Adolescent Predictors of Lifetime 'Hook-Up' Occurrence among US Young Adults

OVERVIEW: Within the sexual health literature, there has been a recent focus on 'hook-ups,' or casual, one-time sexual encounters, predominantly addressing the prevalence and cross-sectional predictors of hook-ups in high school- or college-aged convenience samples. To date, little attention has been paid to hook-up occurrence among post-collegiate young adults, or to potential predictors from earlier developmental periods. To address this gap, this study will examine early adolescent (grades 7 to 12) sociodemographic, behavioral, and psychological predictors of ever having a hook-up by young adulthood, utilizing a US nationally-representative cohort. METHODS: 7,717 respondents (3,586 males; 4,131 females) in Waves I and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were included. Design-based F-tests and weighted logistic regression were used to calculate gender-specific associations between primarily adolescent/pre–age18 predictors and ever-occurrence of hook-up by Wave IV (mage at Wave IV =29.3 years). RESULTS: 70.6% of all respondents reported at least one hook-up by Wave IV; hook-ups were significantly more common among males (75.9%) than females (65.3%). For all respondents, in final multivariate models more positive personal perceptions of sexual intercourse during adolescence, higher counts of pre-age 18 sexual partners, and lifetime diagnosis of alcohol abuse or dependence were associated with higher odds of having a hook-up. For males only, a stronger desire to attend college during adolescence was also associated with higher odds of having a hook-up. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that adolescent behaviors and beliefs may be associated with sexual outcomes at later stages in life.Master of Public Healt

Patterns, Predictors, and Consequences of Sexual Initiation Among Sexual Minority Youth

Sexual initiation is an often-used predictor of sexual and reproductive health. However, typical operationalization of initiation—age of first vaginal intercourse—may be less applicable to lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth ("sexual minorities" [SM]), for whom the relevance and/or importance of other-sex vaginal encounters may differ from that of heterosexuals. Following, this dissertation devised a new measure of sexual initiation specific to sexual minorities, in order to investigate initiation as part of a broader model of young adult STD risk. Using latent class analysis, I identified sexual initiation patterns (e.g. ‘classes’) among 2,154 SM respondents (526 Males/ 1,628 Females) in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, accounting for timing, sequence, and spacing of first oral, anal, and vaginal sexual experience. Female sexual initiation classes were characterized as ‘typical debut’ (41%; vaginal intercourse debut; short spacing between 1st and 2nd behavior); ‘dual-behavior debut’ (35%; oral sex + vaginal intercourse debut in same year); ‘early sexual debut’ (17%); and ‘delayed debut w/oral sex’(6%). Male sexual initiation classes were characterized as ‘single behavior debut’ (50%; oral sex initiation; long spacing between 1st and 2nd behaviors); ‘multi-behavior debut’ (32%; debut w/multiple behaviors in same year); ‘early anal sex’ (11%); and ‘very early debut’ (6%). Class membership was associated with race/ethnicity, SES, and religiosity among females; sexual victimization among males; and biological sex of pre-age 18 sexual partners for both. Next, structural equation modeling was used to test a model of the pathways from adolescent psychosocial support to sexual initiation class membership to young adult STD risk. In adjusted models, lifetime, but not prior-year, STD risk, significantly differed based on one’s sexual initiation class, yet higher parental support and neighborhood connectedness in adolescence significantly predicted lower STD risk in both time periods. Among females, differences in associations further emerged across race/ethnicity (differences not tested for males due to low statistical power). Findings highlight the importance of considering multiple behaviors when assessing sexual initiation, particularly among SM youth. More so, results suggest STD prevention efforts may benefit from focusing less on delaying sexual initiation, in favor of resiliency-based approaches that aim to improve social support.Doctor of Philosoph

Exploring How Disparities in Experiences of Violence and Substance Use Between Transgender and Cisgender Students Differ by Gender Expression

