Substance abuse in adolescents has been recognized as a public health problem at the national and global levels. Adolescents are at risk for experimenting with substances. School nurses in secondary schools are well positioned to screen and counsel students on substance use. In this project, school nurses' self-efficacy levels increased in using…

Teachers' attributions of student behavior are associated with the decisions they make about how to respond to behavior problems and support their students. This exploratory study investigates teachers' attributions of student externalizing behavior, how attributions vary as a function of teacher and school characteristics, and the association of…

Background: Transgender adolescents are at increased risk for negative sexual health outcomes compared to their cisgender peers. Methods: Using data from 10,231 students from 7 high schools in a large, urban school district, our analysis compared sexual behaviors, referral to sexual health services by school staff, and use of sexual health…

It is unknown how health services staff (school nurse or school physician) or school characteristics are associated with the number of services provided for chronic health conditions in schools. Using data from the 2014 School Health Policies and Practices Study, four services (identification or school-based management, tracking, case management,…

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of an online virtual human role-play simulation in teaching high school educators and staff to identify, talk to, and if necessary, refer students in psychological distress to support services. High school educators (N = 31,144) from 43 US states and 5 American territories completed a baseline…

The social emotional and mental health of students play a vital role in the academic, behavioral, and social emotional learning of students in school. The Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) framework is recognized to be an effective mental health framework. The current study provided a summative evaluation of the status of mental health…

Background: Adolescent substance use is associated with chronic health conditions, accidents, injury, and school-related problems, including dropping out. Schools have the potential to provide students with substance use prevention and intervention services, albeit with confidentiality challenges. School-based health centers (SBHCs) provide…

Schools function as the major provider of mental health services (MHS) for youth, but can struggle with engaging them in services. School nurses are well-positioned to facilitate referrals for MHS. This pilot study examined the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of an engagement protocol (EP) designed to enhance school nurses'…

Early detection of mental health problems in school-age children offers the opportunity for prompt referral to treatment which is critical to their success in school. School nurses are in a key position to screen for mental health issues in the school setting. This article discusses how school nurses began a new initiative to use two validated…

This article describes the collective efforts educators and multiple community partners are taking to transform one alternative urban high school into a full-service community school. The article presents preliminary findings on the opportunities for bridging social capital that the full-service initiative has created and the impacts such…

Given the prevalence of mental health difficulties among children and adolescents, schools have become a suitable context for providing psychological services to those who may otherwise go untreated. The co-occurrence of mental health impairments and academic problems has been widely cited, and many school mental health (SMH) programmes have begun…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of different policies on access to hormonal contraception and pregnancy rates at two high school-based clinics. Methods: Two clinics in high schools (Schools A and B), located in a large urban district in the southwest US, provide primary medical care to enrolled students with parental…

Objective: Despite increased interest in screening adolescents for mental health problems and suicide risk, little is known regarding the extent to which youth are identified and connected with appropriate services. Method: Between 2005 and 2009, a total of 4,509 ninth-grade students were offered screening. We reviewed the records of the 2,488…

Objective: We sought to examine follow-up service use by students identified at risk for suicidal behavior in a school-based screening program and assess barriers to seeking services as perceived by youths and parents. Method: We conducted a longitudinal study of 317 at-risk youths identified by a school-based suicide screening in six high schools…