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PubMed2005

Motives for choosing growth-enhancing hormone treatment in adolescents with idiopathic short stature: a questionnaire and structured interview study.

BACKGROUND: Growth-enhancing hormone treatment is considered a possible intervention in short but otherwise healthy adolescents. Although height gain is an obvious measure for evaluating hormone treatment, this may not be the ultimate goal for the person, but rather a means to reach other goals such as the amelioration of current height-related psychosocial problems or the enhancement of future prospects in life and society. The aim of our study was to clarify the motives of adolescents and their parents when choosing to participate in a growth-enhancing trial combining growth hormone and puberty-delaying hormone treatment. METHODS: Participants were early pubertal adolescents (25 girls, 13 boys) aged from 11 to 13 years (mean age 11.5 years) with a height standard deviation score (SDS) ranging from -1.03 to -3.43. All had been classified as idiopathic short stature or persistent short stature born small for the gestational age (intrauterine growth retardation) on the basis of a height SDS below -2, or had a height SDS between -1 and -2 and a predicted adult height SDS below -2. The adolescents and their parents completed questionnaires and a structured interview on the presence of height-related stressors, parental worries about their child's behavior and future prospects, problems in psychosocial functioning, and treatment expectations. Questionnaire scores were compared to norms of the general Dutch population. RESULTS: The adolescents reported normal psychosocial functioning and highly positive expectations of the treatment in terms of height gain, whereas the parents reported that their children encountered some behavioral problems (being anxious/depressed, and social and attention problems) and height-related stressors (being teased and juvenilized). About 40% of the parents were worried about their children's future prospects for finding a spouse or job. The motives of the adolescents and their parents exhibited rather different profiles. The most prevalent parental worries related to the current or future functioning of their children, while a few cases were characterized by no observed motives or by psychosocial problems only reported by the adolescents themselves. CONCLUSION: The motives for participating in a growth-enhancing hormone trial are more obvious in the parents than in the adolescents themselves. Two out of three parents report worries about the future opportunities or observe modest current psychosocial problems in their children. The adolescents want to gain height, but the motivation underlying this remains unclear. Few of the adolescents experience psychosocial problems. Our analyses revealed differences among individuals in terms of motives, which implies that in an evaluation of hormone treatment, the importance of divergent outcome variables will also differ among individuals. Effectiveness evaluations of hormone treatment to increase height and the consequential fulfillment of other goals must be awaited.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Influence of parental employment status on Dutch and Slovak adolescents' health.

BACKGROUND: Recent research shows the possibility that the link between parental employment status and children's health can be affected by different cultural or societal settings. The aim of this study was to explore whether the effect of father's and mother's employment status on several aspects of adolescents' health differs between Slovakia and the Netherlands. METHODS: Two data sets were used: 2616 Slovak adolescents (mean age 14.9) and 2054 Dutch adolescents (mean age 16.3). Self-rated health, GHQ-12, long-term well-being and Rosenberg self-esteem scale were used to assess the health of adolescents. Parental employment status was classified into the following categories: employed, unemployed, disabled, housewife (among mothers only). Logistic regression analyses were done separately for males and females. RESULTS: Results indicate that having an unemployed father negatively influences self-rated health and long-term well-being of Slovak male adolescents, but has no effect on the health of Dutch adolescents. Secondly, having a disabled father has a negative effect on the psychological well-being of Dutch males and the self-rated health of females, but does not influence the health of Slovak adolescents. Thirdly, having a mother who is disabled, unemployed or a housewife has a negative effect on the self-esteem of Slovak adolescents. Fourthly, Dutch males whose mother was a housewife had worse long-term well-being than those with an unemployed mother, whereas Dutch females whose mother was a housewife reported better psychological well-being than those with an employed mother. CONCLUSION: To conclude briefly our results, father's unemployment seems to be a better predictor of health for Slovak adolescents, father's disablement of health for Dutch ones. Mother's employment status seemed to be important for the self-esteem of Slovak adolescents and mother as a housewife for the health of Dutch ones. This suggests that the link between parental employment status and the health of their children may vary between countries, and therefore further studies involving various cultures are needed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Gestational diabetes mellitus and glucose intolerance among Mexican pregnant adolescents.