This report, Exploring How Disparities in Experiences of Violence and Substance Use Between Transgender and Cisgender Students Differ by Gender Expression, explores how a student's perceived gender expression intersects with their gender identity to inform health risk. A robust and growing set of evidence shows that transgender youth face higher rates of violence, substance use and other negative health outcomes. This report looks at both the rates of negative outcomes within transgender students across three categories of gender expression and also at the disparities (or gaps) between cisgender and transgender students across these categories. We use the categories "perceived feminine", "perceived androgynous" and "perceived masculine" to examine gender expression (see Figure 1 on page 6). We recognize that, with few exceptions, transgender perceived feminine youth are both most likely to experience health risks. Additionally, there are larger gaps between cisgender and transgender perceived feminine youth (compared to the gaps between cisgender and transgender perceived masculine youth or cisgender and transgender perceived androgynous students).Previous research developed by Advocates for Youth details the profound health disparities androgynous students, and transgender students, and particularly transgender students of color, endure relative to their gender conforming and cisgender peers. This project extends the previous work and contributes to answering additional questions about how transgender identity and perceived gender expression interact to explain health risks in violence and substance use

Teen Pregnancy Among Sexual Minority Women: Results From the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health

To explore the association between sexual orientation and teen pregnancy (before age 20) in a U.S. nationally representative cohort of young adult females aged 24–32

Nitrogen Deprivation-Induced Production of Volatile Organic Compounds in the Arachidonic-Acid-Accumulating Microalga Lobosphaera incisa Underpins Their Role as ROS Scavengers and Chemical Messengers

Funding Information: PK and AC acknowledged the Blaustein Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Blaustein Center for Scientific Cooperation (BGU). We are grateful to Noga Sikron Peres for her help with the GC-MS analysis. VT was the chair of Sonnenfeldt-Goldman Career Development in Desert Research. Funding. This work was supported by a grant from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Space, Israel (grant number 3-12422).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Demographic and developmental differences in the content and sequence of adolescents' ideal romantic relationship behaviors

This study utilizes data from 18,392 respondents (aged 12–19) in Wave 1 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) to provide a detailed descriptive analysis of U.S. adolescents’ desired behaviors in their ideal romantic relationships. Age, gender, and ethnic group differences in the desire for—and preferred sequence of—a set of activities that could occur in a hypothetical romantic relationship were explored within subsets of heterosexual (n=17,274) and sexual minority adolescents (n=1,118). Non-sexual behaviors were more commonly desired compared to sexual behaviors. The typical desired behavioral sequence was: holding hands, going out alone, telling others they were a couple, kissing, saying “I love you,” sexual touching, and finally having sex. Overall, more similarities than differences emerged across groups, with some notable differences in the percentages who desired sexual behaviors. Results provide a nuanced picture of adolescent relationship scripts, with implications for education and prevention

Risk of Substance Abuse and Dependence among Young Adult Sexual Minority Groups Using a Multidimensional Measure of Sexual Orientation

We examined associations between two definitions of sexual minority status (SMS) and substance abuse and/or dependence among young adults in a national population

Longitudinal Consistency in Self-Reported Age of First Vaginal Intercourse among Young Adults

We examined consistency in self-reports of age at first vaginal sex among 9,399 male and female respondents who participated in Waves III and IV (separated by approximately 7 years) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Respondents were coded as consistent if they reported an age at first vaginal intercourse at Wave IV that was within 1 year of the age they reported at Wave III. Sociodemographic, behavioral, and cognitive predictors of consistency were examined using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression. Overall, 85.43% of respondents were able to provide consistent reports. Among both males and females, consistency was associated with age, years since first vaginal intercourse, race/ethnicity, and lifetime number of other-sex partners in final multivariate models. Respondents who were older and had more recently had their first sexual experience were more likely to be consistent. For females only, those who reported a history of non-parental, physically forced sex were less likely to be consistent. Most young adults consistently report age at first vaginal intercourse, supporting the credibility of retrospective self-reports about salient sexual events such as timing of first vaginal intercourse