Women's Health Issues RSS feed: Articles in Press. Women's Health Issues (WHI) is a peer-reviewed, bimonthly, multidisciplinary journal that publishes research and review manuscripts related to women's health care and policy. As the official journal of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health , it is dedicated to improving the health and health care of all women throughout the lifespan and in diverse communities. The journal seeks to inform health services researchers, health care and public health professionals, social scientists, policymakers, and others concerned with women's health.http://www.whijournal.com//inpress?rss=yesElsevier Inc.en © 2010 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Women's Health Issues1049-38672010-02-08 © 2010 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. healthpermissions@elsevier.comhttp://www.whijournal.com/article/PIIS1049386709001480/abstract?rss=yesPurpose: African-American adolescent females tend to initiate participation in sexual activity at an earlier age than Caucasian adolescent females. Early initial participation in sexual activity is associated with increased risk of HIV infection. However, limited prospective data are available on the rate at which African-American adolescent females delay their initial participation in sexual activity. The purpose is to determine low-income, inner-city, African-American adolescent females' survival or continued nonparticipation in sexual activity over a 20-month period and to determine predictors associated with survival.Methods: A longitudinal, quasi-experimental research design with multiple data collection points was used. The convenience sample consisted of 396 African-American females with a mean age of 12.4 years (SD = 1.1 years) and their mothers. The adolescents completed questionnaires assessing perceptions of maternal monitoring, HIV transmission knowledge, self-efficacy to refuse sex, intention to refuse sex, and age. Their mothers completed questionnaires assessing perception of maternal monitoring, safer sex self-efficacy, marital status, and educational level. At baseline, the adolescents reported nonparticipation in sexual activity. Survival analysis was conducted to determine the timing and predictors of sexual activity initiation for these adolescents.Findings: Of the 396 adolescents, 28.5% did not survive; they participated in sexual activity within the 20-month period. Predictors of non-survival were the adolescents' age, perception of maternal monitoring, and intention to refuse sex.Conclusion: Findings suggest interventions that increase maternal monitoring and adolescents' intentions to refuse sex could be beneficial in delaying sexual activity.African-American Adolescent Girls' Initiation of Sexual Activity: Survival Analysis - Corrected ProofBarbara L. Dancy, Kathleen S. Crittenden, Hongyan Ning10.1016/j.whi.2009.11.015Women's Health Issues (2010)2010-02-08Women's Health Issues2010-02-08ORIGINAL ARTICLEhttp://www.whijournal.com/article/PIIS1049386709001364/abstract?rss=yesObjective: To examine socioeconomic status (SES) as a risk factor for depressive symptoms in late pregnancy and the early postpartum period. A secondary objective was to determine whether SES was a specific risk factor for elevated postpartum depressive symptoms beyond its contribution to prenatal depressive symptoms.Design: Quantitative, secondary analysis, repeated measures, descriptive design.Setting: Participants were recruited from paid childbirth classes serving upper middle class women and Medicaid-funded hospitals serving low-income clients in Northern California.Participants: A sample of 198 first-time mothers was assessed for depressive symptoms in their third trimester of pregnancy and at 1, 2, and 3 months postpartum.Main Outcome Measure: Depressive symptoms were measured with the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) Scale.Results: Low SES was associated with increased depressive symptoms in late pregnancy and at 2 and 3 months, but not at 1 month postpartum. Women with four SES risk factors (low monthly income, less than a college education, unmarried, unemployed) were 11 times more likely than women with no SES risk factors to have clinically elevated depression scores at 3 months postpartum, even after controlling for the level of prenatal depressive symptoms.Conclusion: Although new mothers from all SES strata are at risk for postpartum depression, SES factors including low education, low income, being unmarried, and being unemployed increased the risk of developing postpartum depressive symptoms in this sample.How Much Does Low Socioeconomic Status Increase The Risk Of Prenatal And Postpartum Depressive Symptoms In First-Time Mothers? - Corrected ProofDeepika Goyal, Caryl Gay, Kathryn A. Lee10.1016/j.whi.2009.11.003Women's Health Issues (2010)2010-02-04Women's Health Issues2010-02-04ORIGINAL ARTICLEhttp://www.whijournal.com/article/PIIS1049386709001583/abstract?rss=yesObjectives: We examined preconception (prepregnancy) predictors of pregnancy weight gain and weight gain that exceeds the 2009 Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations based on pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), in a prospective study.Methods: Data are from a population-based cohort study of 1,420 women who were interviewed at baseline and 2 years later. The analytic sample includes 103 women who were not pregnant at baseline and gave birth to full-term singletons during the follow-up period. Preconception maternal weight category as well as health behaviors, psychosocial stress, parity, and age were examined as predictors of pregnancy weight gain and of weight gain in excess of the IOM recommendations using multiple linear and logistic regression analysis.Results: Pregnancy weight gain averaged 33.01 pounds, with 51% of women gaining weight in excess of the 2009 IOM recommendations for their preconception weight category. Preconception overweight (BMI = 25–29.9) increased the odds of excessive pregnancy weight gain nearly threefold, whereas preconception physical activity levels meeting activity guidelines reduced the odds of excessive weight gain but was marginally statistically significant.Conclusion: Although future research examining the role of physical activity in relation to pregnancy weight gain is needed, preconception overweight and physical activity levels are prime targets for interventions to avoid excessive pregnancy weight gain.Preconception Predictors Of Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Prospective Findings from the Central Pennsylvania Women's Health Study - Corrected ProofCarol S. Weisman, Marianne M. Hillemeier, Danielle Symons Downs, Cynthia H. Chuang, Anne-Marie Dyer10.1016/j.whi.2009.12.002Women's Health Issues (2010)2010-02-04Women's Health Issues2010-02-04ORIGINAL ARTICLE