OBJECTIVE Emerging evidence about optimal youth development highlights the importance of both reducing negative behavior and promoting positive behavior. In our study we tested a contextual model derived from positive youth-development theory by examining the association of family, school, and community risk and promotive factors, with several outcome indices of both positive and negative adole...

BACKGROUND Although numerous interventions have been demonstrated to reduce targeted adolescent risk behaviors for brief periods, sustained behavior changes covering multiple risk behaviors have been elusive. OBJECTIVE To determine whether a parental monitoring intervention (Informed Parents and Children Together [ImPACT]) with and without boosters can further reduce adolescent truancy, subst...

This study builds on and extends previous research on nativity variations in adolescent health and risk behavior by addressing three questions: (1) whether and how generational status and age at migration are associated with timing of sexual onset among U.S. adolescents; (2) whether and how family instability mediates associations between nativity and sexual debut; and (3) whether and how these...

BACKGROUND Research has suggested that sexual minority youth are more likely to experience a number of behavioral and health-related risk factors due to their exposure to negative attitudes and beliefs about sexual minorities. Few studies, however, have examined the prevalence of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) among sexual minority youth. With self-cutting and suicidal ideation common in middl...

Advocacy groups on both sides of the guns issue frequently point to changing personal behavior--of both parents and children--as a key element in reducing gun violence among youth. Efforts to bring about these changes range from community-based campaigns, to laws and programs that encourage parents to store their guns safely, to educational initiatives that focus on keeping young children away ...

Homeless youth are one of the most marginalized groups in our society. Many researchers identify much higher levels of various problem behaviors among these youth compared to their non-homeless peers. The current study examined the utility of social capital in predicting problem behaviors among homeless youth. Overall, the theoretically derived social capital variable significantly predicted su...

Both clinical and epidemiological literature point to elevated rates of suicidal behaviors in gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth (GLBY). Recent North American and New Zealand studies of large populations (especially the US Youth Risk Behavior Surveys from several states) indicate that gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents (males in particular) can have rates of serious suicide attempts at least ...

PURPOSE One consistent predictor of adolescents' engagement in sexual risk behavior is their belief that peers are engaging in similar behavior; however, not all youth are equally susceptible to these peer influence effects. Understanding individual differences in susceptibility to peer influence is critical to identifying adolescents at risk for negative health outcomes. The purpose of this pr...

Based conceptually on Problem Behavior Theory, Normalization Theory and theories of adolescent ethnic identity formation this study explores relationships between individual and cumulative multiple risk behaviors and suicidal ideation and behavior among mid-adolescents in three different populations in the Middle East. Data from the 2004 Health Behavior in School-Aged Children in the Middle-Eas...

abstract background: sexual behaviors of adolescents and youth are categorized as one of the main health priorities of a society because of high prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired  immunodeficiency syndrome (hiv/aids), sexually transmitted infections (stis), and unwanted pregnancies. family is an important environment that is associated with a range of social and emotional beha...