Ambivalent childbearing motivations: predicting condom use by urban, African-American, female youth.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To describe a model of how interactions between positive and negative childbearing motivations affect the use of condoms for contraceptive purposes and test hypotheses based on that model. DESIGN: Psychological and behavioral data were collected during a study that sampled randomly selected census block groups. SETTING: Respondents were household residents of Baltimore City, Maryland, between 2004 and 2007. PARTICIPANTS: English-speaking, sexually active African-American women between the ages of 15 and 24 who had completed a reliable and valid measure of both positive and negative childbearing motivations. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Regularity of condom use during the past 90 days and contraceptive method at last sex. RESULTS: The results of regression analyses with the total sample confirm that antinatal childbearing motivations predicted more regular condom use and that ambivalent, pronatal, and indifferent childbearing motivations acting together each predicted less regular condom use. The results with a subgroup using condom and not hormonal contraception confirmed that ambivalent childbearing motivation alone predicted less regular condom use. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate how positive and negative childbearing motivations interact to create a dynamic effect on contraceptive behavior that transcends the effect of either positive or negative motivation acting alone. We conclude that the dynamics of these motivational interactions have important implications for further research on contraceptive decision-making, for augmenting the understanding of caretakers and providers, and for the formation of new policies that focus on the prevention of unplanned pregnancy among youth.

Motivational antecedents to contraceptive method change following a pregnancy scare: a couple analysis.

In this study we develop and then test a couple model of contraceptive method choice decision-making following a pregnancy scare. The central constructs in our model are satisfaction with one's current method and confidence in the use of it. Downstream in the decision sequence, satisfaction and confidence predict desires and intentions to change methods. Upstream they are predicted by childbearing motivations, contraceptive attitudes, and the residual effects of the couples' previous method decisions. We collected data from 175 mostly unmarried and racially/ethnically diverse couples who were seeking pregnancy tests. We used LISREL and its latent variable capacity to estimate a structural equation model of the couple decision-making sequence leading to a change (or not) in contraceptive method. Results confirm most elements in our model and demonstrate a number of important cross-partner effects. Almost one-half of the sample had positive pregnancy tests and the base model fitted to this subsample indicates less accuracy in partner perception and greater influence of the female partner on method change decision-making. The introduction of some hypothesis-generating exogenous variables to our base couple model, together with some unexpected findings for the contraceptive attitude variables, suggest interesting questions that require further exploration.

Studies of the 48 bp repeat polymorphism of the DRD4 gene in impulsive, compulsive, addictive behaviors: Tourette syndrome, ADHD, pathological gambling, and substance abuse.

Prior studies have reported an association between the presence of the 7 repeat allele of the 48 bp repeat polymorphism of the third cytoplasmic loop of the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4) and novelty seeking behaviors, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Tourette syndrome (TS), pathological gambling, and substance abuse. However, other studies have failed to replicate some of these observations. To determine whether we could replicate these associations we genotyped 737 individuals from four different groups of control subjects, and 707 index subjects from four different groups of impulsive, compulsive addictive behaviors including substance abuse, pathological gambling, TS, and ADHD. Chi-square analysis of those carrying the 7 allele versus non-7 allele carriers was not significant for any of the groups using a Bonferroni corrected alpha of.0125. However, chi-square analysis of those carrying any 5 to 8 allele versus noncarriers was significant for pathological gambling (p <.0001), ADHD (p

Dopamine receptor genes are associated with age at first sexual intercourse.

The dopaminergic system in the brain seems to play an important role in the regulation of sexual behaviour. The relationship between genes for the D1, D2 and D4 dopamine receptors and age at first sexual intercourse (AFSI) was examined in a sample of 414 non-Hispanic, European-American men and women. A significant association was observed between a DRD2 allele and AFSI and an even stronger association when the DRD2 allele was interacted with a DRD1 allele. A constrained regression model was constructed predicting AFSI using sex and a group of nine psychosocial variables as predictors. Adding the DRD2 and the DRD2-by-DRD1 predictors to this model increased the explained variance by 23 and 55%, respectively. Although these findings suggest a stronger association among males than among females, further research will be necessary to clarify this question, as well as to establish whether the observed association holds in other racial/ethnic groups.

