Objective: Evidence suggests that younger mothers engage in poorer health behaviours, resulting in increased cancer risk. We aimed to better understand the health behaviours of younger mothers and the factors that influence their lifestyle choices, in order to improve cancer prevention within this population. Methods: A multiple focus group,…

This study took a life course approach to examine associations among family income from birth to age 15, and adolescent health and well-being. Utilizing latent growth mixture modeling, we identified four distinct family income trajectories based on changes in low-income status (family income [less than or equal to] 200% of the federal poverty…

There is a growing body of evidence linking childhood exposure to environmental toxins and a range of adverse health outcomes, including preterm birth, cognitive deficits, and cancer. Little is known, however, about what drives mothers to engage in health behaviors to reduce such risks. Guided by the integrative model of behavioral prediction,…

The Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation-Strong Start (MIHOPE-Strong Start) is the largest random assignment study to date to examine the effectiveness of home visiting services on improving birth outcomes and infant and maternal health care use for expectant mothers. The study includes local home visiting programs that use one of…

Background: An environment that supports healthy eating is one factor to prevent obesity. However, little is known about postpartum teen's perceptions of their home and school environments and how this relates to dietary behaviors. Purpose: This study explores the relationship between home and school environments and dietary behaviors for…

Using latent class analysis (LCA), this study identified a dyadic taxonomy of delinquent youth categorized by varying types of maternal-youth reporting discrepancies (i.e., youth < maternal, youth > maternal) within a sample of 764 14-year-old high-risk youth. Four distinctive subgroups of youth were identified, two of which reported more…

We examined approaches used by African-American mothers and mothers of Latino descent for informal sex-related discussions with their children to inform sexually transmitted infection (STI)/HIV intervention development efforts. We recruited mothers (of children aged 12-15) from youth service agencies and a university in southern California.…

Maternal and paternal psychological control, peer attitudes, and the interaction of psychological control and peer attitudes at age 13 were examined as predictors of risky sexual behavior before age 16 in a community sample of 181 youth followed from age 13 to 16. Maternal psychological control moderated the link between peer attitudes and sexual…

Over the past decade, the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services (hereinafter referred to as "the Committee") has examined a number of rural issues that touch upon the social determinants of health. The Committee's past work has focused on understanding how conditions and outcomes such as homelessness, childhood…

Background: Postpartum women are a population at risk for sedentary living. Physical activity (PA) prior to pregnancy may be effective in predicting similar behaviour in the postpartum period. Objective: To test a composite version of the extended transtheoretical model (TTM) by adding "past behaviour" in order to predict PA behaviour…

While the rates of teen childbearing have declined in the United States, adolescents who become pregnant and decide to bear and rear their babies are often from low-income, highly stressed families and communities. This article will describe the psychosocial problems of pregnant urban teens and how exposure to interpersonal trauma and current…

This study examined the trajectories of sexual risk behaviors among adolescents from ages 15 to 23 and factors associated with those trajectories. The sample was 5,419 adolescents from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Using group-based trajectory modeling, five distinctive trajectory groups were identified. The High group had a high…

We conducted focus groups with girls ages 14 to 17 (N = 43) to study how the dominant discourse of sexual risk shapes young women's understanding of the sexual domain and their management of these presumably pervasive threats. Through inductive analysis, we developed a coding scheme focused on three themes: (a) "types of sexual risk,"…

Early sexual behaviors during adolescence have the potential to lead to unhealthy outcomes. This study explored the association between specific dimensions of maternal relationship quality and adolescent sexual debut by age 15. We hypothesized that adolescents who have poor maternal relationships are at greater risk of early sexual debut than…

The analysis of the data on 22,545 smoking mothers and their 18-month-old children finds that maternal smoking during pregnancy increases the risk for externalizing behavior problem at the age of 18-months. The child's gender is found to have no moderating effects on the findings.