Background: There is limited evidence addressing the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on adolescent sexual risk behaviors and pregnancy. In this study, we examined whether individual and cumulative ACEs increased the risk of unhealthy sexual behaviors and adolescent pregnancy. To inform intervention efforts, potential mediating…

Black and Latino adolescent boys and young men from low-income communities face numerous perceived and actual barriers to achieving their postsecondary educational goals. To advocate for more precise interventions, this study investigated how black and Latino eleventh grade boys' college ambitions were shaped by their school's college-going…

This study compared bullying experiences between ethnic minority youth and Korean majority youth in South Korea, and examined whether the student-teacher relationship is associated with their bullying experiences. Participants comprised 148 ethnic minority students and 165 Korean majority students in Grades 4 to 11 in South Korea. Bivariate…

Although early sexual initiation has been linked to negative outcomes, it is unknown whether these effects are causal. In this study, we use propensity score methods to estimate the causal effect of early sexual initiation on young adult sexual risk behaviors and health outcomes using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to…

The voices of school children who are orphaned and vulnerable are more often than not missing from conversations about their care and support at school. In a rural ecology this is even more so the case. This article draws on a study with school children in rural KwaZulu-Natal and explores their constructions of care and support in the age of HIV…

The Montana Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is administered by the Montana Office of Public Instruction every two years to students in grades 7 through 12. The purpose of the survey is to help monitor the prevalence of behaviors that not only influence youth health, but also put youth at risk for the most significant health and social problems…

Introduction: Based on internal and external assets, the positive youth development approach aims to increase the capacity among adolescents to overcome challenges as they transition to adulthood. Developmental assets have been found to be positively associated with academic achievement, a variety of health promoting behaviors, and improved…