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Urban teens face many traumas, with implications for potential growth and distress. This study examined traumatic events, posttraumatic growth, and emotional distress over 18 months among urban adolescent girls (N = 328). Objectives were to (a) describe types of traumatic events, (b) determine how type and timing of events relate to profiles of posttraumatic growth, and (c) prospectively examine effects of event type and posttraumatic growth on short- and long-term emotional distress with controls for pre-event distress. Results indicate that type of event was related to profiles of posttraumatic growth, but not with subsequent emotional distress. When baseline emotional distress was controlled, posttraumatic growth was associated with subsequent reductions in short- and long-term emotional distress. Implications for future research and clinical practice with adolescents are addressed.

Risky sexual behavior can lead to pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Our study of 300 adolescent females takes an integrative approach by incorporating these multiple outcomes to assess the influence of risk perceptions on sexual behavior by (1) identifying subgroups of perceived susceptibility to pregnancy, STDs, and HIV using cluster analysis and (2) comparing subgroups on demographics, sexual history, sexual risk behavior over time, and subsequent STD acquisition. Results demonstrated five perceived susceptibility clusters ("no susceptibility"; "high HIV"; "high pregnancy"; "high STD"; and "high multisusceptibility") that differed in three important ways: demographic and sexual history profiles, current sexual risk behavior, and subsequent STDs. Young women in the "no susceptibility" cluster had the lowest sexual risk and those in the "high multisusceptibility" cluster had the highest sexual risk and the highest number of subsequent STDs. There were no significant changes in sexual risk over time, regardless of cluster. (Contains 6 figures and 1 table.)

The aim was to examine gender differences in sexual risk communication among young couples and factors influencing communication. Sample consisted of 296 young pregnant couples. We assessed individual, interpersonal, and community factors on sexual risk communication. The Actor-Partner Independence Model was used to assess actor and partner effects on sexual risk communication. For actor effects, being female, older, not being Hispanic, and higher condom use self-efficacy was associated with sexual risk communication. The significant partner effect was avoidant romantic attachment. Gender interactions were significant for high risk behaviors and family functioning. High risk behaviors and family functioning were associated with sexual risk communication for females but not for males. The study emphasizes the need to promote sexual risk communication among young high risk couples, particularly for males. Family support could serve as a catalyst for sexual risk communication and other sexual protective behaviors among young couples. Keywords HIV * Gender * Couples * Young adult * Sexual behavior Communication, Introduction Sexual risk communication can serve as a self-protective health behavior in the context of a romantic sexual relationship (Whitaker et al., 1999). Sexual risk communication can be defined as [...]

The study assessed the relationship between postpartum intimate partner violence (IPV) and postpartum health risks among young mothers over time. Data were collected from 2001 to 2005 on young women aged 14-25 attending obstetrics and gynecology clinics in two US cities. Postpartum IPV (i.e., emotional, physical, sexual) was assessed at 6 and 12 months after childbirth (n = 734). Four types of postpartum IPV patterns were examined: emerged IPV, dissipated IPV, repeated IPV, and no IPV. Emerged IPV occurred at 12 months postpartum, not 6 months postpartum. Dissipated IPV occurred at 6 months postpartum, not 12 months postpartum. Repeated IPV was reported at 6 months and 12 months postpartum. Postpartum health risks studied at both time points were perceived stress, depression, fear of condom negotiation, condom use, infant sleeping problems, and parental stress. Repeated measures analysis of covariance was used. The proportion of young mothers reporting IPV after childbirth increased from 17.9 % at 6 months postpartum to 25.3 % at 12 months postpartum (P < 0.001). Emerged and/or repeated postpartum IPV were associated with increased perceived stress, depression, fear of condom negotiation, and infant sleeping problems as well as decreased condom use (P < 0.05). Dissipated postpartum IPV was associated with decreased depression (P < 0.05). IPV screening and prevention programs for young mothers may reduce health risks observed in this group during the postpartum period. Keywords Adolescent and young adult mothers * Postpartum intimate partner violence * Prospective study, Introduction Studies show that young mothers experience a range of adverse health risks during the postpartum period. Kingston et al. [1] found that adolescent and young adult mothers were more [...]

Objectives. We sought to determine whether an HIV prevention program bundled with group prenatal care reduced sexually transmitted infection (STI) incidence, repeat pregnancy, sexual risk behavior, and psychosocial risks. Methods. We conducted a randomized controlled trial at 2 prenatal clinics. We assigned pregnant women aged 14 to 25 years (N=1047) to individual care, attention-matched group care, and group care with an integrated HIV component. We conducted structured interviews at baseline (second trimester), third trimester, and 6 and 12 months postpartum. Results. Mean age of participants was 20.4 years; 80% were African American. According to intent-to-treat analyses, women assigned to the HIV-prevention group intervention were significantly less likely to have repeat pregnancy at 6 months postpartum than individual-care and attention-matched controls; they demonstrated increased condom use and decreased unprotected sexual intercourse compared with individual-care and attention-matched controls. Subanalyses showed that being in the HIV-prevention group reduced STI incidence among the subgroup of adolescents. Conclusion. HIV prevention integrated with prenatal care resulted in reduced biological, behavioral, and psychosocial risks for HIV. (Am J Public Health. 2009; 99:2079-2086. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2008.154476)

Urban teens face many traumas, with implications for potential growth and distress. This study examined traumatic events, posttraumatic growth, and emotional distress over 18 months among urban adolescent girls (N = 328). Objectives were to (a) describe types of traumatic events, (b) determine how type and timing of events relate to profiles of posttraumatic growth, and (c) prospectively examine effects of event type and posttraumatic growth on short- and long-term emotional distress with controls for pre-event distress. Results indicate that type of event was related to profiles of posttraumatic growth, but not with subsequent emotional distress. When baseline emotional distress was controlled, posttraumatic growth was associated with subsequent reductions in short- and long-term emotional distress. Implications for future research and clinical practice with adolescents are addressed. Keywords: adolescents, posttraumatic growth, emotional distress, multilevel modeling, hierarchical linear modeling

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global threat to women's health and may be elevated among those exposed to traumatic events in post-conflict settings, such as Liberia. The purpose of this study was to examine potential mediators between lifetime exposure to traumatic events (i.e., war-related trauma, community violence) with recent experiences of IPV among 183 young, pregnant women in Monrovia, Liberia. Hypothesized mediators included mental health (depression, posttraumatic stress symptoms), insecure attachment style (anxious and avoidant attachment), and attitudes indicative of norms of violence (attitudes justifying wife beating). We tested a parallel multiple mediation model using the PROCESS method with bias-corrected and accelerated bootstrapping to test confidence intervals (CI). Results show that 45% of the sample had experienced any physical, sexual, or emotional IPV in their lifetime, and 32% in the 2 months prior to the interview. Exposure to traumatic events was positively associated with recent IPV severity (β =.40, p <.01). Taken together, depression, anxious attachment style, and justification of wife beating significantly mediated the relationship between exposure to traumatic events and experience of IPV (β =.15, 95% CI = [0.03, 0.31]). Only anxious attachment style (β =.07, 95% CI = [0.03, 0.16]) and justification of wife beating (β =.05, 95% CI = [0.01, 0.16]) were identified as individual mediators. This study reinforces pregnancy as an important window for both violence and mental health screening and intervention for young Liberian women. Furthermore, it adds to our theoretical understanding of mechanisms in which long-term exposure to traumatic events may lead to elevated rates of IPV in Liberia, and points to the need for trauma-informed counseling and multilevel gender transformative public health approaches to address violence against women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]