Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with behavioral health challenges and high school dropout, and behavioral health is associated with high school dropout. Less is known about the role of behavioral health challenges in the relationship between ACEs and high school dropout. Methods: Using data from the Panel Study of…

Adolescence is a period of growth, independence, and exploration, with increased curiosity and risk-taking behaviors (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2021b). Evidence has shown an increase in mental health concerns during adolescence, including suicidal behaviors (CDC, 2023b; Plemmons et al., 2018; Yard et al., 2021), as well as…

Comprehensive programmes to help reduce substance misuse/mental illness in youth should combine Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT). EMPATHY, an SBIRT programme, was part of a school-based prevention initiative to reduce symptoms of substance misuse in youth in Grades 6-12, along with reducing symptoms of depression,…

School mass shootings have been increasing, leading to the need to better understand how exposure to these events affects high school and college students' academic performance, psychosocial functioning, and mental health. With a greater understanding of these effects, results can be used to inform the contemporary literature on the psychological…

This investigation tested the internal structure of scores on the Mental Distress Response Scale (MDRS), a peer-to-peer mental health support screening tool, with a national sample of 237 adolescents from 111 high schools in 30 states. Results revealed psychometric support for the scores on the MDRS and demographic differences in students'…

The closure of schools, social hubs, and extracurricular activities due to lockdown measures imposed to curb the spread of SARS-CoV-2, has increased the risk factors for students' mental health. This cross-sectional study, conducted from March 2020 to March 2021, aimed to estimate socio-emotional, cognitive, and affective disorders and substance…

Adolescent suicide is a critical problem in the United States. Identification and reporting of warning signs is a suicide prevention practice that is particularly important in schools, where adolescents spend the majority of their time. Though it is necessary to consider both risk factors and warning signs when evaluating an individual's suicide…

Background: Adolescents' school engagement, mental health, and substance use have been major concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly given disruptions to school instruction. We examined how the instructional setting was associated with academic and health-related outcomes within an adolescent cohort followed during the pandemic.…

Background: Adolescent substance use is often associated with concurrent mental health problems (e.g., depression, suicide attempts, parental emotional and physical abuse, not feeling close to people at school, and lower virtual connectedness) at multiple ecological levels. Objective: This study examined whether such risk factors among adolescents…

The "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report" ("MMWR") series of publications is published by the Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Articles included in this supplement are: (1) Overview and Methodology of the Adolescent Behaviors and…

Although adolescent females with asthma are at increased risk for bullying, relationships between bullying at school and electronic bullying and demographics, mental health issues, and substance use have not specifically been studied in these young women. The purpose of this research was to examine such relationships among adolescent females with…

High school is a time of changes in adolescents' physical, psychological, social, and sexual development, often resulting in stress and anxiety. Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to mental health problems. Yoga is an Indian discipline practiced globally for health and relaxation. School-based yoga programs are becoming increasingly common…

Latino(a) (also called "Latinx") are the fastest growing ethnic population in the U.S.; however, there is a dearth of literature that examines intracultural bullying behaviors and their association with mental health and substance use for this population. The current study uses a person-centered approach to examine bully perpetration…

Nearly all states and the District of Columbia have policies requiring schools to address prevention of alcohol or drug use and abuse in high school health education curricula, according to National Association of State Boards of Education's (NASBE's) State Health Policy Database. But with the added concerns about the pandemic's impact on youth…

This article investigates the role of socioeconomic family resources in modifying the relationships with upper secondary school completion (SSC) for three mental health dimensions, i.e., externalizing, internalizing and substance use disorders. Using data from administrative registers, we follow a cohort in Norway born in 1996 into early…