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BACKGROUND: Incorporating cycling into daily life is one way to increase physical activity. PURPOSE: This study examined the impact of building new bike lanes in New Orleans to determine whether more people were cycling on the street and with the flow of traffic after bike lanes were built. METHODS: Through direct observation of one intervention and two adjacent streets, observers counted cyclists riding on the street and sidewalk, with and against traffic, before and after installation of the lanes. Data were tallied separately for adults, children, males, females, and by race for each location. RESULTS: There was an increase in cyclists on all three streets after the installation of the bike lanes, with the largest increase on the street with the new lane. Additionally, the proportion of riders cycling with traffic increased after the lanes were striped. CONCLUSIONS: Bike lanes can have a positive impact in creating a healthy neighborhood.

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PURPOSE: To determine the prevalence of patterns of intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization from adolescence to young adulthood, and document associations with selected sociodemographic and experiential factors. METHODS: We used prospective data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to group 4134 respondents reporting only opposite-sex romantic or sexual relationships in adolescence and young adulthood into four victimization patterns: no IPV victimization, adolescent-limited IPV victimization, young adult onset IPV victimization, and adolescent-young adult persistent IPV victimization. RESULTS: Forty percent of respondents reported physical or sexual victimization by young adulthood. Eight percent experienced IPV only in adolescence, 25% only in young adulthood, and 7% showed persistent victimization. Female sex, Hispanic and non-Hispanic black race/ethnicity, an atypical family structure (something other than two biologic parents, step-family, single parent), more romantic partners, experiencing childhood abuse, and early sexual debut (before age 16) were each associated with one or more patterns of victimization versus none. Number of romantic partners and early sexual debut were the most consistent predictors of violence, its timing of onset, and whether victimization persisted across developmental periods. These associations did not vary by biological sex. CONCLUSIONS: Substantial numbers of young adults have experienced physical or sexual IPV victimization. More research is needed to understand the developmental and experiential mechanisms underlying timing of onset of victimization, whether victimization persists across time and relationships, and whether etiology and temporal patterns vary by type of violence. These additional distinctions would inform the timing, content, and targeting of violence prevention efforts.

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Although low socioeconomic status has been positively associated with adult partner violence, its relationship to adolescent dating violence remains unclear. Further, few studies have examined the relationship between contextual disadvantage and adolescent dating violence, or the interactive influences of family and contextual disadvantage. Guided by social disorganization theory, relative deprivation theory, and gendered resource theory, we analyzed data from the U.S. National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (1994-1996) to explore how family and school disadvantage relate to dating violence victimization. Psychological and minor physical victimization were self-reported by adolescents in up to six heterosexual romantic or sexual relationships. Family and school disadvantage were based on a principal component analysis of socioeconomic indicators reported by adolescents and parents. In weighted multilevel random effects models, between-school variability in dating violence victimization was proportionately small but substantive: 10% for male victimization and 5% for female victimization. In bivariate analyses, family disadvantage was positively related to victimization for both males and females; however, school disadvantage was only related to males' physical victimization. In models adjusted for race/ethnicity, relative age within the school, and mean school age, neither family nor school disadvantage remained related to males' victimization. For females, family disadvantage remained significantly positively associated with victimization, but was modified by school disadvantage: family disadvantage was more strongly associated with dating violence victimization in more advantaged schools. Findings support gendered resource theory, and suggest that status differentials between females and their school context may increase their vulnerability to dating violence victimization.

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CONTEXT: Although sexual debut has been negatively associated with adolescent educational performance and aspirations, it is not clear whether such relationships continue beyond adolescence. METHODS: Initiation of postsecondary education by young adulthood was assessed among 3,965 participants in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health who had not experienced sexual intercourse at baseline. Associations between age at sexual debut and educational progress were examined in bivariate and multivariable Poisson regression analyses. RESULTS: Most respondents experienced sexual debut during adolescence: 15% before age 16 (early) and 53% at ages 16-18 (typical). Sixty-five percent of respondents initiated postsecondary education by early adulthood; however, the proportion was significantly lower among those who had had an early (49%) or typical sexual debut (63%) than among those who debuted late (78%). In unadjusted analyses, early and typical debut were associated with a reduced likelihood of initiation of postsecondary education for both females (relative risk ratios, 0.6 and 0.8, respectively) and males (0.7 and 0.8). However, in adjusted analyses, the associations were attenuated for females (0.8 and 0.9) and were at best marginally significant for males. Childbearing was a significant mediator of this relationship. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent sexual debut appears to be modestly negatively associated with early adult postsecondary education initiation, particularly for females. Targeting mediators of the sexual debut-education relationship, such as early childbearing, could lead to effective interventions.

