Search Results (69)

Physical activity interventions and programming for Black American girls often overlook racism and sexism as a fundamental cause of the differences in engagement between their white and male peers. Deficit framing is a standard where Black girls are often compared to the health, physical activity, and beauty standards driven by white feminine or masculine norms, suggesting there is only one way to be fit and healthy. Approaches that lack cultural and historical relevance, including the effects of systemic racism and sexism, are seldom considered before aiming to increase physical activity engagement and favorable health outcomes for Black teenage girls. Aim: This paper presents a brief overview of physical activity programming for Black adolescent girls and young women (aged 14–18) and proposes theoretical frameworks and approaches to consider before implementing physical activity interventions and programs. Concluding Remarks: Voice, intersectionality, misogynoir, representation, and gendered racism as a root cause should inform physical activity programming designed for Black adolescent girls. Culturally equitable approaches for real and sustainable change are required to increase physical activity engagement. Full article

Latin American upper-middle-income countries (LAUMICs) face significant challenges in ensuring equitable access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) for adolescents due to socioeconomic inequalities, migration, and historical violence. This systematic review examines the barriers and facilitators to sexual and reproductive health access for adolescent girls (≤19 years old) in vulnerable situations across Latin America. Using six databases, 391 articles were reviewed; 10 met the inclusion criteria, and 10 more were included through backward search, resulting in 20 analyzed studies. Structural barriers such as economic, regulatory, and institutional constraints were found to restrict SRH access, exacerbated by social stigma and negative narratives, especially in cases involving sexual violence and clandestine abortions. Facilitators included intersectoral collaboration, preventive education, and community networks, which improved access to and the quality of services for vulnerable populations. The findings emphasize the need for sustainable strategies that address structural inequalities and stigma while strengthening health systems, and intersectoral cooperation. Comprehensive, culturally tailored education and clear regulatory frameworks are essential to achieving equitable and sustainable SRH services. These insights offer practical guidance for public policy and program design in LAUMICs, particularly for addressing the needs of marginalized adolescent populations. Full article

This article focuses on a little-studied short story from Jewish American writer Cynthia Ozick, “What Happened to the Baby?” It explores the narrative elaboration of a distinctly feminine trauma—that of a mother in mourning whose grief is not acknowledged in a patriarchal context. My approach uses close readings and psychoanalytical insights to understand the female protagonist’s voiceless rage. The narrator of the framing narrative is a young woman trying to understand a mysterious family trauma—how little Henrietta, the daughter of her uncle Simon and his ex-wife, Essie, died. The starting point of the story is a distorted version of the accident, told to the narrator by her mother, Lily, and according to which it is Essie’s mistreatment that caused the little girl’s death. Through the narrative, the narrator encourages Essie to tell her own side of the story. In the embedded narrative, the mother reveals that it was in fact the father’s negligence that caused the death of their child. Father and mother subsequently develop differing models of mourning. Simon, a linguist, creates a whole new idiom enabling him to keep commemorating the dead child. In contrast, Essie, the mother, is determined to destroy any discourse that might account for her trauma, and to undermine the father’s very public mourning process. The narrator acts as a kind of therapist, allowing Essie’s discourse on loss to emerge after decades of repression. On the masculine/feminine, father/mother binary axis, I will observe, based on the study of this fascinating short story, that the father’s mourning involves mastering language, while the mother experiences loss through the sheer inability to speak up—at least until the narrator, Vivian, empowers her by giving her a voice. Full article

Background/Objectives: Preschool children learn to express emotions in accordance with sociocultural norms. Parental emotion talk (ET) has been theorized to shape these processes. Limited research has examined preschoolers’ observed emotion expressions and emotion-related behaviors in culturally diverse samples. We sought to explore the following: (1) cultural group differences and similarities in observed emotion expressions (anger, sadness, and positive emotions) and emotion-related behaviors between Chinese American and Mexican American preschoolers, and (2) the concurrent links between parental ET and children’s emotion expressions. Methods: In a sample of 86 children (age range = 38 to 70 months, 62% girls) from low-income immigrant families (Mexican Americans/MA = 43 and Chinese Americans/CA = 43), the observed children’s emotion expressions and emotion-related behaviors were coded based on a frustration-eliciting task. Parental ET quality and quantity were coded from transcripts of a parent–child shared reading task. Results: MA children expressed more anger and sadness, but the two groups did not differ on positive emotions or emotion-related behaviors. Multiple regressions showed that children whose parents engaged in more ET expressed higher levels of anger and sadness and used more non-feeling state languages than children whose parents engaged in less ET. Conclusions: The results revealed cultural variations in preschool-age children’s emotion expressions and provided support for associations between parental ET and children’s emotion expressions. Full article

