Bradley Hasbro Children’s Research Center staff will present on the following topics at the 2008 National Conference on Child Health Psychology April 10-12 in Miami, Fla:

• Let’s talk about sex: parent-teen communication in Latino families (Friday, 4/11)

• Teens show improved social functioning, self-concept after weight control treatment (Friday, 4/11)

Let’s talk about sex: parent-teen communication in Latino families Embargoed for release: Friday, April 11, 2pm EST

Issues such as religion, gender roles and power in relationships appear to be very important factors within Latino families. But for Latino teenagers, how do these issues influence potentially risky behaviors that could lead to sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV" To answer these questions, Celia Lescano, Ph.D., of the Bradley Hasbro Children’s Research Center and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and colleagues designed a family-based HIV prevention intervention targeted to Latino adolescents and their parents. As part of the intervention, teens and their parents also participated in a 7-hour HIV prevention workshop – together and in separate groups – targeting issues such as condom skills, managing emotions, risky behaviors, assertiveness in sexual situations, and parent-teen communication. Researchers report that the workshops were “very well received by parents and adolescents alike,” demonstrating that family-based interventions conducted in the Latino community are feasible and acceptable. Preliminary results of the study also indicate that religion is important to Latino adolescents in the study and that they hold traditional gender role values. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that communication skills regarding various sexual topics is an integral part of a family-based HIV prevention intervention for Latinos and can be improved in a day-long workshop that focuses on parent-teen communication.

Co-authors were Larry K. Brown, Lori-Ann Lima, Aurora Paul and Gabriela Duran all of the Bradley Hasbro Children’s Research Center and Alpert Medical School.

Teens show improved social functioning, self-concept after weight control treatment Embargoed for release: Friday, April 11, 2008, 2pm EST

Teens participating in weight control interventions have significantly less social anxiety related to new situations and see themselves in a more positive light than they did before initiating treatment, according to a new study by researchers at the Bradley Hasbro Children’s Research Center. For one year, they followed more than 90 overweight adolescents between the ages of 13 and 16 participating in behavioral weight control treatment. Based on follow-up data, researchers observed a significant reduction in body mass index (BMI) over time, with teens showing continued improvement in the areas of global self-worth, physical appearance, social acceptance, and social anxiety. However, researchers were most intrigued by the apparent relationship between initial social anxiety and reduction in BMI. “This relationship seems to indicate – contrary to expectation – that initial social anxiety may actually enhance, not hinder, the weight control efforts of adolescents,” says lead author Elissa Jelalian, Ph.D.

Study co-authors were Robyn Mehlenbeck of Bradley Hasbro Children’s Research Center and The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and Chantelle Hart, Elizabeth Lloyd-Richardson, and Meghan Neill all of The Miriam Hospital.