There is an increasing incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) among adolescents (especially females), and the serum glucose concentrations in pregnant women <25 years during a 3-h oral glucose tolerance test (3-h OGTT) seem to be lower than those of pregnant women >25 years. Among 115 Mexican pregnant adolescents (<18 years) we analyzed their serum glucose concentrations during: a) 1-h 50-g glucose challenge test (GCT) performed at 24-28 weeks of gestation (n = 103) or at 29-35 weeks of gestation (n = 12); b) A standard 3-h OGTT performed 3-5 days later. Eight adolescents had an abnormal GCT, three of whom also had an abnormal 3-h OGTT. Sixteen adolescents (13 with previously normal GCT) had an abnormal 3-h OGTT, 15 classified as GGI and one as gestational DM (GDM). Serum glucose concentrations in adolescents with GGI were higher than in adolescents with normal 3-h OGTT: a) at 60 and 120 min during the 3-h OGTT (p < 0.001); and b) when expressed as the area under the glucose curve (p < 0.001). Adolescents with GGI had serum glucose concentrations during the 3-h OGTT similar to adult, non-diabetic pregnant Mexican women. It is suggested that GGI in pregnant adolescents may represent an early sign of a future deterioration in glucose metabolism, leading to a higher risk for GDM in future pregnancies and/or type 2 DM in adulthood. Thus, the current criteria to diagnose GDM in adults may not completely apply to adolescents, especially in ethnic groups with high risk for glucose abnormalities and considering the frequency of multiparous adolescents, especially in developing countries.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Parental substance use consequences and adolescent psychopathology.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the relationship between parental substance use consequences and adolescent psychological problems by gender of the adolescent and gender of the parent. METHOD: The data in this study were collected between 1989 and 1994 from 173 (116 proband and 57 control) families participating in the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) project. All 173 adolescents (89 [51%] boys) completed the Structured Assessment Record of Alcoholic Homes (SARAH) to assess parental substance use consequences. In addition, the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism for Adolescents (C-SSAGA-A) was administered to all adolescents to obtain clinical psychiatric diagnoses. RESULTS: Concern about mother's substance use was significantly associated with adolescent alcohol dependence and major depressive disorder. In addition, concern about father's substance use was significantly related to adolescent alcohol dependence. Avoidance of mother when she was drinking or using drugs and maternal anger when drinking or using drugs also was significantly associated with adolescent alcohol dependence, conduct disorder and major depressive disorder. In contrast, avoidance of father and paternal anger when drinking or using drugs was not related to any of the adolescent diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that maternal substance use consequences may be more closely linked to adolescent psychological adjustment than are paternal substance use consequences.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

The adolescent brain and the college drinker: biological basis of propensity to use and misuse alcohol.

OBJECTIVE: This article reviews the literature on adolescent brain development and considers the impact of these neural alterations on the propensity to use and misuse alcohol. METHOD: Neural, behavioral and hormonal characteristics of adolescents across a variety of species were examined, along with a review of the ontogeny of ethanol responsiveness, tolerance development and stress/alcohol interactions. RESULTS: The adolescent brain is a brain in transition. Prominent among the brain regions undergoing developmental change during adolescence in a variety of species are the prefrontal cortex and other forebrain dopamine projection regions, stressor-sensitive areas that form part of the neural circuitry modulating the motivational value of alcohol and other reinforcing stimuli. Along with these characteristic brain features, adolescents also exhibit increased stressor responsivity and an altered sensitivity to a variety of ethanol effects. Findings are mixed to date as to whether exposure to ethanol during this time of rapid brain development alters neurocognitive function and later propensity for problematic ethanol use. CONCLUSIONS: Developmental transformations of the adolescent brain may have been evolutionarily advantageous in promoting behavioral adaptations to avoid inbreeding and to facilitate the transition to independence. These brain transformations may also alter sensitivity of adolescents to a number of alcohol effects, leading perhaps in some cases to higher intakes to attain reinforcing effects. These features of the adolescent brain may also increase the sensitivity of adolescents to stressors, further escalating their propensity to initiate alcohol use. Additional investigations are needed to resolve whether ethanol use during adolescence disrupts maturational processes in ethanol-sensitive brain regions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Race and cigarette smoking among United States adolescents: the role of lifestyle behaviors and demographic factors.

