OBJECTIVES We measured the impact of dental diseases on the academic performance of disadvantaged children by sociodemographic characteristics and access to care determinants METHODS We performed clinical dental examinations on 1495 disadvantaged elementary and high school students from Los Angeles County public schools. We matched data with academic achievement and attendance data provided b...

This study examined the availability of free drinking water during lunchtime in US public schools, as required by federal legislation beginning in the 2011-2012 school year. Data were collected by mail-back surveys in nationally representative samples of US public elementary, middle, and high schools from 2009-2010 to 2011-2012. Overall, 86.4%, 87.4%, and 89.4% of students attended elementary, ...

The present longitudinal study described developmental patterns of perceived psychological need satisfaction (PNS) from the end of elementary school to the end of high school and their contribution to school adjustment at the end of high school. The first goal thus consisted in estimating whether developmental trajectories of perceived PNS were homogeneous (i.e., all students reported similar d...

beliefs. Concrete attitudes are grounded in people’s material realities and in the forces of race, ethnicity, and social class that shape their experiences. Adolescents’ concrete attitudes, then, are expressions of their lived cultures—cultures produced in ongoing interactions with other societal institutions on terrains wherein class, race, and gender meanings and conflicts are lived out. Conc...

Head lice prevalence varies greatly between and within countries, and more knowledge is needed to approach causes of this variation. In the present study, we investigated head lice prevalence among elementary school students and their households in relation to individual and household characteristics as well as spatial variables. The investigation included households from 5 geographically separ...

INTRODUCTION School physical education (PE) has been identified as a critical public health tool to increase physical activity among youths. We sought to objectively assess compliance with PE quantity mandates and quality recommendations in a large urban California school district. METHODS We collected PE schedules and systematically observed PE lessons (n=154) in 20 elementary, 4 middle, and...

Previous research about school toilets is based on studies of children in elementary school. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore the experiences when using the school toilets reported by students aged 16-18 years. Qualitative interviews with 21 students were conducted and analyzed using content analysis. The data revealed that the toilets were considered insecure, dirty, and unpleasant. ...

OBJECTIVE Sleep deprivation among teens is a major health issue. Only 15% of teens get 8.5 h of sleep on school nights. Sleep deprivation can lead to poor grades, sleepiness and moodiness. We undertook a study to assess the prevalence of sleep habit disturbance among elementary school students in South Texas with Hispanic ethnicity predominance. We also found how much a video based on sleep edu...

PURPOSE Low socioeconomic status is an important risk factor for child psychiatric problems. Low socioeconomic status is also associated with psychiatric problems later in life. We investigated the effects of group bullying on clinical characteristics and psychopathology in elementary school students using child-welfare facilities. METHODS Three hundred and fifty-eight elementary school stude...