This study demonstrates how individual-, family-, and community-level characteristics and vulnerabilities contribute to young adult sexual risk and STI prevalence. Findings indicate specific individual characteristics and childhood experiences that should be specific targets of STI prevention efforts.
Using a sample of African American husbands and wives, this study investigates whether marital interactions and health are linked to their perceived community disorder. Findings suggest that only husbands' perceived community disorder is associated with their hostile behaviors toward their wives. Although wives' perceived disorder is strongly associated with husbands' perceived disorder, wives' perceptions are not directly associated with their hostile behaviors toward their husbands. Findings also suggest that husbands' and wives' hostile behaviors are strongly associated with each other. In general, spouses' hostile behaviors toward their partners are associated with their own as well as their partners' physical and mental health. Furthermore, husbands' perceived community disorder is directly associated with their own physical and mental health.
These findings contribute valuable knowledge to existing research by elucidating how early adversity exerts an enduring long-term influence on young adults' cardio-metabolic disease risk directly and indirectly through psychosocial resources. Furthermore, this information suggests that effective intervention and prevention programs should focus on early adversity and the development of youths' psychosocial resources.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.