OBJECTIVE: Cigarette smoking is on the rise among adolescents in the United States. Although both African-American and white adolescents have experienced increases in cigarette smoking over time, the prevalence of smoking has remained consistently lower among African-American adolescents than their white counterparts. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the race differential in the prevalence of cigarette smoking is attributed to differences in selected lifestyle behaviors and demographic factors. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted among African-American and white adolescents (aged 12 to 17 years) who participated in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey supplement to the 1992 National Health Interview Survey. Analyses were restricted to those who had complete data on all study variables (n = 5569). Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the prevalence odds ratios (POR) of current smoking for white adolescents (versus African-American adolescents) before and after adjustment for confounding factors. RESULTS: The crude POR of current smoking for white adolescents compared with African-American adolescents was 2.8 (95% confidence interval = 2.1 to 3.9). Simultaneous adjustment for confounding factors resulted in a POR of 2.6 (95% confidence interval = 1.8 to 3.7). CONCLUSIONS: Selected lifestyle behaviors and demographic factors do not account for the race differential in the prevalence of adolescent cigarette smoking. This study underscores the need for more research on contributors to the race gap. Such research could advance theoretical understanding of the etiology of cigarette smoking among adolescents and lead to more effective smoking prevention programs for all youths.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Determinants of adolescent physical activity and inactivity patterns.

OBJECTIVES: Despite recognition of the important influence of environmental determinants on physical activity patterns, minimal empirical research has been done to assess the impact of environmental/contextual determinants of physical activity. This article aims to investigate environmental and sociodemographic determinants of physical activity and inactivity patterns among subpopulations of US adolescents. We define environmental determinants as modifiable factors in the physical environment that impose a direct influence on the opportunity to engage in physical activity. The present research examines environmental and sociodemographic determinants of physical activity and inactivity with the implication that these findings can point toward societal-level intervention strategies for increasing physical activity and decreasing inactivity among adolescents. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY: The study population consists of nationally representative data from the 1996 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health on 17 766 US adolescents enrolled in US middle and high schools (including 3933 non-Hispanic blacks, 3148 Hispanics, and 1337 Asians). Hours/week of inactivity (TV/video viewing and video/computer games) and times/week of moderate to vigorous physical activity were collected by questionnaire. Outcome variables were moderate to vigorous physical activity and inactivity, which were broken into categories (physical activity: 0-2 times/week, 3-4 times/week, and >/=5 times/week; inactivity: 0-10 hours/week, 11-24 hours/week, and >/=25 hours/week). Sociodemographic and environmental correlates of physical activity and inactivity were used as exposure and control variables and included sex, age, urban residence, participation in school physical education program, use of community recreation center, total reported incidents of serious crime in neighborhood, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, generation of residence in the United States, presence of mother/father in household, pregnancy status, work status, in-school status, region, and month of interview. Logistic regression models of high versus low and medium physical activity and inactivity were used to investigate sex and ethnic interactions in relation to environmental and sociodemographic factors to examine evidence for the potential impact of physical education and recreation programs and sociodemographic factors on physical activity and inactivity patterns. RESULTS: Moderate to vigorous physical activity was lower and inactivity higher for non-Hispanic black and Hispanic adolescents. Participation in school physical education programs was considerably low for these adolescents and decreased with age. Participation in daily school physical education (PE) program classes (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 2.21; confidence interval [CI]: 1.82-2.68) and use of a community recreation center (AOR: 1.75; CI: 1.56-1.96) were associated with an increased likelihood of engaging in high level moderate to vigorous physical activity. Maternal education was inversely associated with high inactivity patterns; for example, having a mother with a graduate or professional degree was associated with an AOR of.61 (CI:.48-.76) for high inactivity. High family income was associated with increased moderate to vigorous physical activity (AOR: 1.43; CI: 1.22-1.67) and decreased inactivity (AOR:.70; CI:.59-.82). High neighborhood serious crime level was associated with a decreased likelihood of falling in the highest category of moderate to vigorous physical activity (AOR:.77; CI:.66-.91). CONCLUSIONS: These results show important associations between modifiable environmental factors, such as participation in school PE and community recreation programs, with activity patterns of adolescents. Despite the marked and significant impact of participation in school PE programs on physical activity patterns of US adolescents, few adolescents participated in such school PE programs; only 21.3% of all adolescents

