Sexual minorities and teen suicide attempts in a southeastern state with prominent exclusionary policies.

This study examines differences in suicide-related behaviors between heterosexual and sexual minority youth in a southeastern state with exclusionary policies. Furthermore, it seeks to further knowledge regarding risk factors for suicide attempts among sexual minority high school students. Utilizing the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey data, descriptive analysis tests, and logistic regression tests were conducted. Findings indicate that sexual minorities were three times as likely to experience suicidal thoughts and plans but four times as likely to attempt suicide. Risk factors were noted for sexual minority youth. Policy advocacy is recommended to decrease suicide-related behaviors among this population.

Twelve-month organizational study examining the associations among behavioral healthcare worker's perceptions of autonomy, decision-making power, organizational commitment, and burnout: Reconceptualizing the role of commitment in shaping staff member experiences of the work environment.

Previous research has demonstrated that behavioral healthcare workers' experiences of autonomy and decision-making power in the workplace are positively associated with their commitment to the organization and negatively associated with occupational burnout. Models examining the relationships between workplace climate and staff member well-being generally conceptualize workplace climates as predictors of individual commitment and burnout. However, the relationships among these constructs have primarily been explored in cross-sectional study designs. The current study adds to the existing literature by examining the relationships among perceived autonomy and decision-making power in the organizational climate, and individual levels of organizational commitment and burnout over a 12-month period (N = 43). The study was done in a public hospital's behavioral healthcare department in the Western New York region. Cross-lagged panel analyses were conducted to assess if time-one scores on perceived autonomy and decision-making power predicted time-two scores of organizational commitment and burnout. Findings indicate that, contrary to popular conceptualization, individual staff member's commitment to the organization predicted future states of perceived autonomy and decision-making power. Individual commitment to the organization may be a driving factor in how staff members experience and perceive the service environment.

Validation of the short-form reproductive coercion scale with Appalachian women.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the short-form Reproductive Coercion Scale among a sample of Appalachian women. STUDY DESIGN: We recruited a purposive sample of Appalachian women, using targeted Facebook ads to collect data via an online survey in fall 2019. We randomly split our sample into two independent samples and used exploratory factor analysis on sample 1 (N = 314) and confirmatory factor analysis on sample 2 (N = 314) in order to cross-validate our findings. RESULTS: Findings indicated that the short-form Reproductive Coercion Scale is a valid and reliable instrument to assess reproductive coercion among this sample of Appalachian women. Our findings indicated that, in this Appalachian sample, the reduced, five-item Reproductive Coercion Scale measured a unidimensional construct and was not comprised of the multiple dimensions of pregnancy coercion and condom manipulation. As expected, intimate partner violence and pregnancy fatalism were significantly and positively associated with reproductive coercion while religious affiliation and insurance status were not significantly associated with reproductive coercion. These findings help build construct validity for the short-form Reproductive Coercion Scale with this sample. CONCLUSION: While pregnancy coercion and condom manipulation are often considered independent reproductive coercion factors, the current study indicates that, in this Appalachian sample, the short-form Reproductive Coercion Scale measures a single latent reproductive coercion factor. IMPLICATIONS: While pregnancy coercion and condom manipulation are often considered independent reproductive coercion factors, the current study indicates that, in this Appalachian sample, the short-form Reproductive Coercion Scale measures a single latent reproductive coercion factor. Additional research may be needed to confirm the factor structure of the short-form Reproductive Coercion Scale across populations and geographic conditions.

Contraceptive use in Appalachian women who use drugs and were recruited from rural jails.

This study describes a secondary data analysis of contraceptive use across the lifetime and within the six months prior to incarceration in a sample of 400 currently incarcerated women recruited from rural, Appalachian jails, who were using drugs prior to incarceration. Phase 1 (baseline) data from an NIH funded study were used to examine rates of contraceptive use, reasons for nonuse of condoms, and correlates of condom use. Results indicate that the majority (96.5%) of respondents reported lifetime use of contraceptives, and most (70.5%) had a history of using multiple methods, with male condoms, oral contraceptive pills, and contraceptive injections being the most commonly used methods. Almost 69% of respondents reported nonuse of contraceptives within the last six months, despite high rates of involvement in risky, intimate male partnerships prior to incarceration. Contraceptive use was found to be historically acceptable in this sample, in stark contrast to rates of use within the last six months prior to incarceration, suggesting that reproductive justice-informed, social work interventions to help improve current contraceptive use are warranted as a harm-reduction approach.

An Exploration of the Experiences of Florida Abortion Fund Service Recipients.

