Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Contraception Behavior”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,513 records · Page 84Linked to original sources

Secular trends in age at menarche, smoking, and oral contraceptive use among Israeli girls.

INTRODUCTION: The improved nutrition and socioeconomic status of the population in industrialized countries has resulted in a decrease in the mean age at menarche. This trend raises the question of whether cigarette smoking and the use of oral contraceptives, health behaviors often adopted during adolescence, may also be starting at a younger age. Cigarette smoking and use of oral contraceptives are a public health concern because they pose an increased risk for development of chronic diseases, particularly in combination. This study was designed to identify secular trends in age at menarche, at first cigarette, and at first use of oral contraceptives among a large population-based sample of young Israeli women and to assess whether these trends are associated with sociodemographic factors. METHODS: A systematic, population-based survey used data obtained from female recruits to the Israel Defense Force from 1986 to 2000. During the study period, 11,392 questionnaires were collected from Jewish women aged 18 to 19 years. Participants were interviewed concerning geographic origin and level of education, father's geographic origin and level of education, current smoking status, use of oral contraceptives, and recalled age at first menstruation, first cigarette, and first use of oral contraceptives. RESULTS: Reported mean age (-/+ D) at menarche showed a monotonic trend of decreasing over time, from 13.41 (-/+ .30) years for women born before 1970 to 13.03 (-/+ 1.28) years for those born after 1978 (P < .001). Women born after 1978 were twice as likely to experience menarche by the age of 11 as those born prior to 1970 (odds ratio 2.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.41-2.82). Significant trends toward younger age at first use were observed for cigarettes and oral contraceptives. CONCLUSION: The trends of earlier age at menarche, first cigarette, and first use of oral contraceptives suggest health behaviors among young women that may herald increased chronic disease morbidity in the future. These trends indicate the need for further investigation and preventive measures aimed at this population.

Adolescent↗

Adolescence and sexual behavior. Trends and implications for STD.

Teenage sexual activity became more common in the 1970s, and that trend may continue in this decade. Teenagers have thus established themselves as an important component of the population at risk of sexually transmitted disease (STD). Adolescents exhibit many of the same features of sexual behavior seen in the adult population. However, adolescents' abilities to recognize, evaluate symptoms of, and seek treatment for STD are generally limited. Many teenagers are hesitant to admit that they have begun sexual activity or that something like STD could happen to them. The combination of these factors with generally liberalizing trends in sexual behavior in the last decade has elevated the risk of STD for teenagers and made the job of adolescent health care providers more difficult.

Adolescent↗

Having a future: sexual decision making in early adolescence.

There is meager information about how adolescents decide to become sexually active and use protection against pregnancy and disease. The purpose of this project was to explore the thinking of adolescents, ages 12 to 14, about becoming sexually active and using protection during sexual encounters. In a health class, 45 adolescents responded to questions about influences on having sex and using protection. Short-answer, written responses were analyzed using Heideggerian hermeneutic interpretation. The reflections of youth faced with sexual decision-making focused on self-protection against pregnancy and disease. Postponing sexuality or using protection meant having a future, one that could hold the promise of love, marriage, and desired children.

Adolescent↗

Understanding safe sex: gender narratives of HIV and pregnancy prevention by rural South African school-going youth.

In South Africa's HIV/AIDS epidemic, young people, especially women, are at high risk due to an apparent gap between awareness and practice. In repeated peer group discussions with girls aged 14-15 and boys aged 16-19, we explored influences on safe sex behaviour. Separate male and female safe sex paradigms emerged, with boys less likely to perceive themselves as 'at risk' and more likely to use condoms. Girls had not used condoms, would have preferred to delay sexual relationships and feared pregnancy as well as HIV/AIDS. Both sexes deemed it difficult for girls to initiate condom use, although both sexes viewed condoms favourably. Girls saw condoms as a sign of love and protection, whereas boys tended to use them with casual partners. A lack of decision-making autonomy within relationships further constrained girls' ability to practice safer sex. Involvement of peer participants in review of their own narrative data helped to ensure representation of participants' voices in the findings. Overall, these findings point to the need for programmes to address gender inequalities and emphasise behavioural skills in the years before sexual activity begins.

Adolescent↗

Adolescents and HIV infection: a clinician's perspective.

Increasing concern in the United States has centered on HIV infection in adolescents. While less than 0.4% of all reported cases of AIDS are reported in adolescents 13-19 years of age, it is speculated that upwards of 20% of all AIDS cases have acquired their infection as teenagers. Most cases are now reported to occur among minority youth and most are now related to sexual or drug use behavior. The natural history of HIV infection in adolescents has yet to be defined. Many adolescents have progressed to clinically significant low CD4+ cells by the time their infection is discovered. While traditional risk factors are also risk factors for adolescents, number of sexual partners and noninjection drug use appear to be related to an increased risk of HIV infection in this age group. Prevention efforts must target both techniques as well as one-on-one counselling. Health care providers have a unique role to play in both patient and community education.

