Early Alcohol Initiation and Subsequent Sexual and Alcohol Risk Behaviors Among Urban Youths

Objectives. We examined relations between early alcohol use and subsequent alcohol and sexual risk behaviors among urban adolescents. Methods. A total of 1034 African American and Hispanic youths completed surveys assessing alcohol and sexual behaviors at 7th and 10th grade. After we controlled for early sexual initiation, we examined relations between early drinking and subsequent alcohol and sexual behaviors. Results. Early drinking was associated with alcohol and sexual risks through mid-adolescence. Early drinkers were more likely to report subsequent alcohol problems, unprotected sexual intercourse, multiple partners, being drunk or high during sexual intercourse, and pregnancy. Among females, early drinking was also related to sexual initiation and recent sexual intercourse. Conclusions. Prevention programs should address combined risks of early alcohol use and sexual intercourse, especially where levels of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections are elevated

Continued Smoking and Smoking Cessation Among Urban Young Adult Women: Findings From the Reach for Health Longitudinal Study

We examined smoking and smoking cessation among 538 young inner-city women who had been followed from early adolescence to young adulthood. Results showed that 14.3% of these young women had smoked in middle school, 26.4% had smoked in high school, and 21.9% had smoked at age 19 or 20 years, when many were rearing children, pregnant, or considering pregnancy. Young women who were raising children were more likely than those who were not to currently smoke or to have smoked in the past. Partner violence victimization was an independent risk factor for continued smoking. If improvements in smoking cessation rates are to be achieved, public health efforts must address factors underlying early and continued smoking

Piloting a Searchable Database of Dropout Prevention Programs in Nine Low-Income Urban School Districts in the Northeast and Islands Region

While there is evidence that some dropout prevention programs have positive effects, the degree to which districts in the region are using evidence-based programs has not been documented. This report details a pilot project to generate and share knowledge by building a searchable database of dropout prevention programs and policies