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Nicotine metabolism has been hypothesized to affect patterns of smoking. The recent development of a noninvasive measure of nicotine metabolism, the nicotine metabolite ratio (trans-3'-hydroxycotinine/cotinine), makes it possible to examine the association between rate of nicotine metabolism and smoking behavior in the general population. This US study examined group differences in the ratio measured in urine and the association between the ratio and multiple measures of smoking behavior and nicotine dependence in a large, national representative sample of young adults. The sample included 900 daily smokers aged 18-26 years from wave III (2001-2002) of the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health. Nicotine dependence was measured by using the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence. Females had higher nicotine metabolite ratios than males; Whites and Hispanics had higher nicotine metabolite ratios than African Americans or Asians. This finding is consistent with those from laboratory studies of older smokers based on intravenous infusion of nicotine. No significant association was found between the nicotine metabolite ratio and number of cigarettes smoked per day or nicotine dependence. The availability of a noninvasive measure makes possible systematic testing of causal hypotheses generated by laboratory studies in the general population.

Objectives. We estimated HIV prevalence rates among young adults in the United States. Methods. We used survey data from the third wave of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a random sample of nearly 19000 young adults initiated in 1994–1995. Consenting respondents were screened for the presence of antibodies to HIV-1 in oral mucosal transudate specimens. We calculated prevalence rates, accounting for survey design, response rates, and test performance. Results. Among the 13184 participants, the HIV prevalence rate was 1.0 per 1000 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.4, 1.7). Gender-specific prevalence rates were similar, but rates differed markedly between non-Hispanic Blacks (4.9 per 1000; 95% CI=1.8, 8.7) and members of other racial/ethnic groups (0.22 per 1000; 95% CI=0.00, 0.64). Conclusions. Racial disparities in HIV in the United States are established early in the life span, and our data suggest that 15% to 30% of all cases of HIV occur among individuals younger than 25 years.

Romantic relationships constitute an important, but understudied, developmental context for accommodation to pubertal change. Using a nationally representative sample of 5,487 black, white, and Hispanic adolescent females, this study examined associations among body mass index, current romantic involvement, and dieting. For each one point increase in body mass-index (BMI), the probability of having a romantic relationship decreased by 6%. Further, involvement in a nonsexual romantic relationship—but not involvement in a sexual romantic relationship—was associated with a significant increase in the likelihood of dieting. Associations between relationship type and dieting did not vary by age, socioeconomic status, or race, but were stronger at higher BMIs. These findings confirm that weight has implications for romantic involvement, which is highly valued by adolescent girls, and that romantic relationships, in turn, are important contexts in which to consider psychological and behavioral accommodation to the physical changes of puberty.

This study explores differences in sexual behaviors between adolescents with low and with average cognitive abilities in the U.S. Using data from Wave I of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), we identified 422 respondents who had low cognitive abilities. Logistic and multinomial logistic regression methods were used to compare their experiences of romantic attraction, coital sex, contraceptive use, STDs, and pregnancy with those of respondents who were mentally average. Results show that adolescents with low cognitive abilities had fewer experiences of romantic attraction and coital sex. Given romantic-attraction experience, these boys had higher odds for same-sex (vs. opposite-sex) attraction compared with average boys. Among non-virgins, mentally disadvantaged adolescents were less likely to use contraceptives and had higher risks of STDs and pregnancy. More attention is needed to guide and protect them in their sexual understanding and development.

The authors test the idea that patterns of masculinity-femininity (MF) help sort adolescents into romantic couples. Using a nationally representative sample of adolescents in Grades 7 to 12 from a probability sample of secondary schools in the United States, an MF measure was constructed by selecting a set of questionnaire items demonstrating sex differences. For each respondent, the probability of being a boy was predicted. Respondents identified opposite-sex romantic partners within their school. When the partner identified also was interviewed, the authors were able to create MF for both members of the couple. Trichotomizing MF scores for each sex, it was determined that couples with a very masculine boy and very feminine girl are most likely to have sex, and to have sex the soonest. The couples for which both members are in the average MF range for their sex are the quickest to break up. The pattern of MF is a strong influence on the behavior of adolescent romantic couples.

Objectives. This study compared the health and risk status of adolescents who identify with 1 race with those identifying with more than 1 race. Methods. Data are derived from self-reports of race, using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), which provides a large representative national sample of adolescents in grades 7 through 12. Respondents could report more than 1 race. Results. Mixed-race adolescents showed higher risk when compared with single-race adolescents on general health questions, school experience, smoking and drinking, and other risk variables. Conclusions. Adolescents who self-identify as more than 1 race are at higher health and behavior risks. The findings are compatible with interpreting the elevated risk of mixed race as associated with stress.