Background and Objectives: The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) define abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) as “bleeding from the uterus that is abnormal in regularity, volume, frequency, or duration and occurs in the absence of pregnancy”. The impact of AUB on the physical and psychosocial well-being of adolescent girls can be significant. In this study, we aim to investigate the menstrual cycle characteristics in adolescent Sudanese schoolgirls and the prevalence of abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) and its associated factors. Materials and Methods: A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Almatamah locality, Sudan. A questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic data and menstrual cycle parameters. Weight and height were measured, body mass index (BMI) was calculated, and hemoglobin levels were determined. Logistic regression was also performed. Results: Of the 162 girls in the study, 27.2% had frequent cycles, 3.7% had infrequent cycles, 2.5% had prolonged menses duration, 44.4% had irregular cycles, and 21.0% had heavy menstrual bleeding. The overall prevalence of AUB in the study was 64.8%. None of the investigated factors (chronological age, maternal education or occupation, gynecological age, BMI, and hemoglobin level) were associated with AUB. Conclusions: In conclusion, the prevalence of AUB was high among the study participants, with irregular cycles, frequent cycles, and heavy menstrual bleeding being the most common types. Full article

Family conflict has been demonstrated as a risk factor impacting children’s mental health and behaviors; however, the mechanisms underlying these connections are unclear. Focusing on 1622 children from low-income families (51.4% boys, 38.3% White, 35.5% Hispanic/Latino, 22.1% African American, 4.1% other), the current study examines the role that maternal depression and parenting behaviors play in the associations between family conflict in early childhood and children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors in early adolescence. Family conflict was positively associated with maternal depression at age 3 and detached parenting at age 5; however, maternal depression was linked to increased child internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and detached parenting was associated with decreased behavioral outcomes. Maternal depression at age 3 and intrusive parenting at age 5 successively mediated the association between family conflict and child externalizing. Multi-group analysis indicated different indirect paths of parenting behaviors in boys and girls. Specifically, in boys, the indirect effect of detached parenting on the links between family conflict and externalizing and internalizing behaviors was sustained. In girls, maternal depression and intrusive parenting sequentially explained the link between family conflict and externalizing behaviors. The findings highlighted the importance of addressing family well-being and parenting support, especially for children from low-income families. Full article

Anorexia nervosa is classified by the American Psychological Association as an eating-related mental disorder, which affects mostly young adult women and adolescent girls. Although refeeding programs are often used to recover bodyweight in patients with anorexia nervosa, treatment failures are high, and the determinants of the disorder remain unknown. The present paper uses a nutritional epidemiology perspective to examine determinants of anorexia nervosa from the patients’ point of view. A grounded-theory literature-review method was used to search and review research findings from the peer-reviewed literature related to the etiology of anorexia nervosa, including recent qualitative interviews with patients. Unlike a systematic review, a grounded theory method is more appropriate for developing a new theory to explain phenomena like the cause, recovery, and prevention of anorexia nervosa. Reviewed research suggests that anorexia nervosa may be a problematic body-change strategy rather than a mental disorder. Additionally, the present paper proposes that replacing the drive for thinness in anorexia nervosa with a drive for leanness may help patient recovery, especially when guided by easily accessible body-composition estimates. Fat-free mass restoration in the recovery of anorexia nervosa may also be facilitated by resistance training, which improves patients’ psychological status and body composition. Additionally, replacing a dysfunctional dieting strategy in anorexia nervosa with knowledge, skills, and experience in proper weight management has a potential preventive effect against the disorder. More research is needed to investigate the applied effects of the drive for leanness, body-composition assessments, resistance-training programs, and weight-management skills associated with the recovery and prevention of anorexia nervosa. Furthermore, successful application of the information in this paper may be adapted to peer role model programs to prevent anorexia nervosa. Full article

