American Journal of Public Health Highlights -- March 2010

Newswise — The articles below will be published online January 14, 2010, at 4 p.m. (ET) by the American Journal of Public Health under “First Look” at http://www.ajph.org/first_look.shmtl, and they are currently scheduled to appear in the March 2010 print issue of the Journal. “First Look” articles have undergone peer review, copyediting and approval by authors but have not yet been printed to paper or posted online by issue. The American Journal of Public Health is published by the American Public Health Association, www.apha.org, and is available at www.ajph.org.

(1) Boys Born to Adolescent Dads Are More Likely to Become Young Fathers

A new study finds that males who are born to adolescent fathers are more likely than males born to older fathers to perpetuate the trend by also becoming fathers while in their adolescence.

Researchers examined whether paternal adolescent fatherhood predicted participant adolescent fatherhood. The sample included 1,496 adolescent males 19 years or younger interviewed annually from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997. They found that sons of adolescent fathers were 1.8 times more likely to become adolescent fathers than were sons of older fathers, after other risk factors were accounted for.

The study’s authors said, “The results of this study indicate an intergenerational cycle of adolescent fatherhood above and beyond the influence of having an adolescent mother and other traditional risk factors for adolescent pregnancy. These findings support the need for pregnancy prevention interventions specifically designed for and targeted at young males who may be at high risk for continuing this cycle.”

[From: “Like Father, Like Son: The Intergenerational Cycle.” ].

(2) Smoking Is More Prevalent among Teen Boys When Discrimination Is Perceived

There is a positive association between smoking and discrimination among adolescent boys although not among adolescent girls, a new study reports.

Researchers examined associations between perceived racial/ethnic discrimination and cigarette smoking among adolescent boys and girls. The total sample size was 2,561, accounting for Black and Latino adolescents between ages 12 and 19 who participated in the Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing study (2002) conducted by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development. Researchers found that an association between discrimination and smoking differs by gender. Girls’ decreased smoking in perceived higher-discrimination settings may be a result of protective factors associated with where they spend their time; their perceived higher-discrimination settings were schools and work. On the other hand, boys’ increased smoking in higher-discrimination settings may reflect increased stress from gender-specific targeting by police and businesses.

The study’s authors suggest, “Understanding why and how discrimination occurs among adolescents is important because of its association with risk behaviors such as smoking, its significant mental and physical health consequences, and its contribution to inequalities in health outcomes.”

[From: “Gender Differences in the Association between Perceived Discrimination and Adolescent Smoking.” ]. (3) Same-Sex Versus Different-Sex Relationships Vary with Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Care

A new study reports that there are important differences in health insurance coverage and access to care between individuals in same-sex relationships and those in different-sex relationships for both men and women. Researchers examined differences between individuals in same-sex relationships and those in different-sex relationships with respect to health insurance coverage, access to care and health outcomes using large samples of data from the 2000 through 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. They used data on 5,265 individuals in same-sex relationships and 802,659 individuals in different-sex relationships. Married individuals had the highest rates of insurance coverage and lowest rates of unmet medical needs, followed by men and women in same-sex relationships, followed by unmarried men and women in different-sex relationships.

The study’s authors said, “The gap in utilization existed even when we accounted for differential rates of health insurance coverage. This suggests that although increasing insurance coverage — perhaps through expansion of state domestic partner benefit laws — is an important policy goal, other strategies are also needed to reduce the disparities associated with being in a same-sex relationship.”

[From: “Disparities in Health Insurance Coverage, Access, and Outcomes for Individuals in Same-Sex Versus Different-Sex Relationships, 2000-2007.” ].

The American Journal of Public Health is the monthly Journal of the American Public Health Association (APHA), the oldest and most diverse organization of public health professionals in the world. APHA is a leading publisher of books and periodicals promoting sound scientific standards, action programs and public policy to enhance health. More information is available at www.apha.org.

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