Objectives. Our purpose is to advise those who propose to use school-based sampling frames in studying risk attributes of the adolescent population. Compared to using area sampling frames, will their estimates be biased by the fact that they do not have data from adolescents who are not enrolled in or present at school, primarily dropouts and graduates? Methods. We used a national probability sample of school enrollment rosters as a sampling frame but administered questionnaires in respondents’ homes. In this way we obtained data not only from those attending school but also from those who had dropped out or graduated between the time rosters were compiled and the time questionnaires were administered. We compare estimates of attributes with and without dropouts and graduates. Results. Estimates based on omitting those who had dropped out or graduated within the year before interview are only trivially different from estimates that include them, even though dropouts and graduates often differ significantly from those still attending school. Conclusions. Although dropouts and graduates are missing, school administration of interviews does not significantly bias population-wide estimates. This is because dropout rates at the national level are currently quite low. Although they differ significantly from the enrolled, the absence of dropouts does not bias estimates for the total population.

Purpose: To compare the risk status on health and behavior for those with same-sex partners and those without. Methods: Add Health data provide a sample of 20,745 adolescents in grades 7 through 12 interviewed at home. The risk statuses of respondents with no partners, same-sex-only partners, and partners of both sexes were compared to respondents with opposite-sex partners only. Respondents were evaluated on selected personal and social attributes (verbal IQ, family structure, masculinity, popularity), and risk status (substance use, depression, suicidal thoughts, anal sex, general delinquency, being physically attacked, perceived risk of being killed or getting AIDS). Data were analyzed by logistic and linear regression using STATA to adjust for clustering and sampling weights. Results: Compared to boys with opposite-sex-only partners, boys with same-sex-only partners were at high risk for emotional problems, but not delinquency or substance use. Boys with partners of both sexes were at high risk for delinquency and substance use, but not for emotional problems. Neither group of boys with same-sex partners is at high risk of being attacked compared to those with opposite-sex partners only. Girls with only same-sex partners are never a high-risk group, while girls with partners of both sexes are the high-risk category in every case. Conclusions: Adolescents with same-sex-only partners do not resemble those with partners of both sexes in risk status. Combining the two categories obscures the unique risk profile of those with both-sex partners, and obscures the low risk on most variables but the high emotional risk of boys with only same-sex partners.

This study uses behavioral genetics to examine the contributions of environmental and genetic influences to the sex-typed behaviors and attitudes of adolescent males and females. Data were drawn from 1,301 sibling pairs ranging from monozygotic twins to half-sibling pairs from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The measure used was a probability score of being a male based on responses to 16 behavioral and attitudinal items. Using this scale, separate covariance matrices were computed across different levels of zygosities and fit to behavioral genetic models. It was estimated that for males, 25% of the variance was accounted for by genetic influences and 75% by nonshared environmental influences and measurement error. For females, 38% of the variance was accounted for by genetic influences and the remaining 62% by nonshared environmental influences and measurement error. No shared environmental influences were found for either sex’s sex-typed behaviors and attitudes.

This paper compares contemporaneous and retrospective reports of adolescent masturbation experience, partnered sexual behavior, and nonsexual problem behavior. Analyses are based on data from 59 White males who were followed for 3 years in early adolescence and later reinterviewed as young adults. Comparisons of adolescent and adult reports about adolescent behavior indicated that adolescent masturbation, but not coitus and wet dreams, was more likely to be reported in young adulthood than in adolescence, even when confidential reporting techniques were used. In contrast, nonsexual problem behavior occurring during adolescence was more likely to be reported in adolescence than in early adulthood. These findings are consistent with other literature indicating that masturbation is a distinctly sensitive behavior that adolescent respondents may be particularly reluctant to report. These results suggest that adult retrospective reports may more accurately represent adolescent masturbation activity, but may un...

