Anticipated Emotions About Unintended Pregnancy in Relationship Context: Are Latinas Really Happier?

This study examined differences in women's anticipated emotional orientations toward unintended pregnancy by relationship status and race and ethnicity. Data from a prospective survey of 437 women aged 18 to 44 years who intended no more children for at least 2 years were analyzed along with 27 in‐depth interviews among a diverse subsample. Cohabiting women and women in romantic relationships not living together were less likely to profess happiness (odds ratio = 0.42, p < .05, odds ratio = 0.25, p < .01, respectively), even when partners' intentions and feelings were controlled. The most prominent factor underlying negative feelings was partners' anticipated lack of engagement with the emotional, physical, and financial toll of unintended childbearing. Contrary to conventional wisdom regarding the “Hispanic paradox,” foreign‐born and U.S.‐born Latinas were no more likely to profess happiness than non‐Hispanic Whites or Blacks. Moreover, foreign‐born Latinas whose survey responses indicated happiness often revealed highly negative feelings at in‐depth interview, citing pressure to conform to sociocultural norms surrounding motherhood and abortion.     

Fertility preferences and subsequent childbearing in Africa and Asia: A synthesis of evidence from longitudinal studies in 28 populations

Survey data on fertility preferences have played a central but controversial role in fertility research and advocacy for family planning. We summarize evidence from longitudinal studies in 28 Asian and African populations on the relationship between preferences and subsequent childbearing. While we found no consistent association between women's desire to delay childbearing and subsequent fertility, the baseline desire of women to stop childbearing was a powerful predictor of subsequent fertility in all populations and increased in strength as overall contraceptive use in the study populations rose. Partners’ desire also exercised some influence but was of modest importance in most populations. However, the correspondence between desire to stop and behaviour was found to be far from perfect. Weak implementation of preferences by contraception is likely to be the major cause of this preference–behaviour discrepancy. Uncertainty and instability in preferences may also contribute to the discrepancy, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.     

从权力结构到行动策略--国外孕产行为研究述评

国外孕产行为研究以西方女权主义运动为背景,关注的是社会生物过程中的权力结构,同时重视分析女性的主体性、行动性。其研究成果可以从权力结构、社会互动和个人能动性三个层面进行述评。研究发现,现有国外孕产行为研究较为成熟,理论经验成果丰富,注重行为内部结构性和复杂性的研究。但是其研究的社会情境和具体内容与我国显然不同,我国尚少有此主题的研究。“全面二孩”政策的实施对女性孕产行为具有直接影响,国外孕产行为的研究述评既为我们提供了理论思路借鉴,也让我们反思中国社会情境下孕产行为研究的最新范式。     

Factors Related to Successful Outcomes Among Preschool Children Born to Low‐Income Adolescent Mothers

The purpose of this study was to describe how the experiences and circumstances of the most successful children born to low‐income adolescent mothers differed from the experiences and circumstances of the least successful children over the first 54 months of their lives. Success was defined as scoring in the top quartile for this sample on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test‐Revised (PPVT‐R) when the children were 54 months old and about to make the transition to kindergarten. The experiences of the 22 children with the highest scores on the PPVT‐R were contrasted with the experiences of the 22 children who had the lowest scores on the PPVT‐R for this sample. The two groups differed markedly on measures of caregiving and home environment assessed when the children were 12, 24, 36, and 54 months old. In addition, mothers of the most successful children achieved more years of education, were more likely to be employed, had fewer children on average, tended to live in more desirable neighborhoods, and were more likely to be living with a male partner. Case studies are also presented on four families (two from the most successful group and two from the least successful group) to further illustrate how the experiences and circumstances of children in the two groups differed.     

Ecological analysis of adolescent birth rates in Brazil: Association with Human Development Index

BackgroundAdolescent pregnancy is a multidimensional public health problem. It is known that every year in Brazil approximately 1.1 million adolescents become pregnant and around 20% of all newborns are born to teenage mothers.AimThis ecological study describes the spatio-temporal patterns of the percentages of live births to adolescent mothers between the years of 2010 and 2016 in Brazil and their associations with human development indexes in the meso-regions where they reside.MethodsPercentages of live births to adolescent mothers are the ratio between the number of live births to women aged 10–19 years old and total number of live births in each Brazilian meso-regions during the study period. A spatio-temporal Bayesian model was used to associate the percentages of live births to adolescent mothers with the human development index of each meso-region. Moran’s index was used to measure the spatial autocorrelation between the meso-regions at an aggregate level, whereas the local indicator of spatial auto-correlation measured local correlation.FindingsPercentages of live births to adolescent mothers for the whole country were 19.3% in 2010 and 17.5% in 2016. There is a heterogeneous spatial distribution pattern for these percentages, being the highest percentages in the North region (24.8% in 2016) and the lowest percentages in the Southeast region of the country (14.3% in 2016). The Bayesian model showed that meso-regions with lower human development index values have higher percentages of live births to adolescent mothers.ConclusionOur findings suggest that adolescent pregnancy is deeply associated with environmental characteristics.     

微媒体环境下青少年网民政治认同的提升

青少年网民认同社会主义核心价值观,具有与传统社会不同的特点:认同环体由现实世界转向现实与虚拟相结合,认同受体由国家控制新闻转向网络信息多元,认同介体由外界灌输转向自我选择,认同载体由唯一性转向多样性。根据青少年网民的认同规律,应优化其认同环境,强化社会主义核心价值观内容的传播力,并发挥其认同载体的凝聚功能。     

Erotophobia‐erotophilia and sexual behavior during pregnancy and postpartum

This research examined the relation of erotophobia‐erotophilia, the disposition to respond to sexuality with negative‐to‐positive affect, and sexual behavior during pregnancy and postpartum. During late pregnancy, 50 couples responded to questionnaire assessments of their erotophobia‐erotophilia and sexual behavior; during the postpartum period, 25 of these couples responded to a follow‐up assessment of their sexual behavior following the birth of their child. Results indicated that eroto‐philic (versus erotophobic) women showed more sexual interest, activity, and satisfaction during pregnancy; they reported more sexual interest and an earlier resumption of coitus in the postpartum period; and they were more likely to breastfeed their child. Erotophilic (versus erotophobic) men reported more sexual activity both during pregnancy and the postpartum period, and they were more likely to have been present at the delivery of their child. Results are discussed in terms of confirming and broadening the construct validity of erotophobia‐erotophilia and in terms of applications for identifying and assisting those who may be likely to experience sexual difficulties during pregnancy and the postpartum period.     

The GIG

SUMMARY

The GIG¹ is an innovative community based intervention which offers education regarding pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI) risks and prevention in the context of a social event that is open to the adolescent community. This intensive, six hour intervention features live and recorded music, celebrities from local radio stations, raffles and prizes, and a number of educational activities providing instruction regarding pregnancy and STI risks and prevention. A total of 609 Latino adolescents completed matched pre and posttest measures. The increase in the total mean score from pretest to posttest was found to be statistically significant, as were the separate analyses for items related to pregnancy and those related to STIs. Information regarding specific attitudes and areas of knowledge are provided. Important intervention components related to the research literature are discussed along with areas of success, especially with regard to risk factors, and those in need of further attention in future intervention events. Recommendations for reinforcing and enhancing the GIG messages are presented along with implications of the findings for social work and health care professionals responsible for designing interventions for at-risk youth.