In the United States, concerns about adolescent childbearing and its perceived corollaries – negative health outcomes for mother and child, the disintegration of the nuclear family, and “over-dependence” on public resources – began to circulate widely in policy spheres and popular media in the 1970’s, resulting in a proliferation of policies, programs, and services designed to address its prevention. Although national birth rates among adolescents are currently at their lowest since peaking in the early 1990’s, this decline masks persistent and significant disparities between groups of young people by race, ethnicity, geography, and poverty level. The concomitant existence of social and economic inequities that contribute to these differences is particularly striking in New York City; an urban center of vast extremes in health, wealth, and opportunity, but which boasts extensive reproductive health services for young people, including confidential care and availability of free or low-cost contraception. Within this setting, the promotion of hormonal and long-acting reversible contraceptive methods, specifically aimed at young women deemed at high risk of pregnancy and with less access to health care, has emerged as a key primary prevention strategy to reduce both overall adolescent pregnancy rates and disparities between adolescent groups. Using ethnographic methods, this research examined the promulgation and interpretation of this strategy by reproductive health leaders and healthcare workers as well as contextualized these perspectives with the reproductive decisions and fertility desires of female youth for whom this strategy is intended. As a result, this study elucidates broader political and socio-cultural contexts in which young women negotiate intimate relationships and contraceptive use. Recommendations are subsequently offered for clinical practices attuned to female youths’ lived experiences, educational programs for healthcare workers, and reproductive health policies reflective of the broader factors that influence contraceptive behaviors.

Since the issue of dating violence emerged onto the research agenda in the 1980s, researchers have focused upon measuring the prevalence of physical violence occurring in young people’s intimate relationships, using quantitative methods. Surveys, which have limited young people’s reporting to stating whether or not they have perpetrated or sustained any of a fixed range of predetermined violent acts, have formed the dominant methodological approach. In the main, dating violence studies have focused on researching university students in the United States of America, and young people not attending American universities are an under-researched population in the dating violence literature. The dearth of qualitative approaches to past studies of dating violence has meant that young people’s own accounts of their experiences, attitudes and perceptions of dating violence and abuse have been afforded minimal focus. Feminist theoretical approaches to dating violence research are now emerging, contributing a valuable gendered analysis of the issues. Through qualitative interviews with forty five young people aged 16-21 (23 men and 22 women), recruited primarily from a Further Education college and an organisation working with young people not in education, employment or training, this thesis explores young people’s attitudes, perceptions and experiences of violence and abuse in intimate dating relationships, through a feminist theoretical lens. The study is couched in a rich body of feminist empirical and theoretical literature, which conceptualises intimate partner violence as primarily an issue of men’s violence against women, perpetrated with the rationale of maintaining power and control. The impact that popular theoretical discourses of gender equality and female empowerment may have upon young people’s capacity to acknowledge ongoing gender inequalities is also considered in this thesis. The findings of the current research indicate that young people’s dating relationships (and experiences of heterosexuality in general) reflect ongoing gender inequalities which are influenced to a great extent by patriarchal modes of power and control. The accounts of young men and women in this study established dating relationships as sites of imbalanced gender power, with many modes of men’s power control, surveillance and monitoring of their girlfriends described as ‘normal’ and acceptable. There was a widespread perception among the participants that dating violence is an issue of ‘mutual combat’ where women are just as likely as men to be perpetrators, even though their experiences of dating violence largely reflected the pattern of female victims and male perpetrators. In regard to violence against women by men, many of the participants perceived men’s violence to be understandable in the face of women’s provocation, particularly in cases where women are perceived to be ‘cheating’. For a significant minority of young people, intimate relationships are sites of violence and abuse, with women disproportionately the victims. The findings from this study indicate a lack of awareness of the avenues of support that can be accessed by young people experiencing dating violence and abuse. The findings also highlight a requirement for direct educative strategies to challenge some young people’s support for men’s violence against women.