Purpose: To examine the relationship between an intelligence measure and a wide spectrum of partnered sexual activity ranging from holding hands to sexual intercourse among adolescents. Method: Analyses are based on two separate samples of adolescents. The core sample of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) includes approximately 12,000 adolescents enrolled in the 7th to 12th grades. The Biosocial Factors in Adolescent Development projects followed approximately 100 white males and 200 black and white females over 3- and 2-year periods, respectively. Both studies used the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) as an intelligence measure, and confidential self-reports of sexual activity. Logistic regression models were used to examine the relationship between PPVT scores and coital status in Add Health data; proportional hazard models were used to examine the timing of initiation of noncoital and coital activities as a function of PPVT scores in the Biosocial Factors sample. Results: Controlling for age, physical maturity, and mother's education, a significant curvilinear relationship between intelligence and coital status was demonstrated; adolescents at the upper and lower ends of the intelligence distribution were less likely to have sex. Higher intelligence was also associated with postponement of the initiation of the full range of partnered sexual activities. An expanded model incorporating a variety of control and mediator variables was tested to identify mechanisms by which the relationship operates. Conclusions: Higher intelligence operates as a protective factor against early sexual activity during adolescence, and lower intelligence, to a point, is a risk factor. More systematic investigation of the implications of individual differences in cognitive abilities for sexual activities and of the processes that underlie those activities is warranted.

Little is known concerning obesity patterns of ethnic subpopulations in the U.S. and the effects of acculturation on these patterns. Adolescent obesity, a major public health problem, has important health, social and economic consequences for the adolescent. The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health survey is unique in the size of the adolescent sample and in its ability to provide large representative samples of Anglo, African-American, Hispanic and Asian-American adolescents. A nationally representative sample of 13,783 adolescents was studied. Measurements of weight and height collected in the second wave of the survey were used to study adolescent obesity. Multivariate logit techniques were used to provide an understanding of the ethnic, age, gender and intergenerational patterns of adolescent obesity. Comparisons are presented between the NHANES III results and those from the Adolescent Health Survey. The smoothed version of the NHANES I 85th percentile cut-off was used for the measure of obesity in this paper. For the total sample, 26.5% were obese. The rates were as follows: white non-Hispanics, 24.2%; black non-Hispanics, 30.9%; all Hispanics, 30.4%; and all Asian-Americans, 20.6%. Important variations within the Hispanic and Asian-American subpopulations are presented. The Chinese (15.3%) and Filipino (18.5%) samples showed substantially lower obesity than non-Hispanic whites. All groups showed more obesity among males than among females, except for blacks (27.4% for males and 34.0% for females). Asian-American and Hispanic adolescents born in the U.S. are more than twice as likely to be obese as are first generation residents of the 50 states.

Social scientists are often concerned that research about the biological causes of behavior will encourage biologically-based public policy. Biosocial research models, jointly examining both social and biological causes of behavior, prevent simplistic biological thinking. Public policy is concerned with bringing about social change. Biological models of behavior primarily explain individual differences, and are not useful for guiding policies directed toward producing social change. When we allow our social ethics to prevent us from asking certain research questions, we will produce politically correct research results. We fall into such strategies because we imagine that ethics can be deduced from the nature of the world.

SummaryTest of the applicability of the hormonal theory of sex-dimorphic behaviour to adult women is achieved in this study by assembling measures of prenatal and adult androgen exposure, and a broad measure of gendered behaviour on a sample of white women aged 27–30. Androgen exposure in the second (and no other) trimester of fetal life, combined with and in interaction with adult androgens, masculinises women's behaviour and explains a substantial proportion of the within-sex variance in women's adult gendered behaviour.

Age at first intercourse for a sample of adult white women using variables measured during childhood is predicted. Childhood predictors were measured at birth, and ages 5 and 9-11, using existing public-use data on the women. Median age at first intercourse for the sample was 17.5 years. Early family predictors, early developmental characteristics, and temperamental characteristics during childhood together could predict about a fourth of the variance in age at first intercourse. The strongest predictors were motor skills and nightmares at age 5, church attendance with family at age 9, and domineering and mature personality at age 9.

I explain a biosocial model of women’s gendered behavior (behavior on which the sexes differ). This model integrates a macro sociological theory with a biological theory derived from primate behavior. The sociological model is designed to explain changes in the relationship between sex and behavior over time or between groups. The biological model is designed to explain individual within-sex variance and between-sex variance in gendered behavior in a cohort. Results from an original study are presented to demonstrate that within-sex variance in women’s gendered behavior is explained well by the primate model. I conclude that human nature is gendered. The implications of this conclusion are explored for demographic and other social science research.

Many theorists suggest that dominant males leave more offspring than submissive males, but this seems not to be true among humans. Possibly dominant human males have more copulatory opportunity, but they or their partners prevent conception. Teenage boys were judged to look either dominant or submissive in facial appearance. They were also rated on attractiveness and pubertal development. Dominant looking boys are more likely to report coital opportunity than submissive looking boys, net of attractiveness and pubertal development.

The Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey is used to examine the roles of women’s nutrition and infant feeding in determining time from birth to menses and time from menses to conception. The analysis sample includes 2,648 Filipino women followed for 24 months postpartum. Recently devised statistical estimation techniques to control for unobserved heterogeneity and endogeneity are employed in estimating a two-state hazard model. Low body mass index and lower dietary fat intake are associated with increased duration of postpartum amenorrhea. Contraceptive use, high dietary fat consumption, higher parity, and absence of spouse predict a longer waiting time to conception once menses have returned. Simulation of the hazard model is used to examine the effects of the key nutrition and lactation factors.

The politics of sex research is intimately related to the politics of sexual behavior. The politics of sex is the foundation for the politics of abortion, contraception, and the current politics of family values. As patterns of sexual behavior have been transformed during the past century, opposing groups have been organized to affect government action on behalf of particular sexual moralities. Research on patterns of sexual behavior cannot avoid becoming a part of the politics of sex. Sex research lifts the veil of pluralistic ignorance and tells us what people are doing. Some think we would be better off not knowing. Some people think sex research legitimates nontraditional sexual behavior. Sex researchers often become identified with nontraditional sexual views. In this way, the researchers themselves may become partisans in the politics of sex. The recent political interventions to block large national sex surveys funded by the National Institutes of Health are a natural outgrowth of these political p...

Existing data linking testosterone (T) and aggression in human adult males are surprisingly tenuous. In one of the few studies based on adolescent males, Olweus et al. (1988) demonstrated strong relationships between concurrent measures of T and aggression. However, the conclusions that could be drawn regarding developmental change were limited. Using data from a three‐year panel study of 100 adolescent males (ages 12 to 13 at study entry), we examined whether there are significant relationships between concurrently collected measures of T and self‐ratings of aggression, and whether the dramatic pubertal rise in T predicts subsequent change in aggression ratings. Panel analyses incorporating concurrent, lagged, and change measures found few significant relationships between aggression and T or pubertal development. The general absence of T/aggression relationships is discussed in the context of other empirical findings, the aggression measures used, and prepubertal differentiation on aggression.

SummaryUsing a sample of 3080 women from Cebu, Philippines, interviewed immediately after childbirth and every 2 months thereafter for 2 years, the determinants of return to coitus are analysed. Eighty percent of the women returned to coitus before the return of menses, and 90% did so before stopping breast-feeding. In hazards models, variables associated with traditional life styles retarded return to coitus. Situational variables (husband resident, crowding, children aged 6 and under), especially husband residence, and biological variables (mother's age, return to menses, and lactation) were significant predictors of return to coitus. The implications of the analysis for the construction of models of birth interval dynamics are discussed.

Using data from a 3-year longitudinal study of 100 young adolescent males, radioimmunoassay (RIA) results for testosterone (T) measured in the same plasma and saliva specimens were compared across six laboratories. Correlation coefficients across labs for plasma samples were generally high, ranging from. 69 to. 96, with most coefficients exceeding. 80. However, cross-lab comparability of saliva T values was poor; two of three coefficients were 0. Correlations between specimen types for concurrently collected blood and saliva samples were highly variable, ranging from 0 to 86. The correspondence between plasma and saliva T values was not better when the same lab performed both types of RIAs. The magnitude of relationships between T and pubertal development, as well as between T and several behavior dimensions, also varied by lab, suggesting different conclusions about the presence and strength of hormone-behavior links.

Using the nationally representative sample of about 15,000 Add Health respondents in Wave III, the hypothesis is tested that masculinity–femininity in adolescence is correlated with sexual orientation 5 years later and 6 years later: that is, that for adolescent males in 1995 and again in 1996, more feminine males have a higher probability of self-identifying as homosexuals in 2001–02. It is predicted that for adolescent females in 1995 and 1996, more masculine females have a higher probability of self-identifying as homosexuals in 2001–02. Masculinity–femininity is measured by the classical method used by Terman & Miles. For both time periods, the hypothesis was strongly confirmed for males: the more feminine males had several times the probability of being attracted to same-sex partners, several times the probability of having same-sex partners, and several times the probability of self-identifying as homosexuals, compared with more masculine males. For females, no relationship was found at either time period between masculinity and sex of preference. The biological mechanism underlying homosexuality may be different for males and females.

