The influence of the family on premarital sexual attitudes and behavior

This research has expanded our understanding of the determinants of adolescent sexuality in several directions. We have used a study of mothers and children to construct and estimate a model of the intergenerational transmission of sexual attitudes and behavior. With data collected from both mothers and children, we were able to proceed further than most past research and to consider both the attitudes and behaviors of mothers as reported by the mothers themselves. These data permitted an investigation of the determinants of maternal attitudes concerning adolescent sexuality as well as an examination of the influences of the attitudes and experiences of mothers on the attitudes, perceptions, and behavior of children. Obviously, limiting the study to white families prevents generalization of our findings to other subgroups of the population. The findings demonstrate the importance and relevance of parental and adolescent attitudes in understanding adolescent sexuality. Premarital sexuality is a salient issue to both young people and their parents. There are, however, very important and substantial differences in the attitudes of parents and children. On average, the attitudes of young people today are much less restrictive than those of their parents, reflecting either life cycle differences or the impact of social change. The intergenerational difference is recognized by young people themselves and probably affects the ability of parents to assist their maturing children in adjusting to and dealing with their sexuality--a difficulty likely to be reflected in the relative lack of success sexually active young people have in preventing pregnancy. Our findings also add to the research literature in demonstrating that although children, on average, have more permissive attitudes than their parents, the attitudes of individual parents tend to be reflected in the attitudes of individual children. Children whose mothers have less restrictive attitudes have, on average, less restrictive attitudes themselves. Further, the attitudes of mothers are also reflected in the behavior of their children, so on average, mothers with more permissive attitudes have children who are more sexually active. The influence of maternal attitudes, however, is stronger for children's attitudes than for their behavior. Of course, variability in children's attitudes and behavior--and even their perceptions of maternal attitudes--can only be partially explained by the attitudes of their mothers; but presumably, if the attitudes of other important family members, including fathers and siblings, were known, the prediction of adolescent attitudes would improve.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Inhibition of replication of the etiologic agent of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (human T-lymphotropic retrovirus/lymphadenopathy-associated virus) by avarol and avarone

Avarol and avarone are two antimitotic and antimutagenic agents that preferentially inhibit proliferation of T-cell leukemia lines in vitro. This report shows that these compounds have a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on the replication of the etiologic agent of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), human T-lymphotropic retrovirus (HTLV-III)/lymphadenopathy-associated virus, in human H9 cells in vitro. Both compounds show a significant cytoprotective effect on HTLV-IIIB-infected H9 cells at concentrations as low as 0.1 microgram/ml (0.3 microM). Both avarone and avarol block in a dose-dependent manner the expression of the p24 and p17 gag proteins of HTLV-III in H9 cells after virus infection and block viral replication, as judged by approximately 80% inhibition of reverse transcriptase activity. These results strongly suggest that these compounds may prove to be useful in the treatment of patients with AIDS and AIDS-related complex.

Glomus tumour of the hallux: diagnosis by Doppler-shift ultrasound and digital subtraction angiography

A case is presented of a glomangioma with typical history and clinical findings, proven by operation and histology. Unique radiographic features are demonstrated including visualization of the tumour on a soft tissue radiograph and associated hyperaemic bone changes, continuous wave Doppler results indicating hyperaemia and an arterio-venous malformation, and the clear demonstration of the tumour in both frontal and lateral views was possible by intra-arterial digital subtraction angiography (DSA) under local anaesthesia. Fibrous dysplasia of a femur was an incidental finding.

Abdominal lymphoscintigraphy: an effective substitute for lymphography?

Abdominal lymphoscintigraphy is a quick, easy, cheap and relatively non-invasive technique. In our study it appeared to be as accurate as lymphography, giving a positive correlation in 25 out of 32 patients (78%). In 11% of cases the lymphoscintigram detected an abnormality of lymph node function before macroscopic morphological change was seen in the lymphogram, indicating that in some instances lymphoscintigraphy is more sensitive than lymphography. The reason for this is unknown, although possible mechanisms are discussed and these are the subject of current further study. We believe this to be the first report of lymphoscintigraphy being more sensitive than lymphography for detecting lymph node disease.

Changing patterns of first marriage in the United States

In this paper, we have traced changes in the patterns of first marriage in the United States for cohorts of men and women born in 1880 through 1965 and for the years from 1900 through 1983. There were striking changes in marriage rates associated with each of the world wars and with the depression of the 1930s. In addition to these short-term fluctuations, a long-term shift in marriage rates is observed over the period from after World War II until about 1970. By the end of the 1970s, however, marriage rates had returned to levels similar to those observed before the war. The basic similarity in the timing of changes in marriage rates across age levels and for both men and women, blacks and whites, is a striking characteristic of these marriage curves. There are also, however, important differences among these groups with respect to the magnitude and slopes of the shifts. The postwar marriage boom was strongest among the young (those under age 24) and among whites. Similarly, the declines in marriage rates observed in the 1970s were greatest among the young. The marriage rates for teenagers display trends that diverge in many respects from those of older persons. For example, the marriage rates of male teenagers did not show the "peaks" and "valley" associated with World War II for older age groups and female teenagers. Moreover, there is little sign of the postwar marriage boom among black teenagers of either sex. Indeed, the marriage rates of black teenagers began to decline soon after the war, and by the 1970s the marriage rates of both male and female black teenagers had fallen below those of their white counterparts, reversing the pattern that had existed through the first half of this century. During the twenty-five or so years of the postwar marriage boom, which we believe can be characterized best as a period phenomenon, there were trends-eddies within the mainstream-which are probably most easily interpreted as the consequence of a cohort effect.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Social and economic change, intergenerational relationships, and family formation in Taiwan