[Truncated abstract] The aim of this thesis is to describe and analyze how Indonesian female teen magazines represent Indonesian adolescents. Female teen magazines are an important source of information on how gender is constructed in Indonesia. The thesis will contribute modestly not only to knowledge in the immediate fields of gender relations and adolescence in Indonesia but also to the wider body of literature on the relationships among gender, capitalism and patriarchy and the role of print media in shaping these relationships. Consequently, I place my discussion of how adolescents are presented in Indonesian female teen magazines within a larger context of global-local interaction at the national level. This research places Indonesian female teen magazines within the wider genre of women’s magazines. Most of the research on female magazines is focused on women rather than female adolescents, but because gender relations in society cut across the generations, this research is relevant to the study of magazines for female adolescents. Theories about women’s magazines provide insight into women’s magazines as a forum of expression that reflects gender and power relations in society. Teen magazines exist due to the rising significance of Indonesian adolescents. Indonesian adolescents emerged as a significant social group because of the course of national history and the state’s national development. Adolescence in this thesis is not treated as a biological stage of human physical development, but as the result of changes in the perception and treatment of young people by the society in which they appear. In the analysis I use Merry White’s argument with regards to marketing strategies to adolescents. I claim that Indonesian female teen magazines often have a conflicting double agenda in representing adolescents.¹Teen magazines have to make money for publishers and advertisers in order to achieve their own financial security and, at the same time, these magazines have to acknowledge local values in order to be accepted by the society. For marketing purpose, adolescents in teen magazines are represented as a modern social group. Modernity in the magazines is associated with a globalized western popular culture. My particular interest is to explore to what extent and in what ways western influences (as the standard of modernity) are employed to construct representations of female adolescents. I argue that the ways the magazines construct their own ideals of the “west” are related to the ways they construct images of Indonesian female adolescents. The magazines portray local adolescents emulating western performance and appearance

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Miami University, Dept. of Educational Leadership, 2005. / Title from second page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains [2], iii, 189 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-189).

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:39:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 5922.pdf: 2167194 bytes, checksum: cff29ed27e87752d4fa2d6f5468fd27f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-28 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / The diagnosis and experiences of the treatment and follow up of a child or teenager with cancer can be a striking and destructuring not only for the patient but as well as the family. The emotional involvement of these families in this journey affects their own lives, since the experiences with cancer involve an adaptive process due to the troubles and changes that occur in the family dynamic, therefor, the family members learn how to deal with these difficulties to which they are exposed to and start to develop tackling strategies that allow them to adapt and survive in this new reality. In this context, the present research has as goals to identify the educational processes that occur in the living with cancer and understand how the families deal with the different phases related to the period of discovery, treatment and seeking for a cure for their children, brothers or sisters. A study case was developed in the qualitative nature and we counted with the collaboration of two families in which there was one child and one teenager in the follow up phase of cancer. The data gathering occurred in the city of São João da Boa Vista SP between the months of February and May of 2013, with open and individual interviews. The data analysis was made based on two themed categories: Resilience on cancer: A new meaning to life and Learning how to fight for life . The results revealed the after they have overcome the treatment phase, the families had a new meaning to the cancer experience, it was not seen as a synonym of death and punishment anymore and started to be seen as an opportunity of growth of everybody as human beings, which means that, the families understood that the experiences since the diagnoses and the treatment of cancer enabled them to think over their attitudes and forms of being in the world. In a general sense, all of them consider that the see and live life differently, they have become more comprehensive and less selfish, they are now concerned more with others, they cease the day and also they don t give as much importance to money and can now enjoy more the moments with their families. The collaborators of the research learned how to accept the cancer, have faith, trust and hope, not focusing on the disease, giving warmth and love to their children and siblings, to value the knowledge and feelings of the child, to follow the doctor s orientations, to