Background and Objectives: The prevalence of trichomoniasis in the general population of the United States is unknown. This study provides the first population-based prevalence estimates of trichomoniasis among young adults in the United States. Methods: The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) is an ongoing prospective cohort study. In a cross-sectional analysis of Wave III of Add Health (N = 12,449), we determined the prevalence of trichomoniasis using a polymerase chain reaction assay. Results: The estimated overall prevalence of trichomoniasis in U.S. young adults was 2.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.8–2.7%). The prevalence was slightly higher among women (2.8%; 95% CI, 2.2–3.6%) than men (1.7%; 95% CI, 1.3–2.2%). The prevalence increased with age and varied by region, with the south having the highest prevalence (2.8%; 95% CI, 2.2–3.5%). The prevalence was highest among black women (10.5%; 95% CI, 8.3–13.3%) and lowest among white women (1.1%; 95% CI, 0.8–1.6%). Among men, the prevalence was highest among Native Americans (4.1%; 95% CI, 0.4–29.3%) and blacks (3.3%; 95% CI, 2.2–4.9%), and lowest among white men (1.3%; 95% CI, 0.9–1.8%). Conclusions: Trichomoniasis is moderately prevalent among the general U.S. population of young adults and disturbingly high among certain racial/ethnic groups.

Are risk behaviours in adolescence differentiated according to same-sex vs opposite-sex interest? For all respondents a five-point scale of interest in each sex used information from both of the first two in-home waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Logistic regression predicted the probability of experiencing each risk behaviour from the same-sex and opposite-sex interest scores. Same-sex interests have more effect on emotional risk, and opposite-sex interests have more effect on substance use. Nevertheless, all risk variables except boys’ depression are responsive to both same-sex and opposite-sex interest. The same-sex interest component of risk is attributed to the emotional strain of living with an anomalous sex interest in a heterosexual society.

Context: Chlamydial and gonococcal infections are important causes of pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, and infertility. Although screening for Chlamydia trachomatis is widely recommended among young adult women, little information is available regarding the prevalence of chlamydial and gonococcal infections in the general young adult population. Objective: To determine the prevalence of chlamydial and gonoccoccal infections in a nationally representative sample of young adults living in the United States. Design, Setting, and Participants: Cross-sectional analyses of a prospective cohort study of a nationally representative sample of 14322 young adults aged 18 to 26 years. In-home interviews were conducted across the United States for Wave III of The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) from April 2, 2001, to May 9, 2002. This study sample represented 66.3% of the original 18924 participants in Wave I of Add Health. First-void urine specimens using ligase chain reaction assay were available for 12548 (87.6%) of the Wave III participants. Main Outcome Measures: Prevalences of chlamydial and gonococcal infections in the general young adult population, and by age, self-reported race/ethnicity, and geographic region of current residence. Results: Overall prevalence of chlamydial infection was 4.19% (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.48%-4.90%). Women (4.74%; 95% CI, 3.93%-5.71%) were more likely to be infected than men (3.67%; 95% CI, 2.93%-4.58%; prevalence ratio, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.03-1.63). The prevalence of chlamydial infection was highest among black women (13.95%; 95% CI, 11.25%-17.18%) and black men (11.12%; 95% CI, 8.51%- 14.42%); lowest prevalences were among Asian men (1.14%; 95% CI, 0.40%-3.21%), white men (1.38%; 95% CI, 0.93%-2.03%), and white women (2.52%; 95% CI, 1.90%-3.34%). Prevalence of chlamydial infection was highest in the south (5.39%; 95% CI, 4.24%-6.83%) and lowest in the northeast (2.39%; 95% CI, 1.56%-3.65%). Overall prevalence of gonorrhea was 0.43% (95% CI, 0.29%-0.63%). Among black men and women, the prevalence was 2.13% (95% CI, 1.46%-3.10%) and among white young adults, 0.10% (95% CI, 0.03%-0.27%). Prevalence of coinfection with both chlamydial and gonococcal infections was 0.030% (95% CI, 0.18%-0.49%). Conclusions: The prevalence of chlamydial infection is high among young adults in the United States. Substantial racial/ethnic disparities are present in the prevalence of both chlamydial and gonococcal infections.

Romantic relationships are a central concern not only to adolescents, but to researchers studying adolescence and the transition to young adulthood. After all, romantic relationships serve several important functions for youth. They are critical to relatedness and autonomy-developmental processes that are linked to secure attachment (Erikson, 1968; Hazan & Shaver, 1987). They also provide contexts for dating and sexual behavior (Collins & Sroufe, 1999; Sprecher, Barbee, & Schwartz, 1995), and facilitate mate sorting and selection (McDaniel, 1969), especially for youth who marry or cohabit early in the life course. The theoretical relevance of adolescent romantic relationships for explanations of pair bonding (i.e., attachment in intimate relationships) and family formation (e.g., childbearing, cohabitation, and marriage) is considerable.