PIP: The dopaminergic system in the brain appears to play an important role in regulating sexual behavior. Specifically, findings to date suggest a major role for dopaminergic receptors in both the preparatory and consummatory phase of male sexual behavior, while its role in female sexual behavior is less conclusive. Findings also indicate that the D(2) subtype of dopamine receptor plays a key role in the control of male sexual behavior, although a D(1) and D(2) subtype interaction is suggested. The relationship between genes for the D(1), D(2), and D(4) dopamine receptors and age at first sexual intercourse (AFSI) was examined in a sample of 414 non-Hispanic, European-American, middle-class, married men and women in Santa Clara County, California. The men and women were of mean ages 31.6 and 29.6 years, respectively. A significant association was found between the DRD2 allele and AFSI, and an even stronger association when the DRD2 allele was interacted with a DRD1 allele. A constrained regression model was constructed predicting AFSI using sex and a group of 9 psychosocial variables as predictors. Adding the DRD2 and the DRD2-by-DRD1 predictors to the model increased the explained variance by 23% and 55%, respectively. While these findings suggest a stronger association among males than among females, further research is needed, as well as to establish whether the observed association holds in other racial/ethnic groups.

Mutual coherence function for a double-passage retroreflected optical wave in atmospheric turbulence.

The mutual coherence function in the source-receiver plane of a reflected Gaussian beam wave from a retroreflector is calculated and analyzed for two refractive-index spectral models and compared with similar results for the case of a plane mirror. Specific expressions are calculated for the mean irradiance and spatial coherence radius based on a Gaussian model for the finite reflector. Results that we obtained here using a modified spectrum with a high wave-number rise and inner scale generally show greater amplitude enhancements in the reflected wave than predicted by the pure power-law spectrum of Kolmogorov. In contrast, a finite outer scale in the spectral model leads to a reduction in the amount of beam spreading caused by turbulence and, in the case of a retroreflector, also leads to a reduction in the peak amplitude enhancement on the optical axis. This last result is in contrast with a plane mirror reflector, in which outer scale effects tend to increase the peak amplitude enhancement on the optical axis. The theory also predicts that, except for small reflectors, the coherence radius associated with a retroreflector can be as much as 1.4 times larger than that associated with a plane mirror, and 1.2 times that of a bistatic configuration for a plane mirror. All calculations are based on weak fluctuation theory and generalized spectral representations that use complex ABCD ray matrices.

Couple disagreement: effects on the formation and implementation of fertility decisions.

PIP: This study examines the relationship between the formation and the implementation of fertility decisions and the impact of couple disagreement on fertility outcomes in the US. Interviews were conducted among 201 couples without children and 200 couples with 1 child drawn from a large suburban county in California during 1988-89. Interviews were collected at 4 different points in time over a 3.5-year period. Those surveyed had a high socioeconomic status. The discussion of theoretical models focuses on individual psychology, the trait-desires-intentions sequence, the intention-behavior-outcome sequence, dyadic psychology, agreement and disagreement models, and joint behavior models. The analysis produced cross tabulations of respondent desires by spouse desires for each of the 3 types of desires and corresponding intentions. Respondent intentions were regressed on respondent desires. Descriptive findings identify patterns of responsiveness to spouse across time, parity, and gender according to whether there was positive or negative agreement. It is argued that the distinction between positive and negative agreement is valid, and that patterns represent psychological states that change with the flow of events during the life course. Respondents were increasingly over time less willing to be pulled up in their intentions by their spouse's desires and more willing to be pulled down. Males tended to be more responsive to their wives. Respondents were less willing to be influenced by their spouses' desires into an earlier child-timing decision. Parity-zero women were not willing to be pulled into an earlier child-timing decision by their husbands. Husbands became less responsive at parity 1 and 2 to wives who wanted the next child later. Respondents with no children could be influenced only to have the child sooner. Findings are exploratory.^ieng

Childbearing motivation and its measurement.