exchange experiences with other people that have been through similar problems, to respect and seek the comprehension and union of all the family members and how to live intensely today. The appointed dimensions can contribute to the deconstruction of the stigma and the negative expectations the characterize cancer as a synonym of death, increasing hope and trust in the healing possibility and can be of special interest to think over the practice of health professionals, leading them to realize the importance of looking also to the families of the oncological patient, including them in care, respecting their feelings, knowledge, culture and forms of being and thinking, to accept and stand by them, consolidating with this the assistance giving of a humanized health care. / O diagnóstico e as vivências do tratamento e acompanhamento do câncer de uma criança ou um (a) adolescente pode ser uma experiência impactante e desestruturadora não apenas para o (a) paciente, mas também para a sua família. O envolvimento emocional das famílias nessa jornada acaba afetando suas próprias vidas, uma vez que as vivências com o câncer envolvem trabalho adaptativo frente aos transtornos e mudanças que ocorrem na dinâmica familiar, desta forma, os familiares vão aprendendo a lutar contra as dificuldades a que estão expostos e passam a desenvolver estratégias de enfrentamento que os permitam se adaptar e sobreviver a essa nova realidade. Neste contexto, a presente pesquisa teve por objetivos identificar processos educativos desvelados nas vivências de famílias que enfrentam a busca pela cura do câncer de seus filhos (as) ou irmãos (ãs) e compreender como as famílias significam as diferentes fases relacionadas ao período de descoberta, de tratamento e de busca pela cura de seus filhos (as) ou irmãos (ãs). Realizou-se um estudo de caso de natureza qualitativa e contou-se com a colaboração de duas famílias, sendo estas a de uma criança e a de um adolescente na fase de acompanhamento do câncer. A coleta dos dados ocorreu na cidade de São João da Boa Vista-SP entre os meses de fevereiro e maio de 2013, mediante realização de entrevistas abertas e individuais. A análise dos dados foi feita com base em duas categorias temáticas: Resiliência frente o câncer: Ressignificando a Vida e Aprendendo a lutar pela vida . Os resultados revelaram que após superarem a fase do tratamento, as famílias atribuíram um novo significado à experiência do câncer, ele deixou de ser visto como sinônimo de morte, castigo e punição e passou a ser entendido como uma oportunidade de crescimento de todos (as) enquanto seres humanos, ou seja, as famílias entenderam que as vivências do diagnóstico e do tratamento do câncer possibilitaram a chance de repensar as suas atitudes, as suas formas de ser e estar no mundo. De modo geral, todos (as) consideraram que passaram a ver e a viver a vida de uma forma diferente, tornaram-se mais compreensivos e menos egoístas, passaram a se preocupar mais com o outro, a aproveitar mais o dia de hoje, deixaram de dar tanta importância ao dinheiro e passaram a valorizar mais os momentos em família. Os (as) colaboradores (as) da pesquisa aprenderam a aceitar o câncer, a ter Fé, confiança e esperança, a não focar a doença, a dar carinho e amor aos filhos e irmãos, a valorizar o saber e o sentimento da criança, a seguir as orientações médicas, a trocar a experiências com outras pessoas que passavam por problemas semelhantes, a respeitar e buscar a compreensão e união de todos os membros da família e a viver intensamente o dia de hoje. As dimensões apontadas podem contribuir com a desconstrução do estigma e das expectativas negativas que caracterizam o câncer como sinônimo de morte, aumentando a esperança e confiança nas possibilidades de cura e podem ser de especial interesse para repensar a prática dos profissionais de saúde, levando-os a reconhecer a importância de olhar também para as famílias do paciente oncológico, incluindo-as no cuidado, respeitando seus sentimentos, saberes, cultura e formas de ser e pensar, acolhendo-as e apoiando-as, consolidando desta forma a prestação de uma assistência em saúde humanizada.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T13:16:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1558604 bytes, checksum: e2675f2e45ce42d4a7813e0eda9f5157 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-09-10 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The present study aimed to identify the social representations made by adolescent fathers and mothers on paternity and motherhood in adolescence. Recognizing the importance of integrating the teenage father in the process of paternity, this research has included in its scope the male adolescent. This study was supported on the Social Representations Theory. With the participation of 80 teenagers distributed equitably by gender, from lower social classes, ages from 14 to 19 years-old (M = 16.71, SD = 1.20), who pass through the experience of having only one child. To collect data, it was used a multimethod approach, counting on different instruments: Questionnaire on bio-socio-demographic characteristics and contraceptive practices which answers were recorded in PASW (Predictive Analytics SoftWare) version 18, and analyzed by descriptive statistics; free word association test, processed in software Tri-Deux Mots for Correspondence Factor Analysis (CFA) and; Semi-structured Interview, which was submitted to the Alceste software for the analysis of descending and ascending hierarchical classifications. The results of the CFA showed that adolescents have representations