Background Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health provides opportunities to describe the reactions of young adults to September 11, 2001, and to increase understanding of the reactions among those who do not directly witness disasters. Objectives To compare the feelings, perceptions, and behaviors of respondents interviewed before with those of respondents interviewed within 9 weeks after September 11; and to test the influence of time and distance from terrorist sites on pre-post comparisons. Design Cross-sectional study, with comparison groups before and after September 11. Setting In-home interviews. Participants Seven thousand ninety-five respondents aged 18 to 26 years. Main Outcome Measures Sadness, psychological distress, closeness to parents, importance of religion and spirituality, trust in government, and substance use. Results Male (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.33; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08-1.65) and female (aOR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.22-1.71) respondents interviewed after September 11 were more likely to report sadness and increased trust in government (aOR range, 2.11-3.30) than those interviewed before September 11. Proportions reporting sadness returned to baseline in 4 to 6 weeks; increased political trust persisted for the 9-week study period. Male respondents interviewed the second week afterwards were more likely to report religious faith (aOR, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.40-3.00) and spiritual life (aOR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.18-2.60) as important than were those interviewed before the event. Female respondents interviewed afterwards were more likely to report higher levels of psychological distress (aOR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.08-1.83) and closeness to fathers (aOR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.08-1.72). There were no pre-post differences in substance use. Respondents closest to terrorist sites were most affected. Conclusion Young adults who did not directly witness the events of September 11 experienced reactions that were multifaceted and transient—except for persisting trust in government.

Purpose: To examine differences in some aspects of sexual behavior between physically disabled and nondisabled adolescents in the United States. Methods: The 1994–1995 Wave I data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a stratified, multistage cluster, school-based sample of 7th to 12th graders, were used. Physical disabilities were measured in terms of functional limitation and activity restriction. A total of 1153 adolescents were identified as physically disabled, mainly with limb difficulties. We studied their exposure on school sex education, contraceptive knowledge, sex attitudes, and popularity. Their experiences in romantic attraction and sex were analyzed by multinomial logistic regression methods, controlling for age, pubertal development, and other sociodemographic variables. Results: Although disabled adolescents are slower in pubertal development and more socially isolated, they are as sexually experienced as their nondisabled counterparts. Their exposure to school sex education is largely similar to that of the nondisabled, yet disabled boys are somewhat less knowledgeable about birth control. Severely disabled boys who are sexually active are popular among their same-sex peers, much like nondisabled boys. Although disabled adolescents are as sexually experienced, severely disabled boys and girls have less opposite-sex romantic attraction and are less sure about their sexual preference. Adolescents with mild disabilities have a higher tendency for same-sex attraction than do the nondisabled. Adolescent girls with physical disabilities consistently have higher odds of experiencing forced sex. Conclusions: Physically disabled adolescents' sexual development and their specific needs for sex education and guidance should not be overlooked. More attention should be paid to protect physically disabled girls from sexual abuses and exploitations.

I use Hughes and Burleson’s analysis of Fisher’s Fundamental Theorem to provide guidance for the interpretation of themes in the preceding papers on the genetics of fertility and fertility motivation. Thank heavens Hughes and Burleson have helped us better understand Fisher’s Fundamental Theorem. Without ways around the theorem, there would never be any genetic variance remaining to look at on traits important to fitness. The theorem says essentially that variance in genetic components of fitness will be wiped out quickly by selection. But I now propose that genetic components of fitness are not a stable set. As environments change, the components of fitness change, and new pools of genetic variance are exposed to selection.

The main threats to adolescents' health are the risk behaviors they choose. How their social context shapes their behaviors is poorly understood.To identify risk and protective factors at the family, school, and individual levels as they relate to 4 domains of adolescent health and morbidity: emotional health, violence, substance use, and sexuality.Cross-sectional analysis of interview data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.A total of 12118 adolescents in grades 7 through 12 drawn from an initial national school survey of 90118 adolescents from 80 high schools plus their feeder middle schools.The interview was completed in the subject's home.Eight areas were assessed: emotional distress; suicidal thoughts and behaviors; violence; use of 3 substances (cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana); and 2 types of sexual behaviors (age of sexual debut and pregnancy history). Independent variables included measures of family context, school context, and individual characteristics.Parent-family connectedness and perceived school connectedness were protective against every health risk behavior measure except history of pregnancy. Conversely, ease of access to guns at home was associated with suicidality (grades 9-12: P.001) and violence (grades 7-8: P.001; grades 9-12: P.001). Access to substances in the home was associated with use of cigarettes (P.001), alcohol (P.001), and marijuana (P.001) among all students. Working 20 or more hours a week was associated with emotional distress of high school students (P.01), cigarette use (P.001), alcohol use (P.001), and marijuana use (P.001). Appearing "older than most" in class was associated with emotional distress and suicidal thoughts and behaviors among high school students (P.001); it was also associated with substance use and an earlier age of sexual debut among both junior and senior high students. Repeating a grade in school was associated with emotional distress among students in junior high (P.001) and high school (P.01) and with tobacco use among junior high students (P.001). On the other hand, parental expectations regarding school achievement were associated with lower levels of health risk behaviors; parental disapproval of early sexual debut was associated with a later age of onset of intercourse (P.001).Family and school contexts as well as individual characteristics are associated with health and risky behaviors in adolescents. The results should assist health and social service providers, educators, and others in taking the first steps to diminish risk factors and enhance protective factors for our young people.