This article describes a secondary data analysis of a health data set representing the experiences of abortion fund service recipients (ASRs) who received financial assistance to help pay for unaffordable abortion costs. The authors analyzed 3,216 ASR cases from 2001 to 2015. Demographic characteristics, service utilization rates, and the personal hardships reported by the sample were assessed. The personal hardships of the Florida ASRs were compared with the hardships reported by ASRs who received assistance from a national fund. Results indicate that Florida ASRs are primarily people of color who are single, in their mid-20s, already parenting children, and receiving assistance in the second trimester of pregnancy. ASRs in this current study are experiencing multiple personal hardships while trying to access an abortion, including economic hardships (such as lack of insurance coverage and unemployment) and trauma (including rape and partner violence). When compared with the ASRs at the national level, these state-level ASRs reported higher rates of unemployment, partner violence, and rape, which suggests that the Florida ASRs face some more dire circumstances compared with ASRs at the national level. Repeal of policy that restricts public funding of abortion in Florida is recommended to improve access to abortion.

A structural regression analysis of trauma-informed climate factors, organizational commitment, and burnout among behavioral healthcare providers in a large public hospital.

As an approach to organizational change, trauma-informed care is contextualized within the broader organizational literature by examining the associations between organizational conditions (i.e., psychological experiences of choice and collaboration in the work environment) with precursors to organizational effectiveness (i.e., affective commitment and burnout). The study occurred within a large public hospital's behavioral health department located in the Western New York region (N = 197). Structural regression analyses were conducted, and the primary findings, while nuanced, include support for choice and collaboration's prediction of employee commitment and burnout. Organizational interventions that improve worker's experiences of choice and collaboration may result in increased commitment, reduced burnout, and possibly improved effectiveness. Future research should employ longitudinal designs to further examine the condition-performance relationship and include direct measures of clinical effectiveness.

Access to choice: Examining differences between adolescent and adult abortion fund service recipients.

The results of a study examining differences between U.S. adolescent and adult abortion fund service recipients are presented in this paper. Using existing case data from 2010 to 2015 from the National Network of Abortion Funds (N = 3,288), a secondary data analysis was conducted to determine whether or not the experiences of adolescent (n = 481) and adult abortion patients (n = 2,807) who received financial assistance to help pay for an abortion differed. Fisher's exact tests examined differences in dichotomous variables, and regression examined differences in procedural costs, patient resources and expected travel distances to obtain an abortion. Results show that a greater proportion of adolescents in this data set identified as African American, and that adolescents were more likely to report seeking an abortion due to lack of contraception, and rape, while adult patients were more likely to be seeking an abortion due to contraceptive failure and partner violence. Results are discussed using a trauma-informed framework.

A cross-cultural exploration of abortion fund patients in the USA and the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man.

This paper details results of a study examining administrative case data from 2010-2015 from abortion funds serving the USA and the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. Driven by the available data, the researchers compared organisational characteristics, patient characteristics, procedural costs, patient resources and the ratio between patient resources and procedural costs. Independent t-tests were conducted to assess whether differences in characteristics, costs or resources were significant. The number of patients serviced by abortion funds across the two datasets increased yearly from 2010-2015. While patients in the USA had more resources, on average, to contribute to their abortion procedure, Irish, Northern Irish and Manx patients had the resources to pay for a greater percentage of their costs, on average, which was mainly attributable to the differences in gestational age of those helped by the different abortion funds. Patients across all nations were similar in terms of their marital status, average age and number of existing children. Patients across these countries face expensive procedures and a lack of resources that are bridged in part by abortion fund assistance.

A trauma-informed examination of the hardships experienced by abortion fund patients in the United States.

Researchers describe hardships experienced by abortion patients, examining administrative health cases from 2010 to 2015 in the United States. All patients received financial assistance from an abortion fund to help pay for abortion. Case data were analyzed to assess types and numbers of hardships experienced by age, race, and geographic origin. Hardships ranged from homelessness to parenting multiple children. Patients from the geographic South experienced the most hardships, followed by those from the Midwest. Hardships experienced by abortion fund patients are like those reported in other samples of abortion patients; hardships potentially cause or exacerbate trauma. Results are discussed in the context of a trauma-informed perspective.

The undue burden of paying for abortion: An exploration of abortion fund cases.

The results of a secondary data analysis of 3,999 administrative cases from a national abortion fund, representing patients who received pledges for financial assistance to pay for an abortion from 2010 to 2015, are presented. Case data from the fund's national call center was analyzed to assess the impact of the fund and examine sample demographics which were compared to the demographics of national abortion patients. Procedure costs, patient resources, funding pledges, additional aid, and changes over time in financial pledges for second-trimester procedures were also examined. Results indicate that the fund sample differed from national abortion patients in that fund patients were primarily single, African American, and seeking funding for second trimester abortions. Patients were also seeking to fund expensive procedures, costing an average of over $2,000; patients were receiving over $1,000 per case in pledges and other aid; and funding pledges for second trimester procedures were increasing over time. Abortion funding assistance is essential for women who are not able to afford abortion costs, and it is particularly beneficial for patients of color and those who are younger and single. Repeal of policy banning public funding of abortion would help to eliminate financial barriers that impede abortion access.