that vary according to gender. Teenager parents represented paternity as "learning", an experience that generates demands from the need to "help", causing a "loss of freedom". The adolescent mothers indicated some assignments in which the parent is negatively associated to that which "does not accept the child" and seems "irresponsible", and should take help in child rearing, which was objectified in the expression "must participate". Motherhood in adolescence, according to male participants, was objectified in the practice of "breastfeeding", considered by them as a symbolic feature of this experience, was also associated with affective aspect "give love" and to the commitment of "taking care of the child". For its time, the mothers objectified experience of motherhood with a positive connotation associated with "something good", representing "love", a "dream", a "God thing", but, nevertheless, recognize that "demands responsibility" before the role of "caring" son. The analysis of the interviews revealed a dendrogram structured by four thematic classes whose representational contents are associated to the experiences and meanings of parenthood in adolescence, including aspects of the difficulty of inserting paternal and maternal commitment; to the knowledge about contraception, their means of serving and preventive practices; to the future projects planned before and after being fathers/ mothers, and, finally, to the affects mobilized forward to pregnancy and judgment of another. It is hoped that the knowledge produced in this research allows broaden discussions and reflections around the studied object, providing information on the beliefs, attitudes, images, opinions and meanings of adolescents. In this respect, it trusts that the findings of this thesis may shed light on the knowledge produced by teenagers, especially in the father s perspective, in order to insert them into public policies on health and sex education to enable them to engage in this process, deconstructing the idea of social invisibility commonly associated with the father figure in the affective experience of having/ caring for a child in adolescence. / O objetivo da pesquisa foi de apreender as representações sociais elaboradas por pais e mães adolescentes sobre a paternidade e a maternidade na adolescência. Por reconhecer a importância da inserção do pai adolescente no processo da paternidade, a presente pesquisa incluiu em seu escopo o adolescente do sexo masculino. Este estudo foi subsidiado pela Teoria das Representações Sociais. Contou com a participação de 80 adolescentes distribuídos equitativamente em relação ao sexo, provenientes de classe social baixa, com idades entre 14 e 19 anos (M = 16,71; DP = 1,20), que vivenciam a experiência de ter apenas um filho. Para a coleta dos dados, utilizou-se uma abordagem de multimétodos, com diferentes instrumentos: questionário sobre características biossociodemográficas e práticas contraceptivas, cujas respostas foram tabuladas no Predictive Analytics SoftWare (PASW), versão 18, e analisadas por meio de estatística descritiva; Teste de Associação Livre de Palavras, processados no software Tri-Deux Mots para Análise Fatorial de Correspondência (AFC) e; Entrevista Semiestruturada, que foi submetida ao software Alceste para análise das classificações hierárquicas descendente e ascendente. Os resultados da AFC evidenciaram que as representações dos adolescentes em relação ao sexo são diferenciadas. Os adolescentes pais representaram a paternidade como aprendizado , uma experiência que gera demandas a partir da necessidade de ajudar , e que provoca a perda da liberdade . As adolescentes mães apontaram algumas atribuições em que o pai é associado negativamente àquele que não aceita o filho , parece irresponsável , e deve assumir a criança e ajudar a criá-la, o que foi objetivado na expressão tem que participar . A maternidade na adolescência, segundo os participantes do sexo masculino, foi objetivada na prática da amamentação , considerada por eles como uma característica simbólica desta vivência; também foi associada ao aspecto afetivo dar amor e ao compromisso de cuidar do filho . Por seu tempo, as mães objetivaram a experiência da maternidade com uma conotação positiva, associada a algo bom , que representa amor , um sonho , uma coisa de Deus . Apesar disso, reconhecem que exige responsabilidade diante do papel de cuidar do filho. A análise das entrevistas evidenciou um dendrograma estruturado por quatro classes temáticas cujos conteúdos representacionais estão associados às vivências e significados da paternidade e maternidade na adolescência, incluindo-se nesta classe temática a dificuldade de inserção paterna e o compromisso materno; aos conhecimentos sobre contracepção, seus meios de veiculação e práticas preventivas; aos projetos futuros planejados antes e depois de serem pais/mães; e, por último, conteúdos associados aos afetos mobilizados frente à gravidez e ao julgamento do outro. Espera-se que o conhecimento produzido nesta pesquisa amplie as discussões e as reflexões em torno do objeto estudado, com informações relativas às crenças, às atitudes, ás imagens, aos significados e opiniões dos adolescentes. Neste aspecto, confia-se que os achados desta tese possam lançar luz sobre o saber elaborado pelos adolescentes, sobretudo na perspectiva paterna, com vistas a inseri-los em políticas públicas de saúde e de educação sexual que os engajem neste processo, desconstruindo a ideia de invisibilidade social comumente associada à figura paterna na vivência afetiva de ter/cuidar de um filho na adolescência.