SummaryThe hypothesis that psychological stress during early childhood leads to advanced reproductive maturation was assessed using data from the California Childhood Health and Development Study. Regression analyses failed to indicate that bed wetting, nightmares or thumb-sucking at age 5 predict age at menarche, regardless of controls for mother's age at menarche. Among socioeconomic variables suggested as contextual stressors measured at age 9–11 only mother's education was a significant predictor of daughter's age at menarche, though its effect is trivial compared to mother's age at menarche. Path analysis on a subsample of the subjects failed to demonstrate the hypothesised indirect effect of mother's age at menarche on daughter's age at menarche acting through early marriage and marital dissolution. These results cast doubt on the theory that early childhood stress is the key to divergent reproductive strategies among females based on the timing of reproductive maturation.

SummaryA biosocial model of the effects of early adolescent testosterone levels and religiosity on adolescent males' sexual attitudes and activity over a 3-year period was examined. Using panel data for approximately 100 boys who were 12·5/13·0 years old at study entry, significant additive effects of free testosterone and frequency of attendance at religious services were demonstrated on the transition to first intercourse and other aspects of sexual behaviour and attitudes. No interactive effects of the two predictors were found. Boys with higher free testosterone levels at study entry who never or infrequently attended religious services were the most sexually active and had the most permissive attitudes. Boys with lower free testosterone who attended services once a week or more were the least active and reported the least permissive attitudes. For some behaviours, differences between free testosterone/attendance groups increased over time, resulting in substantial behavioural differences by the final round of measurement 3 years later.

In exploring the implications of hormonal influences on sexual behavior for reproduction, we have focused on androgens because of the convincing evidence for androgenic effects on female sexual motivation. We have been guided by the simple idea, based on clinical findings among hyperandrogenic women, that higher testosterone levels will increase female sexual motivation which in turn will result in increased coital frequency. However, careful consideration of the evidence fails to confirm such a role for testosterone in sexual behavior among normal women at any point in the reproductive span. While some amount of testosterone appears to be important in maintaining female sexual motivation, there is little evidence that variation in testosterone within the normal range is associated with variation in sexual motivation. Reported associations between testosterone and sexual behavior among married women cannot be interpreted as resulting from androgenic effects on sexual motivation. Thus we are left with the task of explaining why testosterone does not appear to play the same role in libido among hyperandrogenic and normal women. As mentioned earlier, some of the difference may attributable to the much higher levels of testosterone among hyperandrogenic women. Sherwin points out that the levels of sexual motivation decline with declining testosterone levels even while testosterone is well above normally occurring levels. It is possible that the brain is simply not sensitive to the variation in testosterone levels found in normal women. Other evidence suggests that the presence of intact ovaries may be equally important. A recent study of androgen replacement in naturally post-menopausal women failed to find a dramatic effect of testosterone on sexual motivation and behavior, despite levels similar to those in studies on surgically menopausal women, pointing to the importance of other factors associated with the presence of ovaries. A similar point can be made with regard to hyperandrogenism related to endogenous sources of testosterone, as in the case of PCOS. High levels of testosterone effectively disrupt ovarian function and interfere with other ovarian processes. Among hyperandrogenic women sexual behavior appears to be related to the direct effects of androgens on motivation, while the indirect effects of estrogen and progesterone are essentially eliminated. Among normal women, on the other hand, there is little evidence for such a dominating role of a direct androgenic effect on sexual behavior. Instead, other ovarian hormones, including estrogen and progesterone may also play a demonstrable role, despite the lack of strong evidence at this point.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

By comparing four similar groups of young adolescent males who completed questionnaires about their sexual behavior different numbers of times at various intervals, we explore the hypothesis that repeated questionnaire completion will affect sexual behavior. We find little support for the hypothesis even when the number of questionnaire administrations is very high.