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The association between sexual debut timing and depressive symptomatology in adolescence and emerging adulthood was examined using data from Waves I, II and III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Respondents who reported never having sexual intercourse at Wave I and were 18-22 years of age at Wave III were included (n=5,061). Twenty percent of respondents experienced early (

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PURPOSE: Although bullying is recognized as a serious problem in the United States, little is known about racial/ethnic differences in bullying risk. This study examined associations between bullying and family, peer, and school relations for white, black and Hispanic adolescents. METHODS: A nationally representative sample (n = 11,033) of adolescents in grades six to ten participated in the 2001 Health Behaviors in School-Aged Children survey, self-reporting bullying involvement and information on family, peer and school relations. Descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression analyses controlling for gender, age and affluence were stratified by race/ethnicity. RESULTS: Nine percent of respondents were victims of bullying, 9% were bullies, and 3% were bully-victims. Black adolescents reported a significantly lower prevalence of victimization than white and Hispanic students. Multivariate results indicated modest racial/ethnic variation in associations between bullying and family, peer, and school factors. Parental communication, social isolation, and classmate relationships were similarly related to bullying across racial/ethnic groups. Living with two biological parents was protective against bullying involvement for white students only. Furthermore, although school satisfaction and performance were negatively associated with bullying involvement for white and Hispanic students, school factors were largely unrelated to bullying among black students. CONCLUSIONS: Although school attachment and performance were inconsistently related to bullying behavior across race/ethnicity, bullying behaviors are consistently related to peer relationships across black, white, and Hispanic adolescents. Negative associations between family communication and bullying behaviors for white, black, and Hispanic adolescents suggest the importance of addressing family interactions in future bullying prevention efforts.

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PURPOSE: This study estimates the percentages of young adults who fall into three groups based on the context of sexual transition: (1) those who had vaginal intercourse before marriage (Premaritals), (2) those who postponed sex until after marriage (Postponers), and (3) those who have never had vaginal intercourse (Virgins). The second purpose is to determine adolescent biopsychosocial factors that predict membership in these adult groups. METHODS: Analyses are based on 11,407 respondents ages 18-27 years who participated in Waves I and III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Adolescent indicators reflecting sociodemographic, biosocial, experiential, and contextual factors were used to predict young adult sexual status using multinomial logistic regression models. RESULTS: About 8% of the sample were virgins and 2% were virgins until marriage. Almost 90% had sex before marriage (Premaritals--referent group). Most predictors of status were similar for males and females. Compared with Premaritals, Virgins were younger, non-Black, not advanced in physical maturity relative to peers in adolescence, had higher body mass indexes, were more religious, and perceived parental disapproval of sex during adolescence. Postponers were also more religious than Premaritals but were older. Female Postponers were non-Black and perceived parental disapproval of sex during adolescence. Male Postponers were less likely to have same-gender attractions or no sexual attractions. CONCLUSIONS: Findings document premarital sexual activity as the almost universal sexual trajectory into young adulthood for these cohorts and underscore the roles of biosocial factors and conventional institutions in emerging sexual patterns.

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BACKGROUND: With an aging population and public policies that limit accessible and affordable formal care services, informal caregivers, largely women, will continue bearing the overwhelming responsibility for home and long-term care services provision. OBJECTIVES: This study examined gender differences among informal caregivers in caregiving activities, intensity, challenges, and coping strategies and assessed the differential effects of caregiving on their physical and emotional well-being. RESEARCH DESIGN: Cross-sectional study conducted between May and September 1998. SUBJECTS: Telephone interviews were conducted with a randomly selected, nationally representative sample of 1002 informal caregivers. MEASURES: Caregivers' sociodemographic, and physical and emotional health characteristics; caregiving type and intensity; formal care support; difficulty with care provision; unmet needs; coping strategies; and the care recipients' health and relationship with caregiver were examined between the genders using descriptive and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Compared with men caregivers, women caregivers were significantly more likely to be 65 years of age or older, black, married, better educated, unemployed, and primary caregivers; provide more intensive and complex care; have difficulty with care provision and balancing caregiving with other family and employment responsibilities; suffer from poorer emotional health secondary to caregiving; and cope with caregiving responsibilities by forgoing respite participation and engaging in increased religious activities. CONCLUSIONS: Informal caregivers, particularly women, are under considerable stress to provide a large volume of care with little support from formal caregivers. Program planners, policy makers, and formal care providers must act together to provide accessible, affordable, and innovative support services and programs that reduce family caregiving strain.

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