Lessons learned from a mentoring program for teenage mothers.

PURPOSE: This study evaluated a mentoring program designed to decrease the risk of repeat pregnancy among unmarried primiparous teens, ages 12-19. METHODS: Adolescents (n = 110) completed a battery that assessed sexual/contraceptive behavior; psychological adjustment; and attitudes towards school. Teens were then randomly assigned to a mentor or control group, and reassessed at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Mentored teens received social support and assistance dealing with community agencies from mentors who were trained community volunteers. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: At baseline, mentor and control teens had similar sexual histories, school achievement profiles (percentage enrolled, cumulative grade point average), and anticipated being the same age when they had a second child. At 24 months (n = 81), most mentor and control teens were making progress in school. Fifty percent had graduated or had advanced two grades; 10 of the 16 graduating teens were seeking additional education. However, the mentoring program did not significantly impact repeat pregnancy rates. At 33 months, 66.0% of the mentored teens and 68.8% of the control teens had experienced a repeat pregnancy. Thirty-six percent of teens had one repeat pregnancy; 24% had two or more pregnancies. Sixty-two percent of the pregnancies with known resolution (89) resulted in live births; 26% were aborted. In providing this mentoring program, several important lessons were learned.

Electroretinographic findings in the mucopolysaccharidoses.

The degree of retinal involvement of 20 patients (ages 3-21) with mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) types I, II, and III was assessed using electroretinography (ERG) under standardized conditions. ERG evidence of retinal dysfunction ranged from none to severe in MPS I and II, and from moderate to severe in MPS III. The ERG abnormalities were common to all three types of MPS, and showed the pattern seen in rod-cone degenerations, where the rod-mediated responses are more severely affected than the cone-mediated responses. The ophthalmoscopic signs were less striking than the electrophysiologic findings, and were usually restricted to mild changes of the retinal pigment epithelium.