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Availability of adolescent health services and confidentiality in primary care practices.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about availability of services and confidential care for adolescents in primary care practices or how availability among pediatric practices compares to that among other primary care practices. The objective of this study was to assess self-reported availability of services for medically emancipated conditions and confidential care in primary care practices, to compare physician responses to those from office staff who answer appointment lines, and to compare availability in pediatric practices to other primary care practice types. METHODS: We conducted a telephone survey of randomly selected practices from the Washington, DC, metropolitan area in pediatrics (Peds), internal medicine (IM), and family medicine (FM). We asked staff who answer appointment lines about availability of services for medically emancipated conditions and confidential appointments for adolescents. Physicians received the same questions via a mail survey. Responses from office staff and physicians in the same practice were linked for comparison. RESULTS: Of 434 practices contacted by telephone, 372 (86%) responded. Of the 615 physicians surveyed from these 372 practices, 264 (43%) from 170 practices responded to the mail survey. Peds practices were less likely than FM and IM practices to offer services for medically emancipated conditions and were less likely than FM practices to offer confidential services to adolescents. Office staff and physicians from FM and IM had higher agreement compared with Peds about availability of services for medically emancipated conditions. Agreement between office staff and physicians about provision of confidential appointments to adolescents was low among all practice types. However, having a written office policy on adolescent confidentiality was significantly associated with agreement between office staff and physicians about availability of confidential services. CONCLUSIONS: Care for medically emancipated conditions and confidential services for adolescents are limited among primary care practices, especially among pediatric practices. All primary care practice types had significant disagreement between office staff and physicians about availability of confidential services to adolescents. Adolescents who call appointment lines are likely to receive inaccurate information about confidentiality policies. Establishing written office policies on adolescent confidentiality may help to improve access to confidential care for adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Primary care utilization and detection of emotional distress after adolescent traumatic injury: identifying an unmet need.

OBJECTIVE: Few investigations have assessed the primary care detection of adolescent posttraumatic emotional distress after an injury. We aimed to determine (1) the level of attachment to primary care providers (PCPs) and school providers among this group of high-risk adolescents, (2) the emotional status of this population postinjury, (3) continuity of care between trauma center and community care, and (4) PCPs' detection of emotional problems in adolescents after an injury. METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study of traumatically injured adolescents aged 12 to 18 who were admitted to a level I regional trauma center. Adolescents were screened for posttraumatic stress symptoms, depressive symptoms, and alcohol use on the surgical ward and 4 to 6 months postinjury. PCPs were contacted by telephone 4 to 6 months postinjury to assess follow-up care and the detection of emotional distress. RESULTS: In the surgical ward, 39.4% of the adolescent patients or their parents reported no identifiable source of regular medical care. Only 24.3% of the patients had visited a PCP during the 4 to 6 months after injury. At 4 to 6 months postinjury, 30% of the adolescents were experiencing high posttraumatic stress symptom levels, 11% were experiencing high depressive symptom levels, and 17% had high levels of alcohol use. PCPs did not detect any new emotional distress or problem drinking during postinjury office visits. CONCLUSIONS: Injured adolescents represent a high-risk pediatric population, a substantial number of whom develop mental health problems postinjury. Furthermore, almost 40% of adolescents in our study reported no source of primary care. These results suggest that referrals from trauma centers to PCPs are necessary and that an increase in awareness of and screening for adolescent emotional distress postinjury during follow-up appointments and at school should be routine components of postinjury care.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Physical activity and sedentary behavior patterns are associated with selected adolescent health risk behaviors.

OBJECTIVE: Little is known about how physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior, and various adolescent health risk behaviors are associated. The objective of this study was to examine relationships between PA and sedentary behavior patterns and an array of risk behaviors, including leading causes of adolescent morbidity/mortality. METHODS: Nationally representative self-reported data were collected (National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health; wave I: 1994-1995; II: 1996; N = 11957). Previously developed and validated cluster analyses identified 7 homogeneous groups of adolescents sharing PA and sedentary behaviors. Poisson regression predicted the relative risk of health risk behaviors, other weekly activities, and self-esteem across the 7 PA/sedentary behavior clusters controlling for demographics and socioeconomic status. Main outcome measures were adolescent risk behaviors (eg, truancy, cigarette smoking, sexual intercourse, delinquency), other weekly activities (eg, work, academic performance, sleep), self-esteem. RESULTS: Relative to high television (TV) and video viewers, adolescents in clusters characterized by skating and video gaming, high overall sports and sports participation with parents, using neighborhood recreation center, strict parental control of TV, reporting few activities overall, and being active in school were less likely to participate in a range of risky behaviors, ranging from an adjusted risk ratio (ARR) of 0.42 (outcome: illegal drug use, cluster: strict parental control of TV) to 0.88 (outcome: violence, cluster: sports with parents). Active teens were less likely to have low self-esteem (eg, adolescents engaging in sports with parents, ARR: 0.73) and more likely to have higher grades (eg, active in school, ARR: 1.20). CONCLUSIONS: Participation in a range of PA-related behaviors, particularly those characterized by high parental sports/exercise involvement, was associated with favorable adolescent risk profiles. Adolescents with high TV/video viewership were less likely to have positive risk behavior outcomes. Enhancing opportunities for PA and sport may have a beneficial effect on leading adolescent risk behaviors.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed1995

