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Objectives To differentiate between forms of intimate partner violence (IPV) (victim only, perpetrator only, or participating in reciprocal violence) and examine risk profiles and pregnancy outcomes. Design Prospective Setting Washington, DC, July 2001 to October 2003 Sample 1044 high-risk African-American pregnant women who participated in a randomized controlled trial to address IPV, depression, smoking, and environmental tobacco smoke exposure. Methods Multivariable linear and logistic regression Main outcome measures Low and very low birth weight, preterm and very preterm birth Results 5% of women were victims only, 12% were perpetrators only, 27% participated in reciprocal violence, and 55% reported no IPV. Women reporting reciprocal violence in the past year were more likely to drink, use illicit drugs, and experience environmental tobacco smoke exposure and were less likely to be very happy about their pregnancies. Women reporting any type of IPVwere more likely to be depressed than those reporting no IPV. Women experiencing reciprocal violence reported highest levels of depression. Women who were victims of IPV were more likely to give birth prior prematurely and deliver low and very low birth weight infants. Conclusions We conclude that women were at highest risk for pregnancy risk factors when they participated in reciprocal violence and thus might be at higher risk for long-term consequences, but women who were victims of intimate partner violence were more likely to show proximal negative outcomes like preterm birth and low birth weight. Different types of interventions may be needed for these two forms of intimate partner violence.

The present study was designed to test a model of contextual and intrapersonal predictors of adolescent risky sexual behaviors and of sexually transmitted infection diagnoses. Using Waves I and II from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the authors estimated a structural model in which intrapersonal factors such as adolescents' attitudes about sex, perceived parental norms, knowledge about sexual health, and birth-control self-efficacy partially mediated the effects of contextual factors such as parent-adolescent relationship quality, school connectedness, and exposure to AIDS and pregnancy education on a number of risky sexual behaviors and outcomes: early sex initiation, sex under the influence of substances, condom use at last intercourse, and having been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection. Different patterns of direct and mediated effects emerged for each sexual outcome. Results are discussed in terms of the complex interplay between environment and individual and in terms of how, when, and with whom to intervene in order to improve adolescent sexual health outcomes.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common and easily transmitted sexually transmitted infections in the United States; infected individuals are frequently unaware that they are carriers, and transmission occurs unknowingly. Infection can lead to genital warts or cervical, penile, anal, or oral cancer. The object of this study was to examine the link between HPV knowledge and self-efficacy for preventive behaviors among college students as well as HPV vaccine acceptability. A cross-sectional survey of students at a two-year college in New York City was conducted electronically. The current study focuses on male students (N = 120). We found that HPV knowledge was low among this sample, but that self-efficacy and vaccine acceptability were high. Self-efficacy and perceived susceptibility to HPV predicted vaccine acceptability, but not condom use. The challenge for health care practitioners and health educators is to provide focused, comprehensive education about HPV without causing undue fear.