Adolescent↗

School-based condom availability programs.

The repercussions of sexual activity among teens continue to be a significant issue in the United States. Detrimental consequences to unprotected sexual activity among teens include unintended pregnancy and acquiring a sexually transmitted disease (STD) or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It is estimated that each year approximately 3 million teens acquire an STD and 860,000 become pregnant. A variety of programs have been implemented in school systems in an attempt to reduce the STDs, HIV, and pregnancy among teens. One program is the distribution of condoms in the school. There are many factors that the school nurse must consider in the development of a school-based condom disbursement program. This article addresses school-based condom availability programs as well as issues for the school nurse to consider when implementing such a program.

Adolescent↗

Women and abortion: attitudes, social networks, decision-making.

The results of a study of 517 women seeking abortion are presented regarding attitudes about abortion in general, feelings about the specific decision to have an abortion and the social networks utilized in the decision-making process. Areas of potential conflict related to decision-making are identified along with the implications for social work practice.

Abortion, Induced↗

Trends in adolescent sexual risk behaviors.

Many societies worldwide are faced with an increase in adolescent pregnancy, rape, sexual abuse and sexually transmitted disease due to different sexual behaviors and sometimes lack of responsible sexual behaviors. The World Health Organization and the Surgeon General of the United States Government have called for action to this serious public health issue. In this short communication data from the United States, Canada and Israel is presented with a call for a professional response to this public health challenge.

Adolescent↗

A rose by any other name? Objective knowledge, perceived knowledge, and adolescent male condom use.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of objective and perceived knowledge about condoms in adolescent males' condom use at first intercourse. METHODS: A longitudinal analysis was conducted of data from a nationally representative sample of 404 virgin male adolescents who were aged 15 to 17 years at wave 1 and reported becoming sexually experienced at the second wave of data collection. Objective knowledge was measured as a 5-item knowledge test about condoms. Perceived knowledge was measured as a 5-item scale regarding participants' confidence about their answers on the objective knowledge test. Condom use was assessed by self-report. RESULTS: Objective and perceived knowledge were moderately correlated with each other. Male adolescents with low objective but high perceived knowledge were identified as being at particular risk for not using a condom in that they were nearly 3 times less likely to report using a condom at first intercourse (odds ratio: 0.35) than those with other levels of objective and perceived knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: Previous evidence suggests that knowledge about sex does not accurately predict sexual behavior. This lack of predictive accuracy may be because studies have focused only on objective knowledge. Our results suggest that both objective and perceived knowledge serve as antecedents to male condom use at first intercourse. However, those with higher perceived knowledge, particularly in the context of low objective knowledge, may be at greater risk for not using condoms. Addressing not only objective but also perceived knowledge may increase the effectiveness of interventions that are designed to increase rates of condom use among male adolescents.

Adolescent↗

Adolescent pregnancy: current trends and issues.

The prevention of unintended adolescent pregnancy is an important goal of the American Academy of Pediatrics and our society. Although adolescent pregnancy and birth rates have been steadily decreasing, many adolescents still become pregnant. Since the last statement on adolescent pregnancy was issued by the Academy in 1998, efforts to prevent adolescent pregnancy have increased, and new observations, technologies, and prevention effectiveness data have emerged. The purpose of this clinical report is to review current trends and issues related to adolescent pregnancy, update practitioners on this topic, and review legal and policy implications of concern to pediatricians.

Adolescent↗

Cost-effectiveness evaluation of a home visiting triage program for family planning in Turkey.

Graduate Turkish midwives were trained in triage rules for determining family planning home visit frequency based on risk of couples. In a sample of 542 couples followed for six months, modern contraceptive use increased 22 per cent among high-risk and about 15 per cent among moderate- and low-risk couples. After making assumptions about the fecundity, contraceptive success, and pregnancy complications, the estimated average cost per complication averted was $61 for high-risk, $177 for moderate-risk and $526 for low-risk couples.

Adolescent↗

Baby Think It Over: using role-play to prevent teen pregnancy.

This study examined the effectiveness of Baby Think It Over (BTIO; Jurmaine, 1994), an infant simulation program that seeks to modify attitudes toward teen pregnancy and teen parenting. As in the study by Saltz, Perry, and Cabral (1994), the premise was that teens engage in unprotected sex because of a personal fable concerning pregnancy: "It can't happen to me." It was expected that participation in BTIO, a form of role-play, would encourage teens to acknowledge their own personal vulnerability to an unplanned pregnancy, and provide them with some insight into the experience of adolescent parenting. One hundred fourteen eleventh-grade students participated. After two to three days' experience with BTIO, teens in the intervention group were more likely to accurately assess their personal risk for an unplanned pregnancy than were teens in the comparison group. Qualitative analyses revealed that teens in the intervention group were significantly more likely to produce concrete examples of activities and consequences related to child-rearing than were teens in the comparison group. Findings of this study are discussed from the perspective of the health belief model (Rosenstock, 1974), and suggestions for further research with BTIO are made.

Adolescent↗