This paper conceptualises the motive force behind human childbearing as originating in two broad traits which have biological bases, are shaped by experiences during early life and are expressed through their effect on desires and intentions. An instrument for measuring childbearing motivation, the Childbearing Questionnaire (CBQ), is presented. Using a sample of 401 married couples two main scales, nine subscales, and several independent items are described. Evidence for the reliability and validity of this instrument is presented. The versatility of the CBQ as a research instrument and the usefulness of the conceptualisation from which it is derived as a way of integrating social, behavioural, and biological science approaches to childbearing motivation are discussed.

PIP: This article describes an instrument for measuring childbearing motivation that is compatible with theories of fertility desires, microeconomic models of fertility, and demand-for-children models. The instrument is based on assumptions about biologically based attitudes that regulate responsiveness to children and caretaking, about two broad traits that are influenced by individual experiences in childhood and early adulthood, and about childbearing dispositions that affect behavior and fertility through their effect on fertility desires. The sample included 200 married couples with no children and 201 married couples with one child from Santa Clara, California. Each husband and wife were administered questionnaires separately and privately. Reinterviews were conducted over the phone after 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years, and the Childbearing Questionnaire (CBQ) was mailed and self-administered. The instrument measured Positive Childbearing Motivation (PCM) and Negative Childbearing Motivation (NCM). PCM subscales included satisfaction of child rearing, feeling needed and connected, instrumental values of children, traditional parenthood, and joys of pregnancy, birth, and infancy. NCM subscales were identified as discomforts of pregnancy and childbirth, fears and worries of parenthood, negatives of child care, and parental stress. The CBQ was tested separately for reliability. Findings indicate that all of the correlations of PCM and NCM with childbearing desires and intentions were very significant. Correlations were greater for desires than intentions. The results confirm the validity of CBQ as a useful measure of fertility motivation. PCM and NCM had moderately long-term stability. The measures were not correlated with each other. Personality traits of nurturance, affiliation, and autonomy were the strongest predictors of PCM and NCM. Parenting experiences also affected subsequent childbearing motivations. Age was negatively associated with PCM. The CBQ could be modified for other cultures or parity groups.

The effect of a self-management training package on the transfer of aggression control procedures in the absence of supervision.

An aggression replacement and self-management training package reduced the frequency of aggressive behavior among four junior high adolescents identified as seriously emotionally disturbed (SED). During baseline sessions, the students were covertly filmed as they stood unsupervised in front of the school cafeteria. The four subjects engaged in aggressive behavior during 50% of the filmed intervals. These episodes involved provocation by other students, self-initiated provocation, or continuing interaction between students once an aggressive episode had begun. Treatment procedures included instruction, modeling, and role playing of aggression replacement skills. Self-management training included self-assessment, self-recording, and self-reinforcement. Following an 8-week period, subjects demonstrated substantial improvement in prosocial skills without supervision. During reversal-to-baseline conditions, aggressive behavior increased; however, reinstating treatment conditions brought a return to prosocial behavior. Outcomes suggest that aggressive replacement skills may transfer and sustain more adequately using self-management.

Children from unwanted pregnancies in Prague, Czech Republic revisited at age thirty.

The results of the fourth wave of the Prague Study of subjects born of unwanted pregnancies (UP) are reported. Of these young adults, 190 were examined at age 30 together with pair-matched control subjects born of accepted pregnancies (AP). Siblings of both UP and AP subjects were also examined. As in the previous data waves the UP subjects manifest less favorable psychosocial development on average than their AP controls, although the differences have narrowed. In some respects the siblings of the UP subjects share the latter's less favorable characteristics. However, there is a gender specific nonshared late effect of unwanted pregnancy: the UP females are more frequently emotionally disturbed than their AP female controls, whereas no such difference occurs between the female siblings of the UP and AP subjects.

How does childbearing affect fertility motivations and desires?

