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Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill observed the apparent occurrence of virgin pregnancy and birth. The research team of Amy H. Herring, Samantha M. Attard, Penny Gordon-Larsen, and Carolyn T. Halpern, with the assistance of Reverend William H. Joyner, analyzed self-reports of pregnancy and sexual initiation. They found that 36 young women who consistently reported having never had sexual intercourse also reported giving birth during the same period. Such “virgin births” were associated with signing chastity pledges and absent or poor parental communication about sex and birth control.

Read the Reuters story here:  Claims of virgin births in U.S. near 1 percent: study (released on December 17, 2013 by Sharon Begley).

Excerpt:  “Of those who said they became pregnant as virgins, 31 percent also said they had signed chastity pledges; 15 percent of nonvirgins who became pregnant said they had signed such pledges, in which a girl vows not to have sex until she marries.

The 45 self-described virgins who reported having become pregnant and the 36 who gave birth were also more likely than nonvirgins to say their parents never or rarely talked to them about sex and birth control. About 28 percent of the “virgin” mothers’ parents (who were also interviewed) indicated they didn’t have enough knowledge to discuss sex and contraception with their daughters, compared to 5 percent of the parents of girls who became pregnant and said they had had intercourse.

The ostensibly chaste mothers were also less likely to know how to use condoms, according to the report. UNC biostatistician Amy Herring and public health expert Carolyn Halpern led the group.”

Amy H. Herring is a Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Department of Biostatistics in the Gillings School of Global Public Health.  Samantha M. Attard is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Carolina Population Center. Penny Gordon-Larsen is a Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Department of Nutrition in the Gillings School of Global Public Health and School of Medicine. William H. Joyner is a reverend at The Chapel of the Cross. Carolyn T. Halpern is a Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Department of Maternal and Child Health in the Gillings School of Global Public Health.

Scholarly source:  Herring AH, Attard SM, Gordon-Larsen P, Joyner WH, and Halpern CT. Like a virgin (mother): analysis of data from a longitudinal, US population representative sample survey. BMJ 2013;347. Article available online.

 

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, researchers from the University of California Berkeley have discovered a connection between adolescent bedtime and young adult academic performance and emotional distress.  The research team of Lauren D. Asarnow, Eleanor McGlinchey, and Allison G. Harvey found associations between late school year bedtime in adolescence and educational outcomes and emotional distress in young adulthood, and late summer bedtime in adolescence and emotional distress in young adulthood. 

Read the Time story here:  Is Your Teen a Night Owl? That Could Explain His Poor Grades (released on November 14, 2013 by Francine Russo). 

Excerpt:  “The study by University of California Berkeley researchers, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, compared how the different sleep habits of 2700 teenagers, aged 13 to 18, affected their academic and emotional development. They found that teens who stayed up later than 11:30 pm on school nights — which included 30% of the study subjects — fared worse than early-to-bed kids, and that these consequences lingered six to eight years later, even into college.

Younger students, aged 14-16, suffered both academically and emotionally, says the study’s lead author, Lauren Asarnow, a doctoral student in clinical psychology at UC Berkeley. They had worse cumulative GPA’s at graduation and more emotional distress, as measured by questionnaires post-graduation. The GPAs of the 16-18-year-olds didn’t suffer as much, possibly because they were more used to being sleep-deprived. However, they were more emotionally troubled than their early rising counterparts in college and beyond. They were more likely to report they were ‘sad,’ ‘down,’ or ‘blue,’ and said they cried frequently, or showed other symptoms of depression. ‘It is really important,’ Asarnow says, ‘to get our teens to bed earlier and to start young.’”

Allison G. Harvey is a Professor at the University of California Berkeley’s Department of Psychology. Lauren D. Asarnow is a doctoral student at the University of California Berkeley’s Department of Psychology. Eleanor McGlinchey is affiliated with the University of California Berkeley. 

Scholarly source:  Asarnow LD, M.A., McGlinchey E, Ph.D., and Harvey AG, Ph.D. The effects of bedtime and sleep duration on academic and emotional outcomes in a nationally representative sample of adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health. In Press. Article available online.

 

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, researchers from Northwestern University and McGill University have discovered a connection between household financial debt and poor physical and mental health.  The research team of Elizabeth Sweet, Arijit Nandi, Emma K. Adam, and Thomas W. McDade found that young adults aged 24-32 with high debt (individuals would remain in debt even after liquidating all their assets) are more likely to have higher diastolic blood pressure and lower self-reported mental and physical health. 

Read the HuffPost Healthy Living story here:  Debt Linked with High Blood Pressure, Poor Health Among Young Adults: Study (released on August 19, 2013). 

Excerpt:  “’You wouldn’t necessarily expect to see associations between debt and physical health in people who are so young,’ study researcher Elizabeth Sweet, assistant professor of medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said in a statement. ‘We need to be aware of this association and understand it better. Our study is just a first peek at how debt may impact physical health.’”

