Regarding the article by Christopherson and Jordan-Marsh, "Culture and risk taking in adolescents' behaviors" in MCN, March/April 2004, 29(2): I am a care provider for pregnant adolescents and found the information interesting and pertinent. The section on sexual behaviors discussed abstinence-based programs and included a reference from the Consortium of State Physicians Resource Councils. I followed up this reference and found a Web site dedicated to abstinence-based programs; however, the referenced material was a press release from this group. There is no mention of how the information was gathered, where the information was published, and certainly no peer-review process for the information. I do not feel this information is useful to those of us genuinely interested in changing the behaviors of adolescents and has no place in a scholarly review. Another reference was cited in the text (Guttmacher), but it was not included in the reference list.

Jackie Tillett, CNM, ND

Director, Aurora UW, Midwifery Center