In this study we assume that fertility decisions are made one birth at a time and use longitudinal data collected from 401 married couples over a two-year period to explore how having a child affects two types of fertility motivation and three types of fertility desires. Using a series of five constrained multiple regression analyses, we tested the effects of two childbearing variables on these five types of motivation and desires in the context of a large set of control variables also hypothesized to affect fertility motivation and desires. The results demonstrate that the childbearing variables have a substantial effect in all five regression models. Specific findings indicate that childbearing stimulates greater positive motivation for childbearing and an increase in the number of children desired. Although this situation would appear to create a positive feedback loop in which each child born further increases the motivation and desire for children, the findings also suggest three different mechanisms whereby childbearing causes a counterbalancing regulation of that loop. These mechanisms include a negative motivation mechanism, a satiation mechanism, and a delay mechanism. The effect of these mechanisms on the termination of childbearing is considered in conjunction with a fourth mechanism, the achievement of desired family size.

Effective beam parameters and the turbulent beam waist for convergent Gaussian beams.

Expressions are developed for the location and the size of the beam waist for a convergent Gaussian beam in statistically homogeneous and isotropic atmospheric turbulence. Subsidiary expressions are presented that lead to the maximum distance from the transmitter at which the beam waist can be located under given optical turbulence conditions and the optimal initial radius of curvature required for placing the beam waist at a desired location. The free-space beam radius W of a Gaussian beam satisfies the relationship ∂W/∂z = - W/R, where z represents the path length and R is the phase-front radius of curvature at z. By enforcing this relation on the effective beam spot size in turbulence W(e), we can define an effective radius of curvature R(e). In addition to specifying the beam waist, R(e) leads to a pair of effective beam parameters θ(e) and Λ(e) that provide a natural extension to the complex amplitude plane. Within this context, general propagation characteristics may be described, including the coherence properties of a Gaussian beam in both weak and strong optical turbulence.

Scintillation of initially convergent Gaussian beams in the vicinity of the geometric focus.

As an initially convergent Gaussian beam enters the vicinity of the geometric focus, weak fluctuation theory predicts a drop in the longitudinal component of the log-irradiance variance and an increase in the radial component off the beam center. The phenomenon intensifies as the beam nears the geometric focus, also with decreasing magnitude of the focusing parameter. Precisely at the geometric focus, first-order weak fluctuation theory further predicts that as the initial beam size continues to increase, the longitudinal component of the log-irradiance variance decreases toward zero, while the radial component increases without bound. This eventually entails a rapid change in scintillation across the beam surface that has yet to be verified experimentally, to our knowledge. We demonstrate that when diffractionlike effects produced by optical turbulence are introduced, predicted log-irradiance variance exhibits such extremes in behavior only in the case of weak turbulence. Also, at the exact geometric focus, scintillation does not vanish with increasing initial beam size but achieves a value determined by and growing with turbulence strength and nearly independent of initial beam size. The radial component of log-irradiance quickly loses significance as turbulence strength increases. In fact, general extremal behavior of the log-irradiance variance in the vicinity of the geometric focus is drastically curtailed. Differences across the diffractive beam surface become small and exhibit only a modest dependence on the initial beam size.

The relationship between childbearing motivations and attitude toward abortion among married men and women.

Relationships between positive and negative childbearing motivations and an abortion attitude index are examined among men and women from 401 married couples--half of whom had one child and half of whom were childless. A multivariate model tests for differences in these relationships, as well as in the association of the attitude index with personality traits, personal value systems and age, across both gender and parity groups. The results indicate that three of the four measures of negative childbearing motivation and one of the five measures of positive childbearing motivation are associated with a more accepting attitude toward abortion. These relationships are independent of the effects of personality, personal values and age, and are the same for both males and females and for respondents with no children and one child.

