Biomedical subjects

M Katherine Hutchinson

Publications and source records attributed to M Katherine Hutchinson.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Analysis of count data using poisson regression.

Nurses and other health researchers are often concerned with infrequently occurring, repeatable, health-related events such as number of hospitalizations, pregnancies, or visits to a health care provider. Reports on the occurrence of such discrete events take the form of non-negative integer or count data. Because the counts of infrequently occurring events tend to be non-normally distributed and highly positively skewed, the use of ordinary least squares (OLS) regression with non-transformed data has several shortcomings. Techniques such as Poisson regression and negative binomial regression may provide more appropriate alternatives for analyzing these data. The purpose of this article is to compare and contrast the use of these three methods for the analysis of infrequently occurring count data. The strengths, limitations, and special considerations of each approach are discussed. Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (AddHealth) are used for illustrative purposes.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

The role of mother-daughter sexual risk communication in reducing sexual risk behaviors among urban adolescent females: a prospective study.

PURPOSE: To prospectively examine the relationship between mother-daughter communication about sex and selected sexual risk behaviors among inner-city adolescent females. METHODS: Participants were 219 sexually experienced females, 12 to 19 years of age, recruited from an inner-city adolescent medicine clinic in Philadelphia, PA, and randomly assigned to the control group of an HIV-risk reduction intervention study. Analyses were limited to data from control group participants to avoid confounding intervention effects. Poisson regression was employed to model three self-reported sexual risk behaviors: number of male sexual partners, number of episodes of sexual intercourse, and number of episodes of unprotected intercourse. Mediation effects were evaluated using variables from the Theory of Planned Behavior. Data were analyzed using Poisson regression. RESULTS: Higher levels of mother-daughter sexual risk communication were associated with fewer episodes of sexual intercourse and unprotected intercourse at 3-month follow-up. There was evidence that the relationship of communication to unprotected intercourse was mediated by condom use self-efficacy. Mother-daughter sexual risk communication was not significantly associated with adolescents' reports of numbers of male sexual partner. CONCLUSIONS: This prospective study supports the notion that mothers who communicate with their daughters about sex can affect their daughters' sexual behaviors in positive ways. These findings lend support for the design and implementation of family-based approaches to improve parent-adolescent sexual risk communication as one means of reducing HIV-related sexual risk behaviors among inner-city adolescent females.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The Parent-Teen Sexual Risk Communication Scale (PTSRC-III): instrument development and psychometrics.

BACKGROUND: Adolescents are a group at high risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Several parenting processes, including parental monitoring, support, role modeling, and sexual communication, have been shown to be significant influences of adolescents' sexual attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Parent-child sexual risk communication, in particular, has been associated significantly with adolescents' attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors related to risk of and prevention of STIs and HIV. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to report on the development of the Parent-Teen Sexual Risk Communication Scale (PTSRC-III), an eight-item self-report instrument for measuring the amount of communication about sexual risk and sexual risk reduction occurring between parents and their adolescent children, as reported by the adolescent. METHODS: Psychometrics of the PTSRC-III and the stability of the psychometric properties across two samples of late adolescents, college freshmen (N=95) and female licensed drivers aged 19 to 21 years (N=234), are reported. RESULTS: Internal reliability of the scale was excellent (alpha of >.93 and >.88 for sexual risk communication with mothers and fathers, respectively); test-retest reliability was acceptable (r=.88 and .79 over 2 months for PTSRC with mothers and fathers, respectively). Concurrent validity, predictive validity, and stability of psychometrics were also demonstrated. Factor analysis demonstrated a two-factor structure. DISCUSSION: The PTSRC-III provides a valid and reliable measure for assessing female adolescents' perceptions of parent-teen sexual risk communication, particularly with their mothers. Psychometrics were shown to be stable across the two samples. Implications for use and future development are discussed.

Adolescent↗