Trends in cigarette smoking among US adolescents, 1974 through 1991.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine national trends in adolescent cigarette smoking prevalence. METHODS: We conducted trend analyses based on 1974 through 1991 current smoking prevalence data among persons aged 12 through 19 years from the National Household Surveys on Drug Abuse, High School Seniors Surveys, and National Health Interview Surveys. RESULTS: Overall smoking prevalence declined much more rapidly from 1974 through 1980 (1.9 percentage points annually among younger adolescents; the range among surveys of older adolescents was 0.2 to 2.0 percentage points annually) than from 1985 through 1991 (0 to 0.5 percentage points annually among all adolescents). Since 1980, smoking has generally declined at a slightly faster rate among older female adolescents than among male adolescents. Smoking among Black adolescents of all ages declined in nearly every survey population during each study period (range among surveys: 1974-1985 = 1.0 to 2.9 percentage points; 1985-1991 = 0.7 to 1.5 percentage points annually); for White adolescents, only minimal declines in smoking have occurred since 1985. CONCLUSIONS: Since 1974, major changes in adolescent smoking patterns have occurred, especially among Blacks. The overall slowing rate of decline in smoking prevalence since 1985 may indicate success of increased tobacco advertising and promotional activities targeted at adolescents or inadequate antitobacco education efforts.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

The role of family difficulties in adolescent depression, drug-taking and other problem behaviours.

A comprehensive self-report questionnaire that covered many aspects of adolescents' lives was administered to 1270 students in Years 7, 10 and 11 who attended seven State high schools in Sydney. The prevalences of unhealthy and acting-out behaviours increased significantly between the ages of 12 and 15 years (Years 7 and 10) and then levelled out. By the age of 15 years, 15% of adolescents were drinking alcohol at least three times a week; 30% of adolescents smoked cigarettes; 15% of adolescents had used marijuana in the past week; and 18% of adolescents had had previous sexual experience. Nine per cent of all adolescents often felt "so down or low that life has lost its meaning". The quality of the family relationship was found to be associated closely with the presence or absence of adolescent depression and unhealthy or acting-out behaviours. Where the family relationship was not close or loving, the prevalence of depression was three times as high and the prevalences of alcohol, cigarette and marijuana use and early sexual activity were about twice as high as among adolescents who perceived that their families were close and loving. The majority of adolescents with poor family relationships felt that their parents could do more to help them. Help in the form of more understanding, support, trust, time, interest and freedom was wanted much more frequently than was help in the form of material items such as pocket-money. Parental divorce or separation and having a mother who was working full-time were also associated with a perceived lack of family closeness and love. The implications of these findings for the prevention of the establishment of health-threatening behavioural patterns and suicide among adolescents are discussed.

Acting Out↗
PubMed2003

Plasma vitamin A and C status of in-school adolescents and associated factors in Enugu State, Nigeria.

The study was undertaken to determine the intake of vitamin A and C and plasma concentrations of these vitamins among in-school adolescents. The factors affecting the vitamin status of these adolescents were also determined. Data for this report were obtained from a cross-sectional survey of 600 in-school adolescents in Nsukka local government area (LGA) of Enugu State, Nigeria. Ninety and 45 of the adolescents were randomly selected for determining plasma concentrations of vitamin A and C and intake of these vitamins respectively. Dietary assessment was done using a three-day weighed food intake method. Venous blood samples were collected and used for determining plasma vitamin A using the trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) method, while plasma vitamin C was determined by the thiourea method. Values obtained were matched against standards. The intake of vitamin A by all the adolescents was adequate (126-137% of recommended intake), while the intake of vitamin C was inadequate (51-91% of recommended intake). The mean intake of vitamin C was higher among males (23.7 +/- 0.71-27.3 +/- 8.0) than among females (15.3 +/- 2.8-19.5 +/- 5.1). Despite the adequate intake of vitamin A, 40% of the male and 32% of the female adolescents had low plasma concentrations of the vitamin (< 20 microg/dL). On the other hand, concentrations of plasma vitamin C were low among about 47% of these adolescents. Using multiple regression analysis, the two most important variables influencing vitamin A status were household size (b = -0.629; p < 0.0 1) and nutrition knowledge (b = -1.372; p < 0.01), while for vitamin C status, these were household size (b = -0.110; p = 0.05) and age (b = 0.226; p < 0.05). The daytime students had a significantly (p < 0.05) better vitamin A and C status than the boarders. The prevalence of vitamin A and C deficiencies among the adolescents may be more than estimated due to inadequate intake and/or poor bioavailability. This may pose a serious health risk for adolescents. There is, therefore, a need for adequate nutrition education and awareness about healthy lifestyles among Nigerian adolescents.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[First applications of a new projective-semantic test. Various considerations on standardization in a sample of adolescents].

