Trends in adolescent sexual health, the relation between parenting and adolescent sexual outcomes, and adolescent sexuality interventions with a parent component are reviewed. American adolescents have higher rates of unprotected sex and sexually transmitted infections contraction than adults and nine times the teen pregnancy rate of their European counterparts. Parenting efforts are related to...

This study investigates the different roles played by protective factors and risk factors-and by particular protective and risk factors-when the concern is with accounting for adolescent problem behavior than when the concern is with accounting for adolescent pro-social behavior. The protective and risk factor literature on adolescent problem behavior reveals considerable conceptual and operati...

Compared to life in the 1950s, today's teenagers become physically mature earlier and marry later. There is a steady increase in the proportion of adolescents having sexual intercourse, and in the percentage doing so at younger ages. Moreover, almost all teens experiment with some type of sex, with largely similar patterns of sexual activity among males and females, and young people from dif...

Longitudinal neuroimaging studies demonstrate that the adolescent brain continues to mature well into the 20s. This has prompted intense interest in linking neuromaturation to maturity of judgment. Public policy is struggling to keep up with burgeoning interest in cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging. However, empirical evidence linking neurodevelopmental processes and adolescent real-world ...

Adolescent delinquency and academic underachievement are both linked with child and adolescent behavior problems. However, little is known about behavioral pathways leading to these adverse outcomes. Children's aggression, opposition, status violations, and property violations scores were collected at ages 5, 10, and 18. Delinquency and academic functioning was rated at age 18. Age 18 status vi...

A developmental theory of reckless behavior among adolescents is presented, in which sensation seeking and adolescent egocentrism are especially prominent factors. Findings from studies of automobile driving, sex without contraception, illegal drug use, and minor criminal activity are presented in evidence of this. The influence of peers is then discussed and reinterpreted in the light of sensa...

The present paper examined the prevalence and psychosocial correlates of adolescent deliberate self-harm (DSH) and suicidal behavior in a representative sample of 3,328 secondary school students in Hong Kong. With reference to the previous year, 32.7% of the students reported at least one form of DSH, 13.7% of the respondents had suicide thoughts, 4.9% devised specific suicidal plans, and 4.7% ...

The current study examines the contextual effects of community structural characteristics, as well as the mediating role of key social mechanisms, on youth suicidal behavior in Iceland. We argue that the contextual influence of community structural instability on youth suicidal behavior should be mediated by weak attachment to social norms and values (anomie), and contact with suicidal others (...

BACKGROUND The transition to adolescence is a time of increased vulnerability for risk taking and poor health, social and academic outcomes. Parents have an important role in protecting their children from these potential harms. While the effectiveness of parenting programs in reducing problem behavior has been demonstrated, it is not known if parenting programs that target families prior to th...