Trata-se de um estudo exploratório empírico, de natureza qualitativa, que busca analisar, sob a ótica das relações de gênero, as singularidades das trajetórias afetivas, sexuais e reprodutivas de mulheres jovens de estratos populares do município de São Paulo, a partir de suas experiências de socialização. Por meio de entrevistas em profundidade semi-estruturadas realizadas com seis jovens, entre 16 e 20 anos, quatro das quais com experiência de gravidez na adolescência, buscou-se compreender, em primeiro lugar, o processo de aprendizagem das \"regras\" sociais da sexualidade modeladas e preconizadas pelos diversos agentes socializadores, bem como de que modo as jovens articulam e se apropriam desses saberes, formando seu acervo de conhecimentos sobre sexualidade. Em segundo lugar, buscou-se a identificação e a análise dos elementos que são percebidos pelas jovens como mais relevantes na concretização ou no adiamento do projeto de maternidade. Busca-se ressaltar, ainda, a importância da heterogeneidade dos perfis e a diversidade das situações vividas pelas jovens, considerando que as políticas públicas de saúde e de educação tendem a homogeneizá-las sob o critério etário, desconsiderando os significados e representações de sexualidade e de maternidade. A fundamentação teórica baseia-se, sobretudo, no conceito de socialização desenvolvido por Peter Berger e Thomas Luckmann e no conceito de gênero elaborado por Joan Scott. A pesquisa de campo foi desenvolvida no bairro de Cidade Tiradentes, da zona leste de São Paulo, entre as jovens usuárias da Casa Ser - Centro de Atenção à Saúde Sexual e Reprodutiva Maria Auxiliadora Lara Barcelos, uma unidade de saúde especializada no atendimento às mulheres do bairro, que possui características pioneiras e inovadoras, trabalhando sob a perspectiva das relações de gênero. O período de entrevistas estendeu-se por cerca de um ano, durante o qual foi possível acompanhar alguns acontecimentos nas vidas das jovens, como por exemplo, o nascimento do/a filho/a, suas jornadas em busca de emprego e suas percepções em relação aos eventos passados, bem como suas perspectivas de futuro. Como resultados principais, foi constatado que as jovens constroem seu repertório de conhecimentos sobre sexualidade a partir de discursos e de modelos de diversos agentes socializadores, sendo todos importantes neste processo e que elas participam ativamente na busca de informações que as possibilitem fazer escolhas em relação a sua sexualidade. Foi constatado também que os modelos de gênero presentes, sobretudo na socialização familiar e nas relações afetivas agem fortemente no modo como as jovens pensam a maternidade, sendo mais relevantes do que os discursos preconizados pela família e por outros agentes socializadores. / This is an empirical qualitative research, which purpose is to analyze, under gender relations perspective, the singularities of love, sexual and reproductive trajectories of underprivileged young women living in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, considering their socialization experiences. Six young women between the ages of 16 and 20, four among which had teen pregnancy experience, were interviewed, with the purpose to understand, first, the learning process of the social \"rules\" of sexuality shaped and advocated by the many socialization agents, as well as the way young women articulate and incorporate these teachings and how they build their knowledge about sexuality. Second, the investigation tried to identify and to analyze which elements are perceived by the young women as the most important in their decision-making process to become a teenage mother or to postpone this project. The study aims to emphasize the importance of the heterogeneity of the profiles and the diversity of the situations experienced by young women, considering that health and education public policies tend to homogenize them under the age criterion, ignoring the meanings and their representations of sexuality and motherhood. The concept of socialization developed by Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann and the concept of gender elaborated by Joan Scott are applied as theoretical basis for the analysis. The field research was carried out in Cidade Tiradentes, in east São Paulo, among the young clients of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Center Maria Auxiliadora Lara Barcelos, a specialized public health unit which provide health services and counseling to women living in the neighborhood, with pioneering and innovative characteristics, working under the perspective of gender relations. The interviews were carried our for about one year, during which it was possible to follow some important events in the lives of the young, for example, the birth of their children, job hunting experiences, their perceptions about past events and future prospects. As main results, it was evidenced that the young women construct their repertoire of sexuality knowledge on the basis of discourses and models shaped by different socialization agents; all agents are important to them in the process; the young women participate actively in the search for information that help them make choices about their sexual lives. It was also evidenced that gender models, especially those in their family socialization and love relationships influence strongly the way the young women think about motherhood, and are more relevant than the discourses from families and other socialization agents.

Master of Science / Department of Journalism and Mass Communications / Robert W. Meeds / Recent research on magazine advertisements, for the most part, has examined race in terms of representation and gender in terms of stereotypical social roles and objectification. Very few content analyses have been done regarding the depictions of women in terms of specific body types portrayed in the advertising content of women's and teen magazines. In addition, very few, if any, studies have examined women's and teen's magazine advertisements for the presence of gender and racial stereotypes, overt sexuality, and depictions of a body ideal. This content analysis of six mainstream women's magazines explores the existence of all those variables and puts them in context with one another, examining the implications for what these advertisements say about our society. Specifically, this study focuses on the portrayals of women in women's and teen magazines, where previous studies have examined portrayals of women in general magazines or men's magazines, but no focus has been put on teen magazines or specifically women's magazines. Major findings include the obvious suggestions of specific body ideals for women and teens of different racial backgrounds, perpetuation of social role expectations and social stereotypes, and lack of sexual imagery prevalence in women's and teen magazines.

