Dataset Information

Partnered Intimate Activities in Early Adolescence-Findings From the UK Millennium Cohort Study.

ABSTRACT: PURPOSE:Little is known about potential influences on emerging partnered intimate behaviors in early adolescence. We investigate (1) the prevalence of partnered intimate activities and (2) associations with social relationships, parental monitoring and supervision, health behaviors, and psychosocial well-being. METHODS:We used population-based data from the UK's Millennium Cohort Study on 11,079 participants aged 14 years. Partnered intimate activities were grouped into three categories: "light" (handholding, kissing, and cuddling); "moderate" (touching and fondling under clothes); and "heavy" (oral sex and sexual intercourse). Multinomial logistic regression models were used. RESULTS:Thirty percent of study participants reported not engaging in partnered intimate activity. Fifty-eight percent reported "light," 7.5 percent "moderate," and 3.2 percent "heavy" activity. Associated with increased likelihood (adjusted relative risk ratios [RRRs]) of intimate activities were confiding worries in a friend (light RRR = 2.13, moderate RRR = 3.42, heavy RRR=5.32), low parental monitoring-staying out late or overnight (late: light RRR = 1.62, moderate RRR = 2.44, heavy RRR = 2.32; overnight: light RRR = 1.57, moderate RRR = 1.94, heavy RRR = 3.38), health-damaging behaviors (per unit increase: light RRR = 1.91, moderate RRR = 3.15, heavy RRR = 5.03), and depressive symptoms (per scale point increase light RRR = 1.03, moderate RRR = 1.09, heavy RRR = 1.11). Confiding in a parent was associated with lower likelihood of intimate activity (light RRR = .82, moderate RRR = .65, heavy RRR = .65). CONCLUSIONS:Partnered intimate activity of some form is commonplace among 14-year-olds in the United Kingdom. Given the short- and long-term implications of adolescent sexual development and well-being, improving our understanding of influences could help identify opportunities for interventions with benefits across the lifecourse.

SUBMITTER: Kelly Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6986910 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Partnered Intimate Activities in Early Adolescence-Findings From the UK Millennium Cohort Study.

Kelly Yvonne Y Zilanawala Afshin A Tanton Clare C Lewis Ruth R Mercer Catherine H CH

The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine 20190621 3

<h4>Purpose</h4>Little is known about potential influences on emerging partnered intimate behaviors in early adolescence. We investigate (1) the prevalence of partnered intimate activities and (2) associations with social relationships, parental monitoring and supervision, health behaviors, and psychosocial well-being.<h4>Methods</h4>We used population-based data from the UK's Millennium Cohort Study on 11,079 participants aged 14 years. Partnered intimate activities were grouped into three cate ...[more]

PMID: 31235328

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Project description:PurposePromoting positive mental health, particularly through enhancing competencies (such as prosocial behaviors and learning skills), may help prevent the development of health risk behaviors in adolescence and thus support future well-being. Few studies have examined how mental health competencies in childhood are associated with adolescent health risk behaviors, which could inform preventative approaches.MethodsUsing UK Millennium Cohort Study data (n = 10,142), we examined how mental health competence (MHC) measured at the end of elementary school (11 years) is associated with self-reported use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, alcohol, illegal drugs, antisocial behavior, and sexual contact with another young person at age 14 years. A latent measure of MHC was used, capturing aspects of prosocial behavior and learning skills, categorized as high MHC, high-moderate MHC, moderate MHC, and low MHC. Logistic and multinomial regression estimated odds ratios and relative risk ratios for binary and categorical outcomes, respectively, before and after adjusting for confounders. Weights accounted for sample design and attrition and multiple imputation for item missingness.ResultsThose with low, moderate, or high-moderate MHC at age 11 years were more likely to have taken part in health risk behaviors at age 14 years compared with those with high MHC. The largest associations were seen for low MHC with binge drinking (relative risk ratio: 1.6 [95% confidence interval: 1.1-2.4]), having tried cigarettes (odds ratio: 2.2 [95% confidence interval: 1.6-3.1]) and tried illegal drugs (odds ratio: 2.0 [95% confidence interval: 1.3-3.1) after adjusting for confounders (which attenuated results but largely maintained significant findings).ConclusionsMHC in late childhood is associated with health risk behaviors in midadolescence. Interventions that increase children's MHC may support healthy development during adolescence, with the potential to improve health and well-being through to adulthood.

