Risky behaviors (substance abuse, obesity, suicide, bullying, and others), many of which are indeed preventable, are common among high school students. The most important task in detecting, preventing, and intervening in risky behaviors in schools falls to the school guidance service and school psychological counselor. The main objective of this…

Objective: This study examined psychosocial distress and substance use in young adults with asthma (A), obesity (O), comorbid asthma and obesity (AO), or neither (controls). Participants: Eight hundred eighty-one young adults were included in the A, O, AO, or control group. Methods: ANCOVA and logistic regression analyses were performed to compare…

This article aims to investigate to what extent health care professionals in Portugal find health-related behaviors relevant as a criterion to priority setting, to study what type of risk behavior they consider relevant in such decisions and to compare their views with those of laypersons. An online questionnaire was used to collect data from a…

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the three articles included in a special focus of "Drugs: Education, Prevention, and Policy" that address environmental change strategies targeting drug abuse prevention. We define environmental change strategies and their effectiveness in public health domains such as alcohol abuse, smoking, and…

Objectives: To examine how tobacco use and depression/anxiety disorders are related to disturbed sleep in college students. Participants: 85,138 undergraduate respondents (66.3% female, 74.5% white, non-Hispanic, ages 18-25) from the Spring 2011 American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment II database. Methods:…

Objective: This study investigated associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACE) prior to age 18 years and multiple health behaviors (eg, cigarette and other substance use) and outcomes (eg, obesity, depression) for a large college sample. Participants: 2,969 college students from seven universities in the state of Georgia were included…

The objective of this study was to describe the relationship between stress, weight-related health risk behaviors (e.g., eating behaviors, physical activity, sedentary behavior, sleep, cigarette smoking, and binge drinking), and weight status using cross-sectional data on 2-year community college students enrolled in a randomized controlled weight…

Bullying needs to be understood and positioned as a form of child abuse -- peer abuse. For too many people, bullying is a benign term. This article will include information collected from a wide-range of researchers and discussions with over 50,000 students that I have facilitated during the past twenty years. The content will focus on new…

Both substance use and obesity are prevalent among youth. As youth age, substance use rates increase and over the past three decades, obesity rates among youth have tripled. While these two factors have both short- and long-term health impacts, little research has explored how substance use and obesity among youth may be related. This study…

Existing research suggests that religious institutions play a significant role in improving the health of communities, particularly those coping with racial and ethnic discrimination. Using the California Health Interview Survey, this article examines the relationship of self-reported experiences of racial/ethnic discrimination, worship…

Disordered eating behaviors and substance use are two risk factors for the development of serious psychopathology and health concerns in adulthood. Despite the negative outcomes associated with these risky behaviors, few studies have examined potential associations between these risk factors as they occur during adolescence. The importance of…

Starting to be implemented as of the 1960s, early intervention programs are frequently employed at the present time. Researchers develop and implement early intervention programs in various subjects and areas. These programs may be family-based, school-based, community-based, or a combination of them. This study aimed at comparing the early…

Liliana Escobar