PIP: The study population included 201 mostly White middle-class married couples residing in the San Francisco Bay Area in the US, who spoke English fluently and whose wife was aged 18-39 years and not currently pregnant. Spouses were interviewed separately and privately. The survey included questions on abortion decisions under specific circumstances and on the positive and negative motivations of childbearing: joys of pregnancy, traditional parenthood, satisfactions of childrearing, feeling needed, instrumental values of having children, discomforts of pregnancy, fears and worries of parenthood, negative aspects of child care, and parental stress. Demographic measures were religion, years of schooling, prestige in occupation, and income. The profile of respondents indicated a mean age of 31.6 years for husbands and 29.6 years for wives. Average educational attainment was 16.7 years for husbands and 15.9 years for wives. Average income was $45,900 for husbands and $25,700 for wives. 25% were Roman Catholic, 44% Protestant, and 21% nonreligious. 81% were Whites, 7% Asians, 5% Hispanics, and 2% Blacks. There were 7 options indicated for abortion. Greater acceptance was found among those who had had a previous abortion. In the least squares multiple regressions analysis, the findings indicated that there were no significant differences by parity and sex. There was support for the hypothesis that motivation to bear children was related to an unaccepting or restrictive attitude toward abortion. Negative motivations had a stronger effect on abortion attitudes. The implication was that those accepting abortion have as positive an attitude toward childrearing as those with restrictive abortion attitudes. Less restrictive or more open attitudes toward abortion were associated with lower scores on achievement and higher scores on affiliation, which would indicate a stronger orientation toward people and situations. Stronger ideological orientation would be reflected in those less accepting of abortion. Abortion acceptors scored lower on the childbearing scale with short-term impact (discomforts of pregnancy or joys of childbirth) and scored higher on long-term impact subscales. The suggestion was that counseling should focus on long-term consequences of childbearing, making certain the abortion seeker has not blown these factors out of proportion and has carefully considered the long-term effects, particularly adolescents.

Childbearing motivations, desires, and intentions: a theoretical framework.

After briefly reviewing different approaches in the social and behavioral sciences to conceptualize the reasons that humans become motivated to bear children, I present a theoretical framework that incorporates many elements of these approaches. The framework is based on a four-step psychological sequence: the formation of traits, the activation of traits into desires, the translation of desires into intentions, and the implementation of intentions in the form of behavior. I use data from 401 married couples to develop regression models of the two middle steps of this sequence that indicate how childbearing motivational traits lead to childbearing desires and how the latter lead to childbearing intentions. I also develop a regression model that indicates how childbearing motivation affects an individual's perception of his or her spouse's childbearing desires.

Reproductive decisions: how we make them and how they make us.

PIP: Reproductive decisions are influenced by biology, psychology, and society. The significant complexity of reproductive decision making demands that the issue be approached with a psychological construct which lends itself well to that complexity. The author believes that intention is such a construct because it allows for gradation. Decision making implies an either/or outcome, but intentions to choose one course of action or another are graded both in terms of degree and, in some cases, by the presence of counter-intentions. Data are discussed from a study of intended and unintended pregnancy in a longitudinal study of 967 women living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Sections are: intendedness and wantedness; motivations, desires, and intentions; couple interaction; a theory of regret; beyond regret; and progenesis.^ieng

A model of pre-sterilization ambivalence and post-sterilization regret in married couples.

"We have presented a general theoretical perspective on couple decision-making and subsequent adaptation which serves as a framework for understanding the complex phenomenon commonly referred to as post-sterilization regret. We have anchored this framework by means of a series of specific hypotheses about ambivalence and post-sterilization regret among both tubal ligation and vasectomy married couples. Using our hypotheses, we constructed three models. These were tested on data gathered from 400 married couples.... The results, including unanticipated pathways and differences in specific areas of each model between sexes and method groups, not only provide a confirmation of our general theoretical perspective but also allow us to have insights and to speculate about the psychological and marital dynamics of sterilization decision-making and adaptation." Data are from a longitudinal study conducted in Santa Clara, California, in 1985.

Geometrical representation of Gaussian beams propagating through complex paraxial optical systems.