Project description:BackgroundEarly uptake of multiple risky behaviours during adolescence, such as substance use, antisocial and sexual behaviours, can lead to poor health outcomes without timely interventions. This study investigated how early-life maternal attachment, or emotional bonds between mothers and infants, influenced later risky behaviours in adolescence alongside other potential explanatory pathways using the United Kingdom Millennium Cohort Study.MethodsTotal maternal attachment scores measured at 9 months using the Condon (1998) Maternal Postnatal Attachment Scale compared higher and lower attachment, where mothers in the lowest 10th percentile represented lower attachment. Multiple risky behaviours, defined as two or more risky behaviours (including smoking cigarettes, vaping, alcohol consumption, illegal drug use, antisocial behaviour, criminal engagement, unsafe sex, and gambling), were scored from 0 to 8 at age 17. Five multivariate logistic regression models examined associations between maternal attachment and multiple risky behaviours among Millennium Cohort Study members (n = 7796). Mediation analysis sequentially adjusted for blocks of explanatory mechanisms, including low attachment mechanisms (multiple births, infant prematurity, sex, breastfeeding, unplanned pregnancy and maternal age at birth), maternal depression, and social inequalities (single-parent status, socioeconomic circumstance by maternal education and household income) at 9 months and poor adolescent mental health at 14 years.ResultsChildren of mothers with lower maternal attachment at 9 months had 23% increased odds of multiple risky behaviours at 17 years (OR: 1.23, 95% CI: 1.00-1.50) in the unadjusted baseline model. All five explanatory blocks attenuated baseline odds. Low attachment mechanisms attenuated 13%, social inequalities 17%, and poor mental health 17%. Maternal depression attenuated the highest proportion (26%) after fully adjusting for all factors (30%).ConclusionsLower maternal attachment in early life predicted increased adolescent multiple risky behaviours. Almost a third of the excess risk was attributable to child, maternal and socioeconomic factors, with over a quarter explained by maternal depression. Recognising the influence of early-life risk factors on adolescent health could innovate current policies and interventions addressing multiple risky behaviour uptake affecting health inequalities across the life course.

Project description:Study questionDo the parent-child relationships of adolescents born after medically assisted reproduction (MAR) using the parents' own gametes differ from those of adolescents born after natural conception (NC)?Summary answerMAR and NC families have similar parent-child relationships in terms of closeness and conflict frequency, except that MAR mothers report being closer to their children than NC mothers.What is known alreadyPrior work on parent-child relationships during childhood has reported mixed findings. While some studies have documented no differences between MAR and NC families, others have shown that MAR families have greater levels of warmth and positive feelings than NC families. Evidence on parent-child relationships during the adolescent period is generally positive but is limited because of the small number of existing studies and the reliance on small samples.Study design, size, durationThis work is based on the UK Millennium Cohort Study, whose study members were born in 2000-2002. The analyses focused on Sweep 6 which was collected when cohort members were around 14 years old. We also relied on variables collected in Sweep 1, when cohort members were aged around 9 months, to account for characteristics that could confound or mediate the relationship between MAR and our outcomes. The attrition rate between Sweeps 1 and 6 was 36.7%.Participants/materials, setting, methodsThe final sample consisted of 10 233 cohort members, 320 of whom were conceived with the help of MAR (3.1%). A total of six dependent variables were used to measure, when the cohort members were around 14 years old, levels of parent-child closeness and conflict, reported separately by the mother, the father and the cohort member. Linear models were used to analyse the association between parent-child relationships before and after adjustment for socio-demographic characteristics and mental health.Main results and the role of chanceSweep 6 achieved a response rate of 76.3% of the eligible sample. The results show that, on average, MAR and NC families had similar parent-child relationships in terms of closeness and conflict frequency. The only difference was that MAR mothers reported being closer to their children than NC mothers both before (β = 0.149, P < 0.05) and after (β = 0.102, P < 0.1) adjustment for family socio-demographic characteristics and mental health.Limitations, reasons for cautionThe outcome variables are self-reported by each of the respondents and could be subject to social desirability bias. Second, some parents may have not reported they conceived through donor insemination, which could result in the analytical sample including a small subset of children who were not genetically related to their parents. Third, the data did not include information about whether the children were aware of their conception mode, since the Millennium Cohort Study did not collect information on MAR disclosure. Moreover, they did not allow us to study other aspects of parent-child relationships. Finally, as we observed parent-child relationships at only one moment in time; we were unable to test whether they changed over time.Wider implications of the findingsThe results suggest that the difficulties and the stress parents underwent to conceive through MAR did not translate into more difficult parent-child relationships during adolescence. Given the increasing number of children conceived via MAR, the finding that MAR and NC families had similar parent-child relationships in terms of closeness and conflict frequency is reassuring.Study funding/competing interest(s)This work was supported by European Research Council agreement n. 803959 (MARTE to A.G.). The authors declare no competing interests.Trial registration numbern/a.