Giuseppe R. Brera's B-test was used in a group of students from upper secondary school (102 male adolescents and 86 females) in order to carry out a preliminary standardisation in centiles and to assess the pattern of the seven scales of the test: mood, anxiety, interpersonal affectivity, sociability, autonomy of ego, strength of ego and guilt in adolescents. Factorial analysis by multiple correspondence was used in the same group of adolescents, with the exception of a subgroup of 20 14-year-old students from lower secondary school. The latter was carried out to assess the efficacy of the test in identifying groups of adolescents using the standard association of positive or negative methods of presenting the 44 variables and the free replies to the questions: what do you dream about, what do you look at, what do you advise. Standardisation in centiles allowed indicative risk scores for mental health to be defined for each factor, with the exception of the anxiety factor in males which appears to be a relatively widespread phenomenon in adolescent. Fewer adolescent females suffer from problems of depression, anxiety, interpersonal affectivity and sociability, whereas adolescent males present a smaller number of problems related to the autonomy of the ego, the strength of the ego and guilt. In line with previous works, the test identified 26% of adolescent males and 23% of adolescent females suffering from various in terms of the mean scores from the different factors. For the first time to our knowledge, multiple correspondence analysis identified nine groups of adolescents distributed along two factorial axes: 1 = mood, 2 = interpersonal affectivity. Groups 1 and 2 were characterized by being contrary to the other negative methods.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Impact of the media on adolescent sexual attitudes and behaviors.

BACKGROUND: Adolescents in the United States are engaging in sexual activity at early ages and with multiple partners. The mass media have been shown to affect a broad range of adolescent health-related attitudes and behaviors including violence, eating disorders, and tobacco and alcohol use. One largely unexplored factor that may contribute to adolescents' sexual activity is their exposure to mass media. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine of what is and is not known on a scientific basis of the effects of mass media on adolescent sexual attitudes and behaviors. Method. We performed an extensive, systematic review of the relevant biomedical and social science literature and other sources on the sexual content of various mass media, the exposure of adolescents to that media, the effects of that exposure on the adolescents' sexual attitudes and behaviors, and ways to mitigate those effects. Inclusion criteria were: published in 1983-2004, inclusive; published in English; peer-reviewed (for effects) or otherwise authoritative (for content and exposure); and a study population of American adolescents 11 to 19 years old or comparable groups in other postindustrial English-speaking countries. Excluded from the study were populations drawn from college students. RESULTS: Although television is subject to ongoing tracking of its sexual content, other media are terra incognita. Data regarding adolescent exposure to various media are, for the most part, severely dated. Few studies have examined the effects of mass media on adolescent sexual attitudes and behaviors: only 12 of 2522 research-related documents (<1%) involving media and youth addressed effects, 10 of which were peer reviewed. None can serve as the grounding for evidence-based public policy. These studies are limited in their generalizability by their cross-sectional study designs, limited sampling designs, and small sample sizes. In addition, we do not know the long-term effectiveness of various social-cultural, technologic, and media approaches to minimizing that exposure (eg, V-Chips on television, Internet-filtering-software, parental supervision, rating systems) or minimizing the effects of that exposure (eg, media-literacy programs). CONCLUSIONS: Research needs to include development of well-specified and robust research measures and methodologies; ongoing national surveillance of the sexual content of media and the exposure of various demographic subgroups of adolescents to that content; and longitudinal studies of the effects of that exposure on the sexual decision-making, attitudes, and behaviors of those subgroups. Additional specific research foci involve the success of various types of controls in limiting exposure and the mitigative effects of, for example, parental influence and best-practice media-literacy programs.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Study of young people attending an adolescent friendly centre.

