Transfer for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, which has been shown to result in delayed sexual debut among adolescents. We explored three potential mediating pathways: schooling, socio-economic status and psycho-social status. None of these hypothesised mediators greatly altered the main effect. However, school attendance had a larger protective effect on sexual debut among females but was only increased by the programme among males. This gendered pattern of effects may explain why we did not see a mediating effect of the cash transfer through schooling, despite schooling's protective effects against early sexual debut. Results also suggest that cash transfer programmes in Africa can contribute to the reduction of HIV related risk behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]