Parent-teen sex conversations reduce Black adolescents’ HIV/STI risk. Nationally, most studies about Black teens’ sexual risk behaviors omit Afro-Caribbean groups whom are disproportionately burdened by HIV/STIs. Therefore, this exploratory study guided by the PEN-3 model (a) characterized the nature, perceptions, enablers, and nurturers of sexuality conversations between Haitian and Jamaican parents and adolescents and (b) explained the relationship between sexuality conversations and adolescent sexual activity. Using narrative inquiry, 6 Haitian and 8 Jamaican mother-teen dyads’ and triads’ (N=31) experiences were used to characterize the nature, perceptions, enablers, and nurturers of parent-teen sex conversations. Thematic content analysis generated common themes. In phase two, Black adolescents (African American, Haitian, and Jamaican) N=157, completed a validated 52-item questionnaire. Scales included ASAI; measuring recent pre-coital and coital activities; FSCQ measuring families’ orientation towards sex-conversations, and PTSRC-III measuring sexual topics discussed with each parent. Linear and logistic regression determined the relationship between parent-teen sex conversations and teens’ sexual activity. Mothers’ mean age was (41.85±5.50) and teens’ mean age was (16±1.31). Qualitative findings suggest that Afro-Caribbean mothers’ limited childhood and adolescent sex conversations and outcomes of those interactions shaped mothers’ existing attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors about sexual topics, and hindered their ability to discuss sex with their teens. Dyads believed modifying parents’ approach, improving parents’ sexual health knowledge, and increasing families’ comfort with sex- conversations would improve sexual discussions. Survey participants’ mean age was (16±1.49) and mean age of penile-vaginal/anal sexual debut was (14.95±1.71). Twenty percent of sexually active teens had their first parent-teen sex conversation after penile-vaginal/anal sexual debut, p=.01, and 27% after penile-oral/vaginal-oral sexual debut, p=.001. Haitians had lower comfort with family-sex conversations than African Americans, p=.03 and Jamaicans, p=.004. African American teens’ higher comfort for family-sex conversations was predictive of delayed penile-vaginal/anal sexual debut, p=.009 and virginity, OR=1.5, 95% CI [1.154, 1.866]. Teens who never spoke to their fathers about protection from HIV/STI were four times more likely OR= 4.41, 95% CI [1.466, 13.30] to not use condoms. In summary, culturally-responsive, family focused interventions are needed to equip Afro-Caribbean parents for sex conversations with their teens in order to reduce teens’ sexual risk.

This study investigated the relationships among family environment, demographic measures, the decisions made by unintentionally pregnant adolescents regarding post-delivery plans (stay single, get married, adoption), and the certainty with which these decisions were made. The Information Sheet, Family Environment Scale (Moos & Moos, 1981), and Multiple Affect Adjective Check List (Zuckerman & Lubin, 1965a) were administered to 17 5 pregnant adolescents, ages 14 through 22, who intended to carry their pregnancies to term. Pearson product-moment correlations and multiple regression analyses were utilized to assess the relationships between family environment and certainty of decision and between family environment and negative affect. Greater uncertainty was associated with nonwhite racial status and living with both natural parents or mother only. Higher levels of negative affect were related to lower levels of perceived family cohesion, independence, expressiveness, and intellectualcultural orientation. The demographic variables of age, trimester of pregnancy, and family constellation were also found to be useful in predicting levels of negative affect. Subjects who were older, further along in their pregnancies, and living with both natural parents or mother only tended to report greater negative affect. Findings of greater uncertainty and negative affect associated with living with the natural mother are consistent with previous reports of disturbed mother-daughter relationships among this population. Discriminant analysis revealed that subjects choosing adoption were more likely to be older and to be white than those choosing to keep the child. They also tended to perceive higher levels of expressiveness and independence in their families. Comparisons between the present sample and "normal" families revealed differences which were statistically significant, but quite small in terms of raw score units. Indeed, these groups may be more similar than has often been assumed. The implications of these findings for the delivery of services and for future research efforts in this area were discussed. More intensive assessment of family functioning is needed. Based upon present results, further investigation of the family constellation variable is warranted.