New Investigator Publication from Jeffrey "Bart" Bingenheimer

Jeffrey "Bart" Bingenheimer, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor at the Milken Institute School of Public Health in the Department of Prevention and Community Health, served as lead author on a paper featured in the March 2015 issue of the journal Studies in Family Planning. The paper, "Peer Influences on Sexual Activity Among Adolescents in Ghana", is one of the first prospective studies on this topic in sub-Saharan Africa. The paper drew upon data from 1,275 adolescent girls and boys from two towns in southeastern Ghana and was co-authored by Clement Ahiadeke and Elizabeth Asante of the University of Ghana. Focal independent variables include the size and gender composition of adolescent friendship groups, adolescent's affiliation with antisocial peers and their perceived peer norms favoring adolescent sexual activity. Dependent variables include initiation of sexual activity and acquisition of multiple new partners between waves of the longitudinal study.