Adolescents within foster care are an often-overlooked population within reproductive health scholarship. New CUPC Faculty Affiliate Katie Combs is dedicated to improving knowledge about marginalized populations and their sexual and reproductive health attitudes, behaviors, and needs.
Katie is a Research Associate in the Program on Prevention Science in the Institute of Behavioral Science. Her focus is on health and well-being of vulnerable youth, specifically those who experience maltreatment and child welfare involvement. She also evaluates prevention and intervention programs, utilizing advanced statistical techniques such as multi-level modeling, propensity score matching, and structural equation modeling.
Combs and Dr. Jani Little (Director, Rocky Mountain Research Data Center) recently received CUPC seed funding to continue this line of inquiry. They are using the longitudinal data from the Fostering Healthy Futures for Teens (FHF-T) to further investigate trajectories of sexual and reproductive health, and to explore factors across adolescence that lead to contraceptive use and corresponding reductions in unintended pregnancy.
Recent publications:
Combs, K. M., Begun, S., Rinehart, D. J., & Taussig, H. (2018). Pregnancy and childbearing among young adults who experieced foster care. Child maltreatment, 23(2), 166-174. Link here.
Combs, K. M., Begun, S., Rinehart, D. J., & Taussig, H. (2018). Pregnancy and childbearing among young adults who experienced foster care. Child maltreatment, 23(2), 166-174. Link here.