Film, as a medium, serves not only as a significant source of entertainment but also as a powerful instrument in shaping attitudes, beliefs, behaviours, social norms, and identities. Since its inception, cinematic art has been closely intertwined with religious themes, with many film narratives drawing implicitly or explicitly from biblical texts and religious traditions. Consequently, theologians and ecclesiastical authorities were quick to identify film as a potential locus theologicus. Given film’s ability to spark debates on deeply ingrained views and beliefs, feminist theology, which critically reflects on gender power relations within religious communities and theological texts, finds it intriguing to explore how cinematic narratives can challenge the millennia-old depiction of God as a man. This article aims to examine how the art of cinema contributes to theological reflections on the female metaphors of God, particularly through female Christ-figures and God-figures, which occasionally appear in films such as Chocolat, All That Jazz, Always, Dogma, and The Shack. These characters defy traditional religious language, which often employs masculine imagery and metaphors for God, portraying female God as an independent chocolatier, a single mother, an elegant hairdresser, a beautiful young seductress, a curvaceous African American bread maker, and a witty, clownish girl. In these cinematic depictions, female God is compassionate, empathetic, kind, witty, forgiving, and profoundly in love with her human creations. At the same time, all of these female characters are powerful, assertive, strong, and self-confident. Full article

Background: Iron Deficiency (ID) affects two billion people worldwide, predominantly adolescent girls, and may be associated with increased psychopathology. The associations between ID and symptoms of depression and anxiety in adolescents were examined using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a cross-sectional survey of a nationally representative sample of non-institutionalized Americans. Methods: The current analysis included survey cycles where both iron-related markers and mental health-related outcomes were collected in adolescents 12 to 17 years old. Acute and serious medical conditions, acute inflammation, and abnormal birth weight led to exclusion. Linear multivariable regression analyses examined the association between ID status (defined based on the total body iron model) and (1) total Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) score, (2) one item examining anxiety severity, and (3) one item examining overall mental well-being. Covariates included age, sex, race and ethnicity, body mass index, household income, head-of-household marital status, and psychotropic medication use. Sensitivity analyses examined the robustness of the findings when ID was defined based on the ferritin model. Results: In 1990 adolescents (age [mean ± SD]: 14.5 ± 1.7 years; 85.7% females), ID with and without anemia was significantly associated with a higher PHQ-9 score in multiracial adolescents (Cohen’s d = 1.09, p = 0.0005 for ID without anemia; d = 0.92, p = 0.0395 for ID with anemia). Moreover, ID with anemia was associated with more severe anxiety (d = 3.00, p = 0.0130) and worse mental well-being (d = 2.75, p = 0.0059) in multiracial adolescents. The findings remained significant after adjusting for psychotropic use and in the sensitivity analyses. Conclusions: Iron deficiency is associated with poorer mental health in adolescents of multiracial background. Future studies should confirm these findings prospectively and examine the underlying mechanism. Full article

Purpose: Summer day camp offers children opportunities to grow knowledge and skills, be physically active, and have fun. Compared to healthy children, at-risk children (i.e., overweight, or with obesity and chronic health conditions) typically display less optimal health behaviors and psychosocial well-being, especially during summer months. This study examined the preliminary effectiveness of an American-Diabetes-Association-sponsored summer day camp at improving children’s health behaviors (i.e., physical activity, screen time, diet, sleep) and psychosocial well-being outcomes (i.e., quality of life [QoL], enjoyment, weight-related self-efficacy). Method: The sample consisted of 39 participants, including 19 boys and 20 girls, with majority being overweight (n = 4 or 10%) or with obesity (n = 26 or 67%), who attended the day camp for one week. Results: Significant improvements were observed in screen time, quality of life, and physical function. The results further showed significant time by gender interaction effect for overall QoL (p < 0.05, ${\eta }_p^2$ = 0.15), physical health (a dimension of QoL; p < 0.05, ${\eta }_p^2$ = 0.18), and significant time by household income for the psychosocial health (another dimension of QoL), favoring boys and those from higher income families. Discussion: The findings indicate a positive preliminary effectiveness of the summer camp at reducing children’s screen time and improving their QoL, especially in boys and those from higher-income families. Future research should focus on health disparities and expansion of this camp for the potential of longer-term and more robust effects related to wellness, nutrition literacy, physical activity promotion, and obesity prevention. Full article

(1) Background: Adolescent girls have increasingly faced mental health challenges. We examined prevalence trends and associated risk factors for depression among adolescent girls. (2) Methods: Data for girls aged 12 to 17 years (N = 4346) from the 2021 cross-sectional National Survey on Drug Use and Health were analyzed. Factors associated with depression were examined using multiple regression analysis. (3) Results: Rates of severe depression were significantly higher (p < 0.001) in older girls (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.63, 1.61), those who did not have authoritative parents (AOR: 3.40), and those with negative school experiences (AOR: 4.03). Black and Asian/Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders were less likely to report severe depression than white girls. As previously reported, non-white girls were significantly less likely to receive treatment for depression (p < 0.05). Parents’ characteristics and school experiences had no effect on the likelihood of receiving mental health treatment. (4) Conclusions: Depression has become increasingly common among American adolescent girls, who are now three times as likely as adolescent boys to have had recent experiences with depression. Our results show that family structure, parenting style, and negative school experiences significantly contribute to the rate of depression and that treatment disparities exist with regard to race and ethnicity. The results of our research could be valuable for policymakers, healthcare professionals, and educators in developing specific preventative initiatives and support networks that effectively address these unique challenges. Full article