Elizabeth Sweet, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Feinberg School of Medicine’s Department of Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois.  Arijit Nandi, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupation Health and the Institute for Health and Social Policy at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec.  Emma K. Adam, Ph.D., is a Professor of Education and Social Policy at the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy in Evanston, Illinois.  Thomas W. McDade, Ph.D., is a Professor of Anthropology at Northwestern University’s Institute for Policy Research in Evanston, Illinois.

Scholarly source:  Sweet E, Nandi A, Adam EK, and McDade TW. The high price of debt: household financial debt and its impact on mental and physical health. Social Science & Medicine 2013;91:94-100. Article available online.

 

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have discovered some of the long-term negative physical and mental health effects of parental incarceration on children.  Parental incarceration was associated with numerous health problems in young adulthood, including depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, cholesterol, asthma, migraines, HIV/AIDS, and fair/poor health.  Paternal incarceration was associated with increased likelihood of eight mental and physical health problems, while maternal incarceration was associated with increased likelihood of depression.

Read the DailyRx story here:  When Mom or Dad is in Prison (by Tara Haelle, released on March 17, 2013).

Excerpt:  “Having a parent in prison can mean hardships for the entire family. But those challenges may not go away when the parent is released. There may be long-term consequences for the kids.

A recent study found that children are more likely to have physical and mental health problems as adults if their parents had been in prison.

The risk was higher for mental health issues than for physical health issues among children of incarcerated parents.

The researchers said other studies suggest that ‘underlying mechanisms that link parental incarceration history to poor outcomes in offspring may include the lack of safe, stable, nurturing relationships and exposure to violence.’

More study is necessary to understand the possible explanations for the link more thoroughly.”

Rosalyn D. Lee is a Behavioral Scientist in the Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.  Xiangming Fang is a Professor of Economics and Director of the International Center for Applied Economics and Policy in the College of Economics and Management at China Agricultural University in Beijing, China.  Xiangming Fang was a Senior Health Economist with the Division of Violence Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Feijun Luo is an economist at the Division of Analysis, Research, and Practice Integration, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.

Scholarly source:  Rosalyn D. Lee, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.A., Xiangming Fang, Ph.D., and Feijun Luo, Ph.D. (2013). The Impact of Parental Incarceration on the Physical and Mental Health of Young Adults. Pediatrics (published online March 18, 2013). http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-0627

 

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, researchers at Cornell University and Boston University report the negative effect that teen dating violence victimization has on both male and female victims’ health as young adults.  When compared to their non-victimized peers, female respondents who experienced teenage dating violence victimization subsequently reported higher rates of heavy episodic drinking, depressive symptomatology, suicidal ideation, smoking, and intimate partner victimization. Male respondents who experienced teenage dating violence victimization subsequently reported higher rates of antisocial behaviors, suicidal ideation, marijuana use, and intimate partner victimization.

Read the U.S. News and World Report Health story here:  Dating Violence in Teen Years Can Have Lasting Impact (by Carina Storrs, released on December 10, 2012).

Excerpt:  “Teenagers who experience dating violence could be more likely to get involved in violent relationships and have health problems as young adults, a new study suggests.

Researchers analyzed surveys of nearly 6,000 teens across the United States that were taken when the teens were between the ages of 12 and 18, and again five years later. The surveys asked about physical and psychological violence in romantic relationships, and also about feeling depressed, having suicidal thoughts, drinking and doing drugs.

‘What stood out was, across both genders and types of victimization, teens who experienced teen dating violence were two to three times more likely to be re-victimized by a partner in young adulthood,’ said study author Deinera Exner-Cortens, a graduate student in the department of human development at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

Exner-Cortens and her colleagues also found that teens who were victims of dating violence faced higher rates or depression, suicidal thoughts and heavy drinking, which varied by gender.”

Deinera Exner-Cortens is a graduate student in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University.  Dr. John Eckenrode is a Professor of Human Development in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University, Director of the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research, and Director of the National Data Archive of Child Abuse and Neglect. Dr. Emily Rothman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at Boston University’s School of Public Health.

Scholarly source:  Deinera Exner-Cortens, M.P.H., John Eckenrode, Ph.D., and Emily Rothman, Sc.D. (2013). Longitudinal associations between teen dating violence victimization and adverse health outcomes. Pediatrics 131(1):71-78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-1029

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, researchers at University College London and the University of Warwick (England) have discovered that positive affect in adolescence and life satisfaction in early adulthood, predict future earnings.  Respondents who demonstrated greater positive affect and life satisfaction as teenagers and young adults had higher incomes in their late 20s. 

Read the Time story here:  Happy Teens Grow Up to Be Wealthier Too (by Belinda Luscombe, released on November 23, 2012). 

Excerpt:  “Which comes first, happiness or money?  Much scholarly head tapping has been devoted to examining whether richer people are happier and if so, how much richer?  Nobel prize-winners have even looked into it.  But a new study suggests that the question could perhaps be looked at the other way around.  Happier teenagers, this study suggests, grow up to be richer adults.

