The Prevalence, Frequency and Social Ecology of Sexual Concurrency Among Young Adult Women

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156152/2/psrh12149.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156152/1/psrh12149_am.pd

Intimate Relationship Dynamics and Changing Desire for Pregnancy Among Young Women

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151900/1/psrh12119_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151900/2/psrh12119.pd

Black-White Differences in Pregnancy Desire During the Transition to Adulthood

This article explores race differences in the desire to avoid pregnancy or become pregnant using survey data from a random sample of 914 young women (ages 18-22) living in a Michigan county and semi-structured interviews with a subsample of 60 of the women. In the survey data, desire for pregnancy, indifference, and ambivalence are very rare but are more prevalent among Black women than White women. In the semi-structured interviews, although few women described fatalistic beliefs or lack of planning for future pregnancies, Black and White women did so equally often. Women more often described fatalistic beliefs and lack of planning when retrospectively describing their past than when prospectively describing their future. Using the survey data to compare prospective desires for a future pregnancy with women\u27s recollections of those desires after they conceived, more Black women shifted positive than shifted negative, and Black women were more likely to shift positive than White women-that is, Black women do not differentially retrospectively overreport prospectively desired pregnancies as having been undesired before conception. Young women\u27s consistent (over repeated interviews) prospective expression of strong desire to avoid pregnancy and correspondingly weak desire for pregnancy, along with the similarity of Black and White women\u27s pregnancy plans, lead us to conclude that a planning paradigm -in which young women are encouraged and supported in implementing their pregnancy desires-is probably appropriate for the vast majority of young women and, most importantly, is similarly appropriate for Black and White young women

Contraceptive Desert? Black-White Differences in Characteristics of Nearby Pharmacies

Objectives: Race differences in contraceptive use and in geographic access to pharmacies are well established. We explore race differences in characteristics of nearby pharmacies that are likely to facilitate (or not) contraceptive purchase. Study design: We conducted analyses with two geocode-linked datasets: (1) the Relationship Dynamics and Social Life (RDSL) project, a study of a random sample of 1003 women ages 18-19 living in a county in Michigan in 2008-09; and (2) the Community Pharmacy Survey, which collected data on 82 pharmacies in the county in which the RDSL study was conducted. Results: Although young African-American women tend to live closer to pharmacies than their white counterparts (1.2 miles to the nearest pharmacy for African Americans vs. 2.1 miles for whites), those pharmacies tend to be independent pharmacies (59 vs. 16%) that are open fewer hours per week (64.6 vs. 77.8) and have fewer female pharmacists (17 vs. 50%), fewer patient brochures on contraception (2 vs. 5%), more difficult access to condoms (49% vs. 85% on the shelf instead of behind glass, behind the counter, or not available), and fewer self-check-out options (3 vs. 9%). More African-American than white women live near African-American pharmacists (8 vs. 3%). These race differences are regardless of poverty, measured by the receipt of public assistance. Conclusions: Relative to white women, African-American women may face a contraception desert, wherein they live nearer to pharmacies, but those pharmacies have characteristics that may impede the purchase of contraception

The Influence of Relationship Context on Relationship-Specific Contraceptive Behavior Among Youth

Contraceptive behavior by an individual varies both across and within relationships, and the nature and characteristics of relationships can influence use and the type of method used. This study utilizes the retrospective sexual relationship histories of young adults available in the most recent wave (2001-2002) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to explore relationship-specific contraceptive method choice. Hierarchical generalized linear modeling is used to estimate the effects of both relationship-level and individual-level characteristics on the type of contraceptive method used at last sex. Four mutually exclusive categories for method use were constructed: condom only, hormonal method only, dual method (condom plus hormonal method), and no method. A number of relationship characteristics are significantly associated with contraceptive use even when controlling for individual characteristics. Moreover, the effects of relationship characteristics differ depending on the type of method examined. Significant between-individual variation in the type of contraceptive method used remains. Not only are the characteristics of the individuals forming the relationships of importance in determining contraceptive practices, but so too are the unique features of the relationship itself. Further investigation of other aspects of the relational context is warranted

Stress Symptoms and Frequency of Sexual Intercourse Among Young Women

Introduction We have previously documented the relationships between stress and depression symptoms and adolescent women's nonuse and misuse of condoms and other contraceptive methods and on their unintended pregnancy rates. Aim Here, we examine relationships between mental health symptoms and another understudied adolescent reproductive health behavior—frequency of sexual intercourse. Main Outcome Measure Our outcome was weekly sexual intercourse activity. Methods We used panel data from a longitudinal, population‐based cohort study of 992 women ages 18–20. Weekly journals measured sociodemographic, relationship, reproductive, and mental health characteristics, sexual and contraceptive behaviors, and pregnancy history. We examined 27,130 surveys from 952 women during the first study year. Predictors of weekly sexual intercourse were moderate to severe stress (Perceived Stress Scale‐4) and depression (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale‐5) symptoms measured at baseline. Multilevel, mixed‐effects logistic regression models estimated the relationships between stress and depression symptoms and the weekly odds of sexual intercourse while adjusting for covariate fixed effects and random woman effects. Results Nearly a quarter of the sample had moderate to severe stress (23%) and depression (24%) symptoms at baseline. Women reported sexual intercourse in 36% of weeks. Proportions of sexually active weeks were higher among women with stress (43%) and depression (40%) compared with those without symptoms (35% and 35%, respectively; P values < 0.001). Controlling for covariates, women with baseline stress symptoms had 1.6 times higher weekly odds of sexual intercourse compared with women without stress (adjusted odds ratio 1.6, confidence interval [1.1, 2.5]; P  = 0.04). Depression symptoms were not associated with sexual intercourse frequency in adjusted models. Conclusions Stress symptoms were positively associated with sexual intercourse frequency among these young women. Research and practice efforts are needed to identify effective sexual health promotion and risk‐reduction strategies, including contraceptive education and counseling, in the context of mental health symptoms and unintended pregnancy. Hall KS, Kusunoki Y, Gatny H, and Barber J. Stress symptoms and frequency of sexual intercourse among young women. J Sex Med 2014;11:1982–1990.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107995/1/jsm12607.pd

A Characterization of Young Adults' Nonmarital Sexual Relationships: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health

The relational patterns and behaviors that are experienced during adolescence and young adulthood are influential for reproductive health outcomes and set the stage for future family formation choices and behaviors. In order to better understand the extent to which the relational context influences behavior within relationships, it is imperative that researchers first explore these relationships in a more comprehensive manner than has been done previously. Using the retrospective sexual relationship histories of young adults from the most recent wave (2001-2002) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), this paper provides a detailed description of young adults’ nonmarital sexual relationships and explores young adults’ relationship histories. Findings suggest that the characteristics of the nonmarital sexual unions that are formed during the early life course are quite diverse. The type of relationship (defined as cohabiting, exclusively dating, frequently but not exclusively dating, dating once in a while, and having sex only) and other features of these sexual relationships (e.g., duration, age difference between partners) differ depending on the gender, race/ethnicity, and age of the young adult. Additionally, some patterns of associations across racial/ethnic groups and age categories differ for women and men. Moreover, the features of these sexual relationships vary across the different relationship types. Finally, a number of individual-level sociodemographic characteristics are associated with having experienced certain types of relationship histories. In particular, there are enduring effects of family background and religious denomination during adolescence that differ for women and men