Project description:This study aimed to identify determinants of a late autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, including diagnoses made 'very late' (i.e., in adolescence), using the Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative population-based cohort in the United Kingdom. Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder by age 14 (N = 581) were included and grouped by the parent-reported timing of diagnosis: before school (up to age 5), during primary school (age 5-11) and during secondary school (age 11-14). Predictors of diagnostic timing, at the child, family and school levels, were investigated using multinomial logistic regression. Most (79%) children with autism spectrum disorder were diagnosed after school entry, and 28% were not diagnosed until secondary school. Among those not diagnosed until secondary school, 75% had been identified at age 5 years by a parent and/or teacher as having socio-behavioural difficulties. Being diagnosed after starting school was predicted by living in poverty (adjusted relative risk ratio: primary = 1.90, 95% confidence interval: 1.03-3.53; secondary = 2.15, 1.05-4.42) and/or having no initial parental concerns (primary = 0.32, 0.15-0.70; secondary = 0.19, 0.09-0.43). Having typical-range intelligence also predicted diagnosis during secondary school. The result indicates that those without cognitive delays and poorer children were at risk of 'very late' (i.e. adolescent) diagnosis. Strategies to promote earlier identification, targeting age at primary school entry, could help those more likely to be diagnosed late.Lay abstractDespite policy emphasis on early identification, many children with autism spectrum disorder are diagnosed late, with some being diagnosed as late as in adolescence. However, evidence on what determines the timing of autism spectrum disorder diagnosis including children diagnosed in adolescence is lacking. Understanding these determinants, particularly in those diagnosed later than is ideal, can inform the development of effective strategies to improve earlier identification of autism spectrum disorder. This study used a nationally representative population-based cohort in the United Kingdom to explore child, family and school level predictors of timing of autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. In the United Kingdom, 79% of the children with autism spectrum disorder were diagnosed after entering primary school and 28% during secondary school. Among those not diagnosed until secondary school, 75% had shown social difficulties noticed by parents and/or teachers at age 5 years. The results suggest that healthcare providers should be aware that, even for universal systems of care, those living in poverty and having higher intelligence are most likely to miss out on a timely diagnosis. Strategies to promote earlier identification among school-aged children, including targeting primary school entry age (i.e. around age 5) and that encouraging referrals for a formal assessment at the first report of concerns over the child's social development may benefit those children who would otherwise be diagnosed later.

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Dataset Information

Partnered Intimate Activities in Early Adolescence-Findings From the UK Millennium Cohort Study.

Publications

Partnered Intimate Activities in Early Adolescence-Findings From the UK Millennium Cohort Study.

Similar Datasets

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