Geometric relations are used to study the propagation environment of a Gaussian beam wave propagating through a complex paraxial optical system characterized by an ABCD ray matrix in two naturally linked complex planes. In the plane defined by beam transmitter parameters Ω(o) and Ω, the propagation path is described by a ray line similar to the ray line in the y? diagram method, whereas the path in the plane of beam receiver parameters θ and Λ is described by a circular arc. In either plane the amplitude, phase, spot size, and radius of curvature of the Gaussian beam are directly related to the modulus and argument of the complex number designating a particular transverse plane along the propagation path. These beam parameters also lead to simple geometric relations for locating the beam waist, Rayleigh range, focal plane, and sister planes, which share the same radius of curvature but have opposite signs. Combined with the paraxial wave propagation technique based on a Huygens-Fresnel integral and complex ABCD ay matrices, this geometric approach provides a new and powerful method for the analysis and design of laser systems.

Personality traits and developmental experiences as antecedents of childbearing motivation.

Childbearing motivation may be conceptualized as based upon psychological traits and shaped by experiences during childhood, adolescence, and early adult life. This paper explores what those traits and developmental experiences are. Two measures of childbearing motivation, one positive and the other negative, are described. Using a sample of 362 married men and 354 married women, the paper systematically examines the factors associated with these measures. In addition to a set of basic personality traits, these factors include parental characteristics, teenage experiences, and a number of variables from young adult behavior domains such as marriage, education, work, religion, and parental relationships. Stepwise multiple regression analyses lead to two final constrained, simultaneous-equation regression models. These models indicate the importance of both personality traits and diverse life-cycle experiences in the development of childbearing motivation, the differential gender distribution of predictors, and the different experiential antecedents of positive and negative motivation.

High Performance Liquid Chromatography Analysis of Carbohydrates of Cotton-Phloem Sap and of Honeydew Produced by Bemisia tabaci Feeding on Cotton.

Phloem sap from cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) was collected from young and mature leaves by the aphid-stylet technique. Exudate was analyzed for carbohydrates by HPLC using sensitive pulsed amperometric detection. The predominant carbohydrate present (>90%) was identified as sucrose. A second, unidentified compound that was not one of the more commonly translocated sugars was detected in mature leaves. Carbohydrates in honeydew produced by the sweet-potato whitefly (Bemisia tabaci [Genn.]) feeding on cotton were sucrose, glucose, fructose, trehalulose, and a series of oligosaccharides.

The pre- and poststerilization predictors of poststerilization regret in husbands and wives.

Husbands and wives from 141 tubal sterilization couples and 162 vasectomy couples were interviewed just prior to sterilization and then again 1 and 2 years later. We conducted linear regression analyses to determine the pre- and poststerilization predictors of poststerilization regret in each of the four gender x method groups (tubal husbands, tubal wives, vasectomy husbands, vasectomy wives). We confirmed a number of hypotheses based on the research literature and our own earlier work. Both individual and couple factors contributed to the development of regret, as did both pre- and poststerilization factors. An important finding was the degree to which regret among the nonsterilized respondents (tubal husbands, vasectomy wives) was affected by pre- and poststerilization interaction with their spouses.

PIP: Researchers followed 303 couples who sought and then experienced sexual sterilization through the prepaid health care plan of Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Santa Clara, California for 2 years to determine pre- and poststerilization predictors of poststerilization regret. They examined regret in 4 gender x method groups (tubal husbands, tubal wives, vasectomy husbands, and vasectomy wives) by using a latent variable model of regret (LISREL) and a multiple regression analysis. The study results revealed that, prior to sterilization, predictors of poststerilization regret included respondent motivation for additional children and against sterilization, poor husband-wife communication, and much conflict during decision making, and dominance of the decision by 1 spouse. Indeed these negative effects supported a previous study with similar results which concluded that negative effects contribute considerably to the process of developing regret. These effects fit into 5 behavior fields: reproduction, marital harmony, self image, sexuality, and health. The study also found that the feelings of the spouse who was not sterilized, less motivated and less dominant were particularly sensitive to the feelings of the spouse who had a sterilization, especially when the sterilized spouse regretted having undergone sterilization. Therefore physicians should equally consider the attitude of the spouse who did not seek sterilization and realize that his/her poststerilization regret may be influenced by interactions with the often more motivated, more dominant spouse. Since at least 10% of sterilized couples regret their decision, this study should improve the understanding of this mental health issue.