Correlation methods and associated problems

Correlation Methods

The problems that arise from teen pregnancy are many and complex. There are many ways to address this problem in a research context. The research topic of my choice is the relationship between high postpartum rates of sexually transmitted infections (STI) and pregnancy as a window of opportunity for prevention. This topic looks to find positive attributes in what is generally considered a negative situation for many young women.

Kershaw, T. et al. (2011). The Skinny on Sexual Risk: The Effects of BMI on STI Incidence. AIDS and Behavior, 15. 7 Oct 2011; 1527-38.

This article examined body mass index (BMI) as an indicator for STI incidence within a population of young mothers. 704 young mothers aged 14-25 were evaluated using interviews throughout a 12-month postpartum time period. The article concludes that BMI is significantly related to STI incidence and sexual risk while overweight women were at increased risk for STI incidence compared to normal weight women and obese women. Obesity actually became protective in this study demonstrating that this condition reduces the rate of STI.

Article 2

Kershaw, T. (2010). Let's stay together: relationship dissolution and sexually transmitted diseases among parenting and non-parenting adolescents. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 33, Dec 2010: 454-65.

This article examined the incidence of STI with the relationship status of postpartum young woman and the biological father of the baby. In this study, 295 parenting and non-parenting adolescents were studied over an 18-month period. The results demonstrated that parenting adolescents who ended their relationship with their baby's father were 3 times more likely to get an STD over the course of the study compared to parenting adolescents who remained with their baby's father

Article 3

Wheeler, R. (2011). Postpartum Sexually Transmitted Disease Refining Our Understanding of the Population at Risk Yale University, UMI Dissertations, 2011, 1505365.

The researchers developed a study to assess STD incidence during and after pregnancy and to determine risk factors associated with postpartum STD infections among mothers in their teens and early 20s. For this analysis, they included 848 women who were less than 24 weeks pregnant, ages 14 to 25. A total of 27.1% of participants were diagnosed with an STD within one year postpartum. Among those who were diagnosed with an STD during pregnancy, 43.4% also contracted an STD during the postpartum period. By comparison, 18.7% of participants with no history of infection and 24% of women who had a history of STDs before pregnancy contracted one postpartum.

Wheeler (2011) presents the best research for my specific topic. My hypothesis suggests that high rates of postpartum STI infections may be reduced using pregnancy as window of prevention. This article gives some solid facts to base my research upon. The conclusions in this article give clear relationships to pertinent information that is needed to build my case.