This paper examines the influence of social change and economic growth on intergenerational relationships and the formation of families in Taiwan. Using data from two island-wide surveys in 1973 and 1980, the analysis shows that, as expected, social change has been accompanied by rapid changes in family structure and relationships, including the spread of schooling, the employment of young people outside the family, increasing separation of the residences of parents and children before and after marriage, growing independence of young people, and increases in premarital sex and pregnancies. The position of a family in the social structure also influences the way young people interact with their parents and form their own families: women with educated fathers have more nonfamilial experiences than others, and farm origins tend to exert a traditional influence on the life course. Finally, experiences early in the life course have important ramifications for later behavior and transitions.

Transmural passage of subarachnoid metrizamide into a cystic acoustic schwannoma of the cerebellopontine angle: a diagnostic dilemma

CT metrizamide cisternography performed in a patient with a non-enhancing cerebellopontine angle tumour demonstrated an increase in attenuation within the cystic area between the immediate scan and that undertaken 4 h later indicating delayed inward diffusion of the contrast. At operation the tumour was found to be a cystic acoustic schwannoma of the cerebellopontine angle. Diffusion of metrizamide was not previously been reported across the wall of a cystic tumour.

Testicular tumor presenting with lymph node calcification on computed tomography: a case report

A patient is presented with abdominal pain and an abdominal mass. The testicular primary tumor was not obvious initially, but nodular calcification in the para-aortic lymph when associated with hydronephrosis. The CT findings showed this to be separate and the histology was confirmed by needle cytology.

Colonic polyp patterns in familial polyposis

The diagnosis of familial polyposis depends on there being more than 100 adenomatous polyps in the large bowel. The polyps are the result of intramucosal microadenomatous growth. The age at which this occurs varies, and in the early stages of polyp development relatively few larger polyps may be seen. The numbers and size of the polyps as seen on double-contrast barium enema were compared with the macroscopic findings on the resected specimens in 27 patients with proven polyposis. Of these patients, 23 (83%) were diagnosed when polyps were first found at sigmoidoscopy. Radiologically the predominant polyp size was more than 5 mm in only four cases, 2-5 mm in 22 (81%), and less than 2 mm in one. Of the 22 with predominately 2-5 mm polyps, eight had significant numbers of nodules smaller than 2 mm and three had considerable numbers of polyps larger than 5 mm. Eleven (41%) were thought to have fewer than 70 polyps. Pathologically the nodular pattern (less than 2 mm) predominated in 11 (41%) and 14 had polyps of 2-5 mm. More than 100 polyps were present in each case, with fewer than 500 polyps in eight. In the 11 patients thought radiologically to have fewer than 70 polyps, the nodular pattern predominated in nine. In the initial stages of polyp growth, the larger polyps are less numerous, and the background nodular pattern is a useful diagnostic feature of familial polyposis.

Changing attitudes toward marriage and single life

Attitudes about the primacy of marriage as a way of life have changed markedly over the past two decades. The legitimacy of singleness as a life-style is increasingly recognized by young people and their parents; most Americans no longer regard getting married as necessarily better than remaining single and do not disapprove of those who eschew marriage. Although most young people interviewed in the 1980 Study of American Families say that they would be bothered at least a little by failure to marry, relatively few say they would be greatly bothered by that outcome. It is somewhat surprising that the mothers of these young people also report fairly evenhanded attitudes regarding marriage for their children, suggesting that the younger generation will probably not experience much parental pressure to marry. Although the imperative to marry has weakened and the perceived advantages of marriage as compared to single life have declined, marriage continues to be valued by the majority of young Americans as shown in several studies of attitudes toward marriage. More than 90 percent expect to marry and there has been almost no decline in that proportion since 1960. What is more, despite the high levels of divorce, most young people say that they expect their marriages to be lasting. What has changed about marriage plans has been the rising age at which young people, especially young women, expect to marry--an expectation reflected in the increasing age at which Americans are actually marrying. There also seems to be a widespread desire not to let marriage interfere with education and to obtain some work experience before marriage. Marriage continues to be more important to young women than young men, despite recent trends toward more egalitarian sex roles. There is some evidence that experience with divorce increases negative attitudes about marriage and favorable ones about singleness as a way of life.

Income and fertility: the elusive relationship

This paper uses longitudinal data for 1962-1977 to examine the relationship of husband's income to 1962 expected fertility to final parity, and to the discrepancy between initial expectations and final parity, separately for four groups of women who in 1962 either had just given birth to a first, second, or fourth child or had just been married. Although economic reasons frequently were cited in 1977 for downward revisions in family size goals, husband's income was not positively related to fertility in three of the four parity groups. For the merged sample, excluding women with unwanted births, husband's income showed a small positive relationship to completed fertility.

Anomalous origin of the left anterior descending coronary artery from the pulmonary trunk

An extremely rare congenital abnormality is reported in which the anterior descending branch of the left main coronary artery arises independently from the pulmonary trunk in a young patient who presented with unstable angina. Its clinical presentation, angiographic identification and surgical treatment are described. It appears to be a distinct entity with few of the features of the classical form of anomalous origin of the left main coronary artery.