Area Disadvantage and Intimate Partner Homicide: An Ecological Analysis of North Carolina Counties, 2004–2006

Using data from the North Carolina Violent Death Reporting System and other sources, we examined ecologic relationships between county (n=100) disadvantage and intimate partner homicide (IPH), variability by victim gender and county urbanicity, and potential mediators. County disadvantage was related to female-victim homicide only in metropolitan counties (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 1.25); however, disadvantage was associated with male-victim IPH regardless of county urbanicity (IRR 1.17). None of the potential intervening variables examined (shelter availability, intimate partner violence services’ funding), was supported as a mediator. Results suggest disparities across North Carolina counties in IPH according to county disadvantage. Future research should explore other potential mediators (i.e., service accessibility and law enforcement responses), as well as test the robustness of findings using additional years of data

Parents' Support and Knowledge of Their Daughters' Lives, and Females' Early Sexual Initiation In Nine European Countries

The association between early sexual initiation and parenting practices (e.g., support and knowledge) has not been tested in multiple European population-based samples using the same instrument

Country-level gender equality and adolescent contraceptive use in Europe, Canada and Israel: Findings from the HBSC study in 33 countries

CONTEXT. Cross-national variation in adolescent contraceptive use is widely documented, but social explanations for this variation are scarce. Based on the assumption that societal gender equality relates to the cultural acceptability of contraceptive use and increases (young) women’s ability to actively participate in decision-making regarding contraception, this study examined whether adolescent contraceptive use was more prevalent in countries with higher levels of gender equality. METHODS. Nationally representative data from 33 countries that participated in the 2013/14 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study (N = 8,181) were combined with a country-level measure of gender equality (i.e., the Global Gender Gap Index; GGGI). HBSC respondents (aged 14-16 years) self-reported contraceptive use (condom and contraceptive pill) at last sexual intercourse. Multinominal logistic multilevel regression analyses were run separately by sex to obtain associations between gender equality and contraceptive use as reported by boys and girls. RESULTS. Gender equality related positively to condom use, contraceptive pill use, and dual use (i.e., of condom and contraceptive pill) among boys as well as girls, with ORs ranging from 1.4 (condom use among boys) to 9.6 (birth control pill use among girls). Associations with contraceptive pill and dual use remained significant when controlling for national wealth and income inequality. Overall, associations were stronger for girls, compared to boys. CONCLUSIONS. Macro-level gender equality relates to contraceptive use among adolescent boys and girls. More research is needed to identify causal pathways and potential mechanisms through which gender equality and adolescent contraceptive use may affect one another

Early adolescent sexual initiation and physical/psychological symptoms: a comparative analysis of five nations

Although most people in developed countries experience sexual initiation during adolescence, little is known about inter-country variability in the psychosocial correlates of early initiation. Population-based samples of 15-year-olds (n = 6,111, 52% female) who participated in the Health Behaviors in School-Aged Children Study (Finland, Scotland, France and Poland, 1997/1998) or the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (United States, 1996) self-reported sexual intercourse experience and physical (headaches, trouble sleeping) or psychological (unhappiness, loneliness, sadness, moodiness) symptoms. Analyses were conducted stratified by gender. Sexual initiation prevalence and symptoms scores varied significantly across nations. In adjusted models, sexual initiation was not related to symptoms among boys in any nation, but significantly positively related to symptoms among girls in Poland and the US. Results support variability by gender and nation in the relationship between adolescents' sexual initiation and physical/psychological symptoms. Empirically investigating specific features of national contexts that generate these differences should be explored further

Early adolescent sexual initiation and physical/psychological symptoms: a comparative analysis of five nations

Although most people in developed countries experience sexual initiation during adolescence, little is known about inter-country variability in the psychosocial correlates of early initiation. Population-based samples of 15-year-olds (n = 6,111, 52% female) who participated in the Health Behaviors in School-Aged Children Study (Finland, Scotland, France and Poland, 1997/1998) or the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (United States, 1996) self-reported sexual intercourse experience and physical (headaches, trouble sleeping) or psychological (unhappiness, loneliness, sadness, moodiness) symptoms. Analyses were conducted stratified by gender. Sexual initiation prevalence and symptoms scores varied significantly across nations. In adjusted models, sexual initiation was not related to symptoms among boys in any nation, but significantly positively related to symptoms among girls in Poland and the US. Results support variability by gender and nation in the relationship between adolescents\u27 sexual initiation and physical/psychological symptoms. Empirically investigating specific features of national contexts that generate these differences should be explored further

Parents' support and knowledge of their daughters' lives and females' early sexual initiation In nine European countries.

CONTEXT: Associations between early sexual initiation and parental support and knowledge have not been uniformly tested in multiple European population-based samples. Understanding such associations is important in efforts to discourage females' early sex.METHODS: Data were compiled for 7,466 females aged 14-16 who participated in the 2005-2006 Health Behaviors in School-Aged Children survey in nine countries (Austria, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Lithuania, Romania, Spain and Ukraine). Univariate, bivariate and multivariable analyses were run with standard error corrections and weights to assess how sexual initiation before age 16 was related to maternal and paternal support and knowledge of daily activities.RESULTS: Prevalence of early sexual initiation ranged from 7% (in Romania) to 35% (in Iceland). In bivariate analyses, maternal and paternal support were significantly negatively related to adolescent females' early sexual initiation in most countries. In models with demographic controls, parental support was negatively associated with early sexual initiation (odds ratio, 0.8 for maternal and 0.7 for paternal). After parental knowledge was added, early sexual initiation was no longer associated with parental support, but was negatively associated with maternal and paternal knowledge (0.7 for each). These patterns held across countries.CONCLUSIONS: Parental knowledge largely explained negative associations between parental support and early initiation, suggesting either that knowledge is more important than support or that knowledge mediates the association between support and early sex. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2012, 44(3):167-175, doi: 10.1363/4416712peer-reviewe