Bird identification is a necessary skill for citizen science projects, and teaching and learning about species is essential to halt the decline in biodiversity. Here, we investigated bird species knowledge in a case study of Michigan high school students using an online survey. Participants were asked to identify 21 common species, covering a wide range of orders and families. On average, high school students achieved a correct identification score of 35%. The most well-known species were the American Robin, Blue Jay, Cardinal and Turkey Vulture. We found no difference between boys and girls, but identification scores declined with increasing age. Interest was an important predictor of identification knowledge, as were activities (field trips, outings) both in and out of class. Among species traits, high knowledge of a species was positively related to the number of eBird entries (as a proxy for year-round population size), body mass (heavier species were better known) and internet presence. We suggest expanding this study to other states, and we encourage educators and teachers to improve bird knowledge through birding field trips. Full article

The concept of sustainability is different in industry and in nature. In the case of mobile phones, the constant replacement by new models increases waste to ecologically unbearable limits. To encourage responsible and sustainable consumption, we designed an educational game in a role-play format, called Blue Gold. The objective was to make known the use of cobalt in the production of mobile phones and the methods and people involved in its extraction. We present three characters that each participant could become during the game: a Congolese girl, a Congolese boy, or an American boy. Through socio-educational dynamics of experiential learning, 308 undergraduate students and 31 of their teachers participated in the game. We set out to investigate whether knowing the reality of child labor and violence against women happening in cobalt mines could have any impact on consumer behavior, if the effect of the game could delay the desire to purchase a mobile phone or refuse to buy a new one. The results obtained revealed the influence of the role assumed in the game and the gender of the participants. They also revealed that this online role-playing game is effective in encouraging a more sustainable consumption behavior. Full article

Association Between Weight for Length and the Severity of Respiratory Morbidity in Preterm Infants. Objective: To determine whether higher weight-to-length z-scores after 32 weeks of gestation are associated with higher pulmonary scores (PSs) in preterm infants requiring respiratory support using a prospective observational study. Methods: Infants born at <30 weeks, with a post-menstrual age (PMA) of 30–33 weeks, were enrolled. The infant’s weight, length, and head circumference were measured weekly. Data on calories/kg/d, protein g/kg/d, weight-for-length percentiles, z-scores, and BMI at 33 through 40 weeks PMA were collected. The PS was calculated. Results: We analyzed 91 infants. The mean gestational age was 26.9 ± 1.7 weeks. The mean birthweight was 0.898 ± 0.238 kgs. They were predominantly African American (81.3%) and girls (56%). Postnatal steroids were administered in 26.4% of the infants. The mean duration of invasive ventilation was 19.23 days ± 28.30 days. There was a significant association between the PS and W/L z-score (p < 0.0001). For every one-unit increase in W/L z-score, the PS increased by 0.063. There was a significant association between the PS and W/L percentile (p = 0.0017), as well as BMI (p ≤ 0.0001). For every unit increase in W/L percentile, the PS increased by 0.002, and for a unit increase in BMI, the PS increased by 0.04. The association remained significant after postnatal steroid use, sex, and corrected and birth gestational ages were included in the regression analysis. Nutrition did not affect the anthropometric measurements. Conclusions: Our study is the first to demonstrate that a higher BMI and W/L may adversely affect the respiratory severity in preterm infants. Studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm our findings. Full article

The purpose of this study is to describe sleep, PA, and screen time behaviors among rural American Indian (AI) youth, stratified by sex and grade, to better understand how to address these health behaviors in AI youth. Body composition, a screen time survey, and demographic information were collected from 65 AI youth. Accelerometers were worn for 7 days. Sixty percent were overweight or obese. Sleep did not differ by sex or grade, with an actigraphy-based total sleep time (aTST) of 7.8 h per night. Boys had significantly more light PA (p = 0.002) and vigorous PA (p = 0.01) compared to girls. Screen time did differ by sex but not by grade, with girls in the sixth and seventh grades reporting more screen time than boys, but boys in the eighth grade reporting more screen time than girls. Despite sex differences in screen time, high levels of screen time and obesity and low levels of PA and sleep are a concern in this population. Full article