The study, which appeared recently in the Proceedings of the National Association of Sciences, looked at thousands of teenagers and found that those who felt better about life as young adults tended to have higher incomes by the time they turned 29.  Their happiness was measured on a scale of 1 to 5.  Those who were happiest earned an average of $8,000 more than those who were the most despondent.”

Dr. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Policy at University College London, and a Research Associate of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics.  Dr. Andrew J. Oswald is a Professor in the Department of Economics and Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy at the University of Warwick, and a Visiting Fellow and Acting Research Director at the Institute for the Study of Labor in Bonn, Germany. 

Scholarly source:  Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Ph.D., and Andrew J. Oswald, Ph.D. (2012). Estimating the influence of life satisfaction and positive affect on later income using sibling fixed effects. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1211437109

 

A new Child Trends brief uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to explore the relationship between counseling and insurance access during adolescence, and reports of depression or suicidality during young adulthood.  The brief, published online here, confirms prior research findings that adolescents who report mental health issues are more likely to report similar issues as young adults.  The research findings reported in the brief suggest that for adolescents who report either no or mild depressive symptoms, access to health insurance is associated with a lower risk of mental health problems as young adults when compared to adolescents who report moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms.  For all teens, receiving counseling during adolescence was associated with an increased risk of depressive or suicidal symptoms as young adults.

Brief excerpt: “Mental health disorders that begin in adolescence often – though not always – persist into early adulthood.  The continuity of mental health problems may reflect biological and genetic origins, ongoing social and personal challenges, poor quality mental health services, and/or reflect low use of mental health services in adolescence and young adulthood.  Research examining factors related to low service use has identified the inability to pay for services as one of several causes.  This Research Brief analyzes panel data from a baseline sample of 9,969 young people participating in ADD Health (the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health), to assess whether the receipt of supportive (psychological or emotional) counseling and access to health insurance in adolescence are related to the persistence of adolescent depression and/or suicidality in young adulthood.

Results indicate that teens reporting symptoms of depression or suicidality in adolescence are 2.8 times more likely than asymptomatic teens to report these symptoms in young adulthood.  The effects of receiving counseling and having health insurance during adolescence on later symptoms of depression or suicidality varied, depending on whether moderate-to-severe symptoms of depression or suicidality were reported during adolescence.”

Mary A. Terzian, Ph.D., Kristin A. Moore, Ph.D., and Kelly Bell, B.A. (2012). Health Insurance Access and Counseling Receipt and Their Association with Later Depressive and Suicidal Symptoms. Child Trends Research Brief.

 

 

 

Using school, network and genetic data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, researchers at the University of Colorado and Yale University studied the effects of social environment and genetic factors on friendship selection, adding to the growing body of research on the role of genetic homophily in friendship formation.  Their results suggest that social context plays a fundamental role in friendship formation, as a social environment can facilitate or restrict the opportunity to select friends with similar genotypes. 

Read the Smithsonian story here:  Do We Really Pick Our Friends Based on Genetic Similarities? (by Joseph Stromberg, released on October 09, 2012). 

Excerpt:  “In recent years, as DNA sequencing has gotten increasingly quicker, cheaper and easier, some researchers have looked at individuals’ genes and come to a surprising finding – that people who are friends are disproportionately likely to share certain similarities in their genetic makeup. 

Some scientists have even hypothesized that this is the result of an evolutionary advantageous strategy, similar to the theory of inclusive fitness for kin: As a prehistoric human, if you tended to stick together and support others with whom you share genes, helping them survive led to the survival of your own genes, even if you personally didn’t make it to pass your genes on to your offspring.  Under that theory, we’re able to recognize our non-family genetic brethren and, consciously or not, become friends with them based on that similarity.

A group of social scientists led by Jason Boardman of the University of Colorado, however, was skeptical.  They doubted whether genetic similarity was really driving the way we pick our friends – and had a suspicion that, instead, other social factors drove us to become friends with people we happen to share genes with.  In order to test their hypothesis, they dove deep into data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which gathers a wide range of data on thousands of middle- and high-school students across the country, on everything from risk-taking behavior to particular genetic alleles to relationships with others.

Their findings, presented in an article published yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, strongly rebut the idea that genes determine friends and instead present an alternate idea: that social mechanisms simply put us into situations where we’re exposed to people we share genes with, and that we become friends with them based on this context.”

Dr. Jason D. Boardman is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology, University of Colorado at Boulder, and research associate in the Population Program at the Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado at Boulder.  Benjamin W. Domingue is a doctoral student in the Population Program at the Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado at Boulder.  Jason M. Fletcher is an associate professor in the Division of Health Policy and Management at Yale School of Public Health, and a scholar in the Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholars Program at Columbia University. 

Scholarly source:  Jason D. Boardman, Ph.D., Benjamin W. Domingue, and Jason M. Fletcher, Ph.D. (2012). How social and genetic factors predict friendship networks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3491494/