Cohesive family environments and positive peer networks contribute to reduced levels of risky sexual behavior among adolescents from religious families. Parents who monitor their children's activities and peer environments, engage their families in regular activities and foster strong parent-child relationships can help reduce risky sexual behavior, regardless of family religiosity. Parental involvement in prevention programs may help reduce rates of teenage pregnancy and STDs.
This article uses a sample of 1,731 fathers aged 16 – 45 from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth to identify factors associated with multiple‐partner fertility. Almost one third of fathers who reported multiple‐partner fertility did so across a series of nonmarital relationships, and nonmarital‐only multiple‐partner fertility has been increasing across recent cohorts of men. Being older, having a first sexual experience or a first child at a young age, and fathering a child outside of marriage or cohabitation are associated with greater odds of multiple‐partner fertility, whereas having additional children with the first birth mother is associated with reduced odds. Black, Hispanic, and young fathers have especially high odds of experiencing multiple‐partner fertility across a series of nonmarital relationships.
Overview. Most people agree that children are important both for their own sake and for America's future. Therefore, it is vital to nurture children's development and well-being, and to identify those factors that can increase the odds that children will experience a "strong start" in life. This Research Brief identifies and examines factors associated with children being born and growing up healthy-in other words, with a strong start.To identify potential factors, Child Trends conducted an extensive review of research studies to identify maternal and family antecedents (conditions and characteristics before and during pregnancy) of healthy infant and child outcomes. We examined factors that might be related to children's prospects at the time of their birth and then assessed the research on these potential constructs to see whether studies show that each factor matters. Our work extends previous research by identifying characteristics of the mother and her environment that are associated not only with positive health outcomes at the time of the birth (such as healthy birthweight or full-term delivery) but that also may be linked to positive physical, behavioral, and cognitive outcomes in early childhood and into adolescence.From our review of studies, we identified seven major categories of antecedents associated with a strong start in life: the mother's health, health-related services, health-related behaviors, lack of material hardship, social support and marriage, attitudes, and social and demographic characteristics. We also identified individual factors falling within each category that have been found to be associated with child outcomes. For example, mothers' being in good physical health, 13,24 receiving long-term prenatal care, 29,49 having an intended birth 48 or having a positive attitude about the birth, 57,68 and not smoking, drinking, or using drugs during pregnancy 49,60,65,68 are associated with carrying a baby to full term and having a baby who is born at a healthy weight. Similarly, having a mother with access to adequate financial resources 10,46 and higher education 16 and being born into a household with two biological parents in a high-quality marital relationship 10,39 and social support lower the risks of problem behaviors and poor cognitive development in childhood.Publication #2007-10
BACKGROUND Young people who live in rural areas are less likely to finish high school 1 and to complete college 2 than their urban and suburban peers. These adolescents are also more likely to use drugs and alcohol. 3 In fact, rural adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 have the highest levels of drug use in this age group. 4 Out-ofschool time programs in rural areas can provide healthy and constructive activities that offer productive ways for children and youth to spend their time, build positive relationships, and receive academic support. 5,6,7,8 This brief highlights the challenges faced by rural out-of-school programs and suggests several strategies that can strengthen these programs. WHAT ARE RURAL COMMUNITIES? Rural communities are areas located outside of urbanized or metropolitan areas, with populations of 10,000 or larger. 9 Rural communities also include non-metropolitan towns 10 of fewer than 2,500 residents. 11 These towns are often located in open areas outside of suburban communities 12 and are sparsely populated. 13 The United States has approximately 2,000 rural counties, which cover 75 percent of U.S. land. 14 Nearly onefifth of all Americans live in rural areas. 15 WHAT SPECIAL CHALLENGES DO RURAL OUT-OF-SCHOOL PROGRAMS FACE? Out-of-school programs in rural areas share many of the same challenges that programs in other areas face, such as coping with limited funding and addressing staff recruitment and retention issues. But studies have also identified unique challenges that can hinder the success of rural out-of-school programs: Rural programs serve at-risk populations. Although many rural areas are not impoverished, 16 communities farther away from urban areas have higher poverty rates than those adjacent to urban areas. 17 Nearly one in five rural children lives in poverty, compared with 15 percent of children in urban areas. 18 Socioeconomic disadvantages and limited health services put some rural youth at risk of academic failure or participation in "risky behaviors," such as substance abuse or criminal activity. 19 One in five rural children is food insecure (that is, he or she has limited, uncertain, or no access to nutritious or safe foods 20). Geographic isolation can also limit access to health care and other social services. Correspondingly, limited preventive services can contribute to an increased risk of poorer mental health. 21 Living in a rural area is also associated with higher teen suicide risk, as research links geographic isolation and a heightened risk of suicide among the male teen population. 22 Suicide rates in some rural communities are among the highest in the nation. 23 Geographic isolation can contribute to poor access to transportation. Rural communities are often spread over large geographic areas, resulting in long travel distances between children's homes and program sites. 24 Children in impoverished rural households are three times more likely to be without transportation than are children from non-rural households. 25 Rural areas often lack public transp...
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