Objective:Touseethnicallydiverse,nationaldatatoexaminelongitudinaltrendsinrace/ethnicdisparitiesin20 leadinghealthindicatorsfromHealthyPeople2010across multipledomainsfromadolescencetoyoungadulthood. Much of what is known about health disparities is based oncross-sectionalmeasurescollectedatasingletimepoint. Design, Setting, and Participants: Nationally representative data for more than 14000 adolescents enrolled in wave I (1994-1995) or wave II (1996) of the NationalLongitudinalStudyofAdolescentHealth(AddHealth) andfollowedupintoadulthood(waveIII;2001-2002).We fitlongitudinalregressionmodelstoassessandcontrastthe trend in health indicators among racial/ethnic groups of adolescents as they transition into adulthood. Main Outcome Measures:Diet,inactivity,obesity,tobaccouse,substanceuse,bingedrinking,violence,sexually transmitteddiseases,mentalhealth,andhealthcareaccess. Results: Diet, inactivity, obesity, health care access, substanceuse,andreproductivehealthworsenedwithage.Perceivedhealth,mentalhealth,andexposuretoviolenceimprovedwithage.Onmosthealthindicators,whiteandAsian subjects were at lowest and Native American subjects at highest risk. Although white subjects had more favorable health in adolescence, they experienced greatest declines by young adulthood. No single race/ethnic group consistently leads or falters in health across all indicators. Conclusions: Longitudinal data indicate that, for 15 of 20 indicators, health risk increased and access to health care decreased from the teen and adult years for most US race/ethnic groups. Relative rankings on a diverse range of health indicators (and patterns of change over time) varybysexandrace/ethnicity,causingdisparitiestofluctuate over time. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2006;160:74-81

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A biosocial theory of gender is constructed on both the macro and micro levels. A micro-model of within-sex differences among females integrates the biological model current in primatology with the prevailing social science model. It shows how sex differences in hormone experience from gestation to adulthood shape gendered behavior (that is, behavior that differs by sex). On the macro level, this model also illustrates how socialization and environment shape gendered behavior. It then demonstrates how hormone experiences can facilitate or dampen the effects of socialization and environment on gendered behavior. Data are from a sample of women who were studied from before they were born to the end of their third decade. I speculate about the constraints placed by biology on the social reconstruction of gender

Rose erroneously believes that the sciences of human behavior are being swept with a wave of genetic determinism. Actually, sociologists and psychologists remain predominantly hostile to any genetic influence on behavior. They will love Rose. The few behavior geneticists and sociobiologists in these disciplines are marginalized and looking for a little respect. Rose impugns their motives and ridicules their science.

Inaccuracy in women's reports of their abortion histories affects many areas of interest to reproductive health professionals and researchers. The identification of characteristics that affect the accuracy of reporting is essential for the improvement of data collection methods. A comparison of the medical records of 104 American women aged 27-30 in 1990-1991 with their self-reported abortion histories revealed that 19% of these women failed to report one or more abortions. Results of logistic regression analysis indicate that nonwhite women were 3.3 times as likely as whites to underreport. With each additional year that had elapsed since the first recorded abortion, women became somewhat more likely to underreport (odds ratio of 1.3), while each additional year of a woman's education slightly decreased the likelihood of underreporting (odds ratio of 0.7).

THIS ARTICLE SUGGESTS how theoretical biosocial models may give insight into fertility-related processes in modern, permissive societies. I do not allow the absence of data to constrain my thoughts. Biosocial models explain behavior by jointly considering sociological or psychological determinants and biological determinants. The jointness of the model may involve additive, interactive, or indirect effects of biological and sociological characteristics on behavior. The models may be microlevel or multilevel. The relationship between biological variables and demographic processes has long been a subject area for demography. Subtopics in this field now include the reproductive biology of fecundability, reproductive ecology, the biology of aging, health/disease and demographic process, and the effects of demographic events on biological processes. This article focuses on a specific corner of the biology-demography interface. It concerns only how biological processes affect voluntary behavior choices that are demographically consequential. Biological variance refers here only to the variance that arises from biological influences on behavior choices. Biosocial models include both biological sources and social sources of variance in behavior choices as independent variables. The most widely known biosocial models that explore this area are behavior-genetic models (Plomin, 1994). Because behavior-genetic models compare the behavior of individuals with known genetic similarities and differences, and with known environmental similarities and differences, they allow the separation of environmental and genetic variance. These models have been in use for decades. Since genetic designs are not always available, I provide here some propositions that illustrate various biosocial relationships without using genetic models. First, let me posit three biosocial relationships using a microlevel model. Additive: Androgenic hormones and religious participation independently affect the sexual behavior of adolescent boys, but in opposite directions.