Examining the Causal Impact of Prenatal Home Visiting on Birth Outcomes: A Propensity Score Analysis.

OBJECTIVES: In Ohio, African American babies die at 2.5-3 times the rate of White babies. Preterm birth and low birth weight are the leading causes of infant mortality. Home visiting is an evidence-based strategy for serving low-income pregnant women; however, there are relatively few rigorous studies examining its effect on birth outcomes. METHODS: This study uses a propensity score technique to estimate the causal effect of participation in home visiting on prematurity and low birth weight among a low-income, predominantly African American sample (N = 26,814). RESULTS: We found that participation in home visiting significantly reduced the odds of experiencing both adverse birth events, with a larger program effect for the low birth weight outcome. CONCLUSIONS FOR PRACTICE: Results suggest that selective prevention strategies must be accompanied by universal attempts to improve the health and life circumstances of low income and minority women.

Assessing the Deployment of Home Visiting: Learning from a State-Wide Survey of Home Visiting Programs.

OBJECTIVES: Large-scale planning for health and human services programming is required to inform effective public policy as well as deliver services to meet community needs. The present study demonstrates the value of collecting data directly from deliverers of home visiting programs across a state. This study was conducted in response to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which requires states to conduct a needs assessment of home visiting programs for pregnant women and young children to receive federal funding. In this paper, we provide a descriptive analysis of a needs assessment of home visiting programs in Ohio. METHODS: All programs in the state that met the federal definition of home visiting were included in this study. Program staff completed a web-based survey with open- and close-ended questions covering program management, content, goals, and characteristics of the families served. RESULTS: Consistent with the research literature, program representatives reported great diversity with regard to program management, reach, eligibility, goals, content, and services delivered, yet consistently conveyed great need for home visiting services across the state. CONCLUSIONS: Results demonstrate quantitative and qualitative assessments of need have direct implications for public policy. Given the lack of consistency highlighted in Ohio, other states are encouraged to conduct a similar needs assessment to facilitate cross-program and cross-state comparisons. Data could be used to outline a capacity-building and technical assistance agenda to ensure states can effectively meet the need for home visiting in their state.

Perceived control and communication about sex: a study of South African families.

Caregiver-youth communication about sex protects youth against HIV/AIDS, and caregivers who believe that sex knowledge is important are more likely to talk to their youth about sex. However, caregivers who experience barriers to communication about sex may not talk to their youth about sex even if the caregiver believes that sex education is important. The Theory of Planned Behaviour predicts that an actor has perceived control is necessary for behavioural change. This study therefore hypothesised that caregivers' perceived control moderates the relationship between caregiver attitudes about youth sex knowledge and caregiver-youth communication about sex. Results from a sample of 99 female South African caregivers of adolescent (10-14 year old) youth supported our hypothesis, indicating that caregiver attitudes about providing youth with sex knowledge positively predict communication about sex only when caregivers have perceived control. This finding illustrates the importance of perceived control in predicting caregiver-youth communication, and therefore has implications for family-based interventions aimed at improving caregiver-youth communication about sex.

Caregiver-youth communication about sex in South Africa: the role of maternal child sexual abuse history.

Much of the research on child sexual abuse focuses on negative outcomes. This brief report explores a potentially protective parenting behavior among black South African female caregivers with and without a child sexual abuse history. Using cross-sectional baseline data, we hypothesized that caregiver child sexual abuse history would be positively associated with caregiver-youth sex communication and this relationship would be strongest for girls. Youth whose caregiver experienced child sexual abuse were more likely to report communicating with their caregiver about sex than youth whose caregivers did not experience child sexual abuse; however, this relation did not hold for caregiver reported communication. Child sexual abuse survivors' ability and decision to discuss sex with their youth has the potential to protect youth from sexual risk and demonstrates resilience among a group rarely acknowledged for positive parenting practices.

Teacher-student relationship climate and school outcomes: implications for educational policy initiatives.

In recent discussions regarding concerns about the academic achievement of US students, educational policy makers have suggested the implementation of certain teacher policies. To address the limited empirical research on the putative educational impact of such policies, this study used multilevel structural equation models to investigate the longitudinal associations between teacher evaluation and reward policies, and student mathematics achievement and dropout with a national sample of students (n = 7,779) attending one of 431 public high schools. The student sample included an equal number of boys and girls averaging 16 years of age, and included a White (53%) majority. This study examined whether associations between teacher policies and student achievement were mediated by the teacher-student relationship climate. Results of this study were threefold. First, teacher evaluation policies that allowed students to evaluate their teachers were associated with more positive student reports of the classroom teaching climate. Second, schools with teacher reward policies that included assigning higher performing teachers with higher performing students had a negative association with student perceptions of the teaching climate. Lastly, schools with better student perceptions of the teaching climate were associated with lower student dropout rates by students' senior year. These findings are discussed in light of their educational policy implications.

Preliminary results from a family-based HIV prevention intervention for South African youth.

OBJECTIVES: Approximately 5.6 million South Africans are living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV; UNAIDS, 2010). Prevalence among Black adolescents and young adults is particularly alarming. This pilot study of an HIV preventive intervention targeting South African youth contributes to the growing body of research on culturally competent family-based interventions. METHOD: A total of 99 parent-child dyads were enrolled in an experimental repeated measures study, using a wait-list control group. Our 6-session intervention targeted general parenting (relationship quality, parental monitoring, and involvement), gender roles, and parent-youth communication about sex (content and quality). Parents and youth were assessed at baseline, postintervention, and 6-month follow-up. Eligibility included being the primary female caregiver of a 10- to 14-year-old child with whom they spent at least 4 nights a week and being able to participate in English or Xhosa. RESULTS: Effect sizes with this small sample met or exceeded those of other family-based HIV interventions for youth in the United States and South Africa (e.g., Bell et al., 2008; Forehand et al., 2007). Parents' reports at postintervention indicated larger effect sizes for general parenting than youths' reports indicated. Parents' reports showed medium to large effects for all sex communication outcomes at postintervention and the 6-month follow-up. Youth reports demonstrated small to medium effects for most communication variables and these effects lasted through the 6-month follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: Intergenerational social networks (e.g., families) hold promise for HIV prevention among South African youth. A full efficacy trial with longer-term follow-up and attention to maintenance of effects is warranted.

Investigating the effects of trauma-related research on well-being.

Using an experimental design, we investigated the impact of participation in trauma-related research on well-being in a sample of 219 higher education students. We created five conditions that exposed participants to questions about life events. A sixth condition represented a control condition. Exposure conditions varied according to whether they contained yes/no questions about events that entailed stress, stigma, trauma, or sexual violation. We operationalized well-being by measuring positive and negative affect, state anxiety, and positive reactions to research. Across exposure conditions, participants reported low levels of negative affect and generally positive reactions immediately after participation. The most negative and least positive responses followed exposure conditions that contained questions about stressful events and sexual violation. We discuss implications of our findings for ethics review board practices.