Adolescents are the individuals between the ages of 10 and 19 years and the youth are those between the ages of 15 to 24 years. World Health Organisation has therefore defined young people as individuals between the age group of 10 to 24 years. In our country Adolescents comprise more than one fifth (22%) of the total population. Therefore Family Health Division, Ministry of Health, established an adolescent friendly centre at Bir Hospital on 5th January 2002. This paper has tried to study and analyse the young population attending this centre at a fixed period of time. This study was carried out to a. Find out the total number of adolescents. b. Estimate their male: female ratio. c. Find out their ethnicity, address, marital status, education, and occupation d. Learn what Health and Development problems these young people have. This is a cross sectional study done at Bir Hospital adolescent friendly centre for a period of one year. All young people (adolescents and youths) coming to this centre within the specified period are included in this study. OPD register was used to collect the data, which was obtained and analysed manually. Total of 956 young people were provided healthcare and counselling services from this centre. Out of them, only 9.21 % were males. 887 (92.78%) of this population are adolescents, 69 (7.22%) are from 19 to 24 years age group and 880 (92.05%) of them are youth. Majority (28.56%) were Brahmins. 313 (32.74%) of these people were from outside the valley. 9 (10.23%) out of 88 boys and 384 (79.34%) out of 484 girls were married. 1.14% of boys and 14.63% of girls were illiterate. 4.55% of boys and 14.17% of girls had not completed the studies of standard five. 17.05% of boys and 47% of girls had not completed their school. 81.82% of boys and 38.36% of girls had joined the college. It also showed that 521 (54.50%) of these young people are students but 35.94% of girls are housewives. 278 (32.03%) girls presented with menstrual problems and 22.12% (192) came with pregnancy related problems and 15.27 % of these young people presented with the symptoms of various infections Twenty six (3%) girls came with features of anaemia and 22 (2.53%) girls had dropped in for family planning services. 20 (2.09%) of these young people had some psychological problem (mainly anxiety) and 9.62% of them had various types of skin problems. Adolescent friendly centre can play a vital role to support and help a good number of adolescents of the society. Key words: Adolescents, youths, and young people.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Do adolescents support early marriage in Bangladesh? Evidence from study.

Adolescence is a critical period for female adolescents as they have to make decisions regarding their marriage, education and work which would influence and determine their future course of life. Although, early marriage has negative consequences, still a proportion of female adolescents favour early marriage because of prevailing cultural norms. This paper attempts to investigate the factors influencing the adolescents' attitude towards early marriage among the married and unmarried female adolescents. This is a quantitative and qualitative study. A multistage cluster sampling technique was used to select the sample. For quantitative results, data on 3362 female adolescents from rural and urban areas irrespective of their marital status were analyzed. To supplement the results found in quantitative analysis, a series of focus group discussions were conducted among the adolescents. Analysis revealed that one fourth (25.9%) of the adolescents were in favour of early marriage. A number of societal factors influenced them towards early marriage, despite the fact that adolescents are aware of the consequences of maternal and child health. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that current marital status, years of schooling, work status and parental marital decision are important predictors of early marriage (p < 0.05). The study concluded that female education would be an important determinant of adolescent marriage. Therefore, opportunities and scope of education beyond secondary would helps to bring change in the attitude towards early marriage.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Adolescent health screening questionnaire.

Adolescent screening questionnaire is a set of questions made on determinants of adolescent health and used to screen adolescents exposed to health risk environment to offer preventive and promotional health care . Most evidence based questionnaire (GAPS) was developed by American Medical Association. Subsequently American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Bright Future (BF) developed questionnaire. All of them were developed to serve American and Western society needs. Format of Adolescent Preventive Services (FAPS) questionnaire was prepared by Adolescent Health Clinic of Calcutta Medical College to suit Indian adolescents, having a different cultural background, with technical support from WHO. National consultations on this questionnaire was supported by WHO and GOI. It was field tested and its validity and reliability were assessed among adolescents of six school students. Use of this tool helps identification of adolescents exposed to high-risk environments and use of necessary early intervention to prevent morbidity and mortality in adolescents. The available software version of FAPS can be used in the computer class to screen all school adolescents regularly.

Adolescent↗