Perception of peer behaviors is an important predictor of actual risk behaviors among youth. However, we lack understanding of peer influence through social media and of actual and perceived peer behavior concordance. The purpose of this research is to document the relationship between individual perception of and actual peer sexual risk behavior using online social networks. The data are a res...

CONTEXT Considerable research has examined reciprocal relationships between parenting, peers and adolescent problem behavior; however, such studies have largely considered the influence of peers and parents separately. It is important to examine simultaneously the relationships between parental monitoring, peer risk involvement and adolescent sexual risk behavior, and whether increases in peer ...

The present study examined relations among neighborhood structural and social characteristics, parenting practices, peer group affiliations, and delinquency among a group of serious adolescent offenders. The sample of 14-18-year-old boys (N=488) was composed primarily of economically disadvantaged, ethnic-minority youth living in urban communities. The results indicate that weak neighborhood so...

This study examined the contribution of individual and family variables to depressive symptoms among youths in a family-centered culture. Participants were 262 Mexican adolescents (mean age = 15.9 years). At the individual level, gender (being female) and higher levels of perceived stressfulness of life events and ruminative coping style were correlated with higher frequency of depressive sympt...

Adolescent networks include parents, friends, and romantic partners, but research on the social learning mechanisms related to delinquency has not typically examined the characteristics of all three domains simultaneously. Analyses draw on data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (n = 957), and our analytic sample contains 51% male and 49% female as well as 69% white, 24% African-Ame...

the disposal of nuclear wastes is one of the most controversial issues faced by authorities in japan. in this regard, a survey was conducted among 172 university students to analyze the attitude towards the sitting of a nuclear waste repository in the country. the study focused on a number of variables that influenced the perception of risks before the 2011 tohoku earthquake and tsunami. result...

The past decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of youths using the Internet, especially for communicating with peers. Online activity can widen and strengthen the social networks of adolescents and emerging adults (Subrahmanyam & Smahel, 2011), but it also increases the risk of Internet addiction. Using a framework derived from Griffiths (2000a), this study examined associati...

Multisystemic treatment (MST) is a family- and home-based therapeutic approach that has been found to be effective in treating antisocial youths and that has recently been applied to youths with serious emotional disturbances. In light of the increasing dissemination of MST, this review examines the effectiveness of MST by quantifying and summarizing the magnitude of effects (treatment outcomes...

PURPOSE To assess the impact of exposure to life skills education by youth in KwaZulu-Natal Province (KZN, South Africa) on knowledge and behaviors associated with the spread of HIV/AIDS. METHODS Data come from a panel study of 2222 youth from several population subgroups in KZN. The youth were aged 14-24 years when interviewed in 1999 and 2001. The intervention was a full coverage life skill...

Short sleep duration and obesity are common health concerns in youth. This study of South Korean adolescents explores the association between the two conditions analyzing secondary data from the 2007 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey. The sample is representative of the South Korean adolescent population (N = 73,836). For data analysis, analysis of variance, chi-square test, and logist...