Alternative high schools serve approximately 280,000 students nationwide who are at high risk for failing or dropping out of regular high school or who have been expelled from regular high school because of illegal activity or behavioral problems. Such settings provide important opportunities for delivering health promotion education and services to these youth and young adults. However, before...

The disruptive behavior disorders are among the most prevalent youth psychiatric disorders, and they predict numerous problematic outcomes in adulthood. This study examined multiple domains of risk during early childhood and early adolescence as longitudinal predictors of disruptive behavior disorder diagnoses among adolescent males. Early adolescent risks in the domains of sociodemographic fac...

OBJECTIVES Provide an updated literature review on prevalence, measurement, and correlates of disordered eating in youth with Type 1 diabetes (T1D), present a novel theoretical risk model (i.e., The Modified Dual Pathway Model) for disordered eating in youth with T1D incorporating psychosocial and physiological risk factors, and discuss clinical implications. METHODS Literature review of prev...

PURPOSE To identify correlates of sexual risk variations among African-American adolescents, and to examine the influence of prior sexual experience on response to a HIV risk-reduction intervention. METHODS Eight hundred seventeen African-American youth aged 13 to 16 years living in and around urban public housing in Baltimore were recruited to participate in a HIV risk-reduction intervention...

Despite ongoing prevention efforts, young gay and bisexual males continue to engage in sexual behaviors that place them at disproportionately high risk for HIV infection. Parental monitoring and parent-child communication have been found to be associated with low-risk sexual behavior among heterosexual youth, but the role of family interactions for gay and bisexual male youth remains largely un...

Data from 752 Bahamian youth and their parents were analyzed to examine the relationship of youth depression with youth risk involvement, parental monitoring, and parent-youth communication. Depressed youth were older, more likely to engage in risk behaviors, and they perceived significantly lower levels of parental monitoring and higher levels of SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND PERSONALITY, 2006, 34(10), ...

OBJECTIVE In the United States, Hispanic adolescents are at elevated risk for negative outcomes related to risky sexual behavior. To evaluate potential protective factors for this group, we examined the fit of the Hispanic Paradox for sexual behavior among high-risk youth and the moderating role of parent monitoring. METHOD We enrolled 323 justice-involved Hispanic youth (73% male; mean age 1...

CONTEXT Youth assets are associated with a reduction in sexual risk behavior; however, little is known about this association among youth at high risk of engaging in unsafe behavior, such as those in one-parent households. METHODS In-home interviews were used to collect data from 1,253 inner-city teenagers and their parents. Multivariate logistic regressions were conducted separately for yout...

This review examines the descriptive epidemiology, and risk and protective factors for youth suicide and suicidal behavior. A model of youth suicidal behavior is articulated, whereby suicidal behavior ensues as a result of an interaction of socio-cultural, developmental, psychiatric, psychological, and family-environmental factors. On the basis of this review, clinical and public health approac...