Sensation seeking and hormones in men and women: exploring the link.

Risky behaviors (e.g., binge drinking, drunk driving, risky sex) are increasing among U.

Biosocial aspects of domestic violence.

Domestic violence, defined as acts of verbal abuse and physical violence performed against women by current intimate main partners, was surveyed by means of the Conflict Tactics Scale. We examined the relationships between a biological variable (testosterone level), social variables (demographics, social integration), and behaviour (substance use) and self-reported domestic violence. Forced-entry OLS regression models allowed us to study how social and behavioural variables modified the effects of testosterone on this specific violent behaviour.

Relationship dynamics, ethnicity and condom use among low-income women.

Context: Women's protection against HIV and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) depends upon their ability to negotiate safer sex. It is important to know how cultural norms and gender roles, which vary by ethnicity, may either constrain or encourage negotiation of condom use.

Methods: Questionnaires were completed by 393 low-income non-Hispanic black, Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women who were sexually active and attending family planning and STD clinics and other public health and social service centers in Miami in 1994 and 1995.

Dual-method use among an ethnically diverse group of women at risk of HIV infection.

Context: Few U.S. women protect themselves against both pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) by using an efficient contraceptive method and a condom.

Magic Johnson and children's conceptions of AIDS.

Longitudinal data for a heterogeneous sample of 609 elementary school children are used to assess the long-term effects of Magic Johnson's announcement on children's HIV and AIDS conceptions. Four hypotheses are tested concerning these relationships, and background variables measured prior to Johnson's announcement are controlled. Findings suggest that Johnson's announcement increased children's HIV and AIDS knowledge and reduced their prejudice toward a hypothetical child with AIDS.

Factors associated with use of the female condom.

Black, Hispanic and white women recruited for an HIV prevention intervention were instructed in the use of the female condom and encouraged to try the device. Of the 231 women who completed the intervention, 29% tried the condom over the course of a month; 30% of those who tried it used it during at least half of their sexual encounters. Both ethnicity and age were associated with trying the device: Nearly 40% of black women and 30% of Hispanic women did so, compared with 18% of white women; 37% of those aged 25-34 tried the female condom, compared with 22% of women younger than 25.

Children's AIDS-related knowledge and attitudes: variations by grade, race, gender, socioeconomic status, and size of community.

Variations of AIDS-related beliefs by grade, race, gender, socioeconomic status, and size of the community were examined for a diverse group of elementary school children (n = 609). Consistent with prior research, beliefs about HIV transmission and willingness to interact with persons with AIDS increased across grades 1 to 5. Black children living in rural communities held most misconceptions about AIDS and, relative to white peers, black children were more reluctant to interact with persons with AIDS (PWA).

The association between substance use, condom use and sexual risk among low-income women.

Substance use is frequently assumed to be associated with higher levels of sexual risk-taking and lower levels of condom use. An analysis of 668 black, Hispanic and white low-income women at public health and public assistance facilities in Miami show that 19% engaged in risky sexual behavior over the preceding six months, 24% in substance use and 31% in condom use. Overall, substance users are nearly four and one-half times more likely to take sexual risks than nonusers, but are about half as likely to have relied on condoms.

Assessing children's conceptions of AIDS.

Assessed intuitive theories of AIDS transmission through clinical method interviews in a cross-sectional design for a sample of 205 1st; 195 3rd; and 208 5th-grade students, balanced by sex and race (black/white). Analyses of relationships between the types of theories children held and their responses to closed-end questions about transmission and willingness to interact with a person with AIDS supported the validity of the interview method. Grade differences were noted for knowledge of high-risk routes, rejection of misconceptions, and cohesiveness and complexity of children's theories.

The Development and Implementation of a Cognitive-Based Intervention Aimed at Culturally Diverse Women at Risk for HIV/AIDS.

The development and implementation of a culturally and gender sensitive, cognitive behavioral-intervention program aimed at preventing high-risk sexual and drug-use behaviors among culturally diverse women at risk for HIV/AIDS is described. The intervention stressed education, cultural/social barriers to change, and assertiveness/negotiation skill building. Methodological problems and their solutions are presented.

Early childhood differentials in mother-child AIDS-information interaction.

To date there have been no systematic inquiries into 1) the extent of parent-child AIDS interaction; or 2) the factors that influence whether young children and their parents talk about AIDS. In our sample, from a medium-sized Southern metropolitan area, 70 percent of mothers of children in the first, third, and fifth grades said they had talked to their child about AIDS, but only 41 percent of the mothers said their child had asked them questions about AIDS. Fourteen hypotheses about factors which might influence mother-child AIDS interaction are derived from the health/sex socialization literature.

Substance use among women at risk for HIV infection.

This article reports results from a survey of culturally diverse women at risk for HIV infection in south Florida. Data concerning their substance use and its association with HIV risk behaviors are presented. Results indicate levels of consumption which exceed expectations based on general estimates of female substance use.

Young children's awareness, knowledge, and beliefs about AIDS: observations from a pretest.

Starting from the assumption that AIDS education can be most effective when initiated prior to the age when AIDS risk behaviors emerge, a number of researchers and public health officials have advocated AIDS education for preadolescents. Yet there have been few published reports assessing children's awareness, knowledge, and attitudes about AIDS and persons with AIDS. In this paper, basic data are presented for each of these dimensions broken down by race, gender, and grade.

Effects of maternal stress on puberty, fertility and aggressive behavior of female mice from different intrauterine positions.

We examined the effects of maternal stress (bright light and heat) during the last third of pregnancy on subsequent reproductive and behavioral characteristics of female mice from different intrauterine positions. Female mice that develop in utero between two male fetuses (2M females) differ from females that develop between two female fetuses (0M females) in their serum concentrations of both testosterone and estradiol during the fetal period of sexual differentiation. After birth, 0M and 2M females differ in a wide range of reproductive characteristics.

AIDS knowledge and risk behaviors among culturally diverse women.

This article reports results from a survey of women at risk for HIV infection. The sample (n = 620) included black (50.6%), white (28.

Paradoxical effects of maternal stress on fetal steroids and postnatal reproductive traits in female mice from different intrauterine positions.

We examined effects of maternal stress on prenatal serum concentrations of testosterone and estradiol and on postnatal reproductive traits in female mice from different intrauterine positions. On Day 18 of fetal life, control females positioned in utero between two male fetuses (2M females) had higher concentrations of testosterone and lower concentrations of estradiol in serum than control female fetuses located between two females (0M females). Control females positioned between a male and a female fetus (1M females) had intermediate levels of both hormones.

Lesions in the preoptic area suppressed sexual receptivity in ovariectomized rats with estrogen implants in the ventromedial hypothalamus.

The objective of the experiment was to determine if electrolytic ablation of a portion of the preoptic area (POA) influenced the activation of female lordosis behavior by implants of estradiol benzoate in the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) of ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Two weeks after ovariectomy, rats received either bilateral electrolytic lesions (2 mA for 10 sec in Experiment 1, or 1 mA for 5 sec in Experiment 2) in the POA, or sham lesions (all procedures except passage of current). On the same day (day 0 of the experiment) thirty-gauge stainless steel cannulae containing crystalline estradiol benzoate were stereotaxically placed bilaterally into the VMH of all the rats.

The effects of intrauterine position on competition and behavior in the mouse.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of intrauterine position on: (1) competition for limited food resources when the animals were previously deprived of food; (2) social preference for a male during various phases of the estrous cycle; and (3) social and sexual behavior when the animals were provided with like-treated females or receptive females, respectively. Females developing in utero between two males (2M females) and females developing between two females (0M females) were different on only one measure recorded during the competition for limited food, i.e.

Postpartum moods in men and women.

Twenty-one married couples, recruited from childbirth classes (mean age 29.6 years), were administered questionnaires measuring 20 different moods during the third trimester of pregnancy (prepartum period), during the postpartum period, and at 6 months after birth (follow-up period). In each questionnaire period individual questionnaires were filled out daily by both the mother and father for 10 consecutive days.

Suppression of sexual behavior and localization of [3H] puromycin after intracranial injection in the rat.

Bilateral intracranial injections of puromycin (10 micrograms/0.5 microliter vehicle) into the preoptic area (POA) of steroid-primed ovariectomized rats resulted in a significant decrease in the lordosis response when compared to saline treated controls. To determine the extent of puromycin diffusion after intracranial injection, [3H] puromycin was injected into the right POA of ovariectomized rats.

Sex differences in sexual needs and desires.

Female and male responses on attitudes toward foreplay prior to sexual intercourse, sexual intercourse, and afterplay following sexual intercourse, were compared. Foreplay was defined as the sexual activity that occurs before sexual intercourse, whereas afterplay was defined as the interaction such as hugging, holding, talking, and so forth that occurs after sexual intercourse. The subjects were 39 men and 49 women students enrolled in various courses at the University of Kansas.

Brain catecholamine content during the estrous cycle and in steroid-primed rats.

Norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) levels were measured in several estrogen concentrating brain regions over the estrous cycle and in steroid-primed ovariectomized rats under experimental conditions used to study sexual receptivity. Norepinephrine content in the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH), lateral septum (LS) and medial preoptic area (POA) varied during the estrous cycle. The highest NE levels were found during metestrus in these brain regions.

Cycloheximide activation of the lordotic response in low-dose, estrogen-treated ovariectomized rats: evidence for modulating inhibitory influences of the limbic system on sexual behavior.

This study tested the effect on intracranially injected cycloheximide (CHX), an inhibitor of protein synthesis, on facilitation of sexual receptivity in ovariectomized rats. The rats received 0.5 microgram estradiol benzoate (EB), s.