MCH Alert


Maternal and Child Health Library

This and past issues of the MCH Alert are available at http://www.mchlibrary.info/alert/archives.html.


March 14, 2008

1. New Bullying-Prevention Toolkit Released
2. Brief Outlines Key Findings From Past Responsible Father Initiatives
3. Funders Discuss Efforts to Integrate Mental Health and Oral Health into Children's Health Care
4. Article Looks at Interrelationships Among Obesity-Prevention Behaviors in Children and Adolescents
5. Study Examines Association Between Having Sex At a Young Age with an Older Partner and Selected Outcomes in Young Adulthood

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Readers: The next issue of the MCH Alert will be published on March 28, 2008.


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1. NEW BULLYING-PREVENTION TOOLKIT RELEASED

Eyes on Bullying . . . What Can You Do? A Toolkit to Prevent Bullying In Children's Lives offers a variety of tools to help parents and other caregivers understand bullying in a new way, reexamine their knowledge and beliefs about bullying, and shape the beliefs and behaviors of the children in their care. The toolkit, created at Education Development Center, is designed especially for parents and other caregivers of preschool- and school-age children and adolescents to use in child care programs, after-school programs, and camps. Topics include (1) the issue of bullying; (2) why bullying can sometimes be difficult to see; (3) the concepts of bully, victim, and bystander; (4) recommendations and strategies for addressing bullying when it occurs; (5) a strategic approach to creating an environment where everyone takes responsibility for preventing bullying; and (6) resources and references on bullying prevention. The toolkit is available at http://www.eyesonbullying.org/pdfs/toolkit.pdf. All the content from the toolkit and additional information, materials, and resources are available from the Eyes on Bullying Web site at http://www.eyesonbullying.org.

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2. BRIEF OUTLINES KEY FINDINGS FROM PAST RESPONSIBLE FATHER INITIATIVES

Ten Key Findings from Responsible Fatherhood Initiatives focuses on fatherhood programs that were developed and implemented during the 1990s and early 2000s and assesses what has been learned and how to build on the early programs' successes. The brief, produced by the Urban Institute, discusses key findings from five demonstration programs that focused on improving employment and earnings, child support payments, and parental involvement among noncustodial fathers with low incomes. Listed in order of implementation, these programs include the Young Unwed Fathers Project, Parents' Fair Share, programs for nonresident fathers operated under the Welfare-to-Work Grants Program, the Office of Child Support Enforcement's Responsible Fatherhood Programs, and the Partners for Fragile Families. Common themes across the projects are discussed in detail, and key findings are presented in a table, by project. The brief is intended for program administrators, policymakers, and others to use in developing the next generation of policies and services that will improve the lives of men with low incomes and their families. The brief is available at http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411623_fatherhood_initiatives.pdf.

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3. FUNDERS DISCUSS EFFORTS TO INTEGRATE MENTAL HEALTH AND ORAL HEALTH INTO CHILDREN'S HEALTH CARE

Critical Services for Our Children: Integrating Mental and Oral Health into Primary Care presents a summary of a discussion among grantmakers and health services researchers about improving the children's health care system by better integrating oral and mental health services into primary care. The issue brief is based on a Grantmakers in Health Issue Dialogue held on April 17, 2007, that focused on strategies for reducing fragmentation of services and explored opportunities for health funders. An overview of the issue, possible solutions, a conclusion, and references are provided. Topics include challenges to an integrated children's health system and examples of how health funders are addressing the problems. The issue brief is available at http://www.gih.org/usr_doc/Issue_Brief_30.pdf. An executive summary is also available at http://www.gih.org/usr_doc/Executive_Summary_Issue_Brief_30.pdf.

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4. ARTICLE LOOKS AT INTERRELATIONSHIPS AMONG OBESITY-PREVENTION BEHAVIORS IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

"The prevalence of behavioral risks for obesity increased across samples of ES [elementary school], MS [middle school], and HS [high school] students," conclude the authors of an article published in the March 2008 issue of Preventive Medicine. Research shows that children and adolescents are not engaging in obesity-prevention behaviors at recommended levels, contributing to an increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity. The main objectives of the present study were to examine among ES, MS, and HS students the following two research questions: (1) how do the stage-of-change distributions compare across the age groups and (2) how are obesity-prevention behaviors (engaging in 60 minutes of physical activity [PA] at least 5 days a week, consuming 5 or more servings of fruit and vegetables per day (FV), and spending 2 hours or less watching television, videos, or DVDs [TV]) interrelated? Stage of change refers to the Transtheoretical Model, according to which people pass through five stages of change as they make behavior changes: (1) precontemplation (PC) -- not intending to change in the foreseeable future, (2) contemplation (C) -- intending to change in the next 6 months, (3) preparation (PR) -- intending to change in the next 30 days, (4) action (A) -- changed within the last 6 months, and (5) maintenance (M): changed more than 6 months ago.

A total of 4,091 students were recruited from 24 elementary, 8 middle, and 12 high schools in 22 states. Students were asked if they engaged in the recommended level for each behavior. If they did not, they were asked if they intended to do so, according to the PC, C, and PR definitions. If they met the criterion, they were asked how long they had been doing so, according to the A and M definitions.

The authors found that
The authors state that "for young students already at-risk . . . , interventions should focus on removing barriers and increasing self-efficacy to move them along the stages toward effective action in accordance with the TTM. For students not yet at-risk, interventions should focus on maintaining healthy behaviors and preventing relapse to pre-Action stages."

Driskell MM, Dyment S, Mauriello L. 2008. Relationships among multiple behaviors for childhood and adolescent obesity prevention. Preventive Medicine 46(3):209-215. Abstract available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WPG-4PB0PH3-1&_user=655954&_coverDate=03%2F31%2F2008&_rdoc=7&_fmt=summary&_orig=browse&_srch=doc-info(%23toc%236990%232008%23999539996%23682007%23FLA%23display%23Volume)&_cdi=6990&_sort=d&_docanchor=&_ct=18&_acct=C000035538&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=655954&md5=1a941b8819284d82cc0a0c86f6bd4a3e.

Readers: More information about multiple health behavior change research is available in the March 2008 issue of Preventive Medicine. Topics include (among others) patterns and correlates of multiple risk behaviors in overweight women, clusters of lifestyle behaviors, and physical activity as a gateway to behavior for diet. Abstracts of the articles are available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00917435#.

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5. STUDY EXAMINES ASSOCIATION BETWEEN HAVING SEX AT A YOUNG AGE WITH AN OLDER PARTNER AND SELECTED OUTCOMES IN YOUNG ADULTHOOD

"Our work adds to a growing body of evidence that the combination of having sex at a young age and having an older sexual partner is particularly detrimental, especially for STD [sexually transmitted disease] outcomes among females," state the authors of an article published in the March 2008 issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. Although a growing body of research highlights a link between having sex at a young age with an older partner and poorer reproductive health outcomes through high school, little research examines outcomes during the transition to young adulthood (after high school and through the early 20s). The study described in the article examined whether the negative influences of having sex at a young age with an older partner extend into young adulthood and whether these associations differ for males and females.

Data for the study were drawn from all three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a nationally representative school-based study of students in grades 7-12 that allowed the researchers to control for a range of individual and family characteristics to address the following questions: (1) Is having sex at a young age with an older partner associated with the risk of acquiring an STD or being involved in an adolescent or nonmarital birth by young adulthood? (2) Are any observed associations affected by characteristics of adolescents' relationship history? (3) Do associations differ for males and females?

The authors found that
"Young females who engage in early sexual activity with older partners are at especially high risk of adverse reproductive health consequences," the authors conclude, adding that "programs that address characteristics of healthy romantic relationships and highlight problems associated with potentially unequal power dynamics between partners could benefit both males and females."

Ryan S, Franzetta K, Manlove JS, et al. 2008. Older sexual partners during adolescence: Links to reproductive health outcomes in young adulthood. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 40(1):17-26. Abstract available at http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1363/4001708.

Readers: More information is available from the MCH Library's resource, Sexuality Education, http://www.mchlibrary.info/guides/sexuality.html.

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MCH Alert © 1998-2008 by National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health and Georgetown University. MCH Alert is produced by Maternal and Child Health Library at the National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health under its cooperative agreement (U02MC00001) with the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Maternal and Child Health Bureau reserves a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable right to use the work for federal purposes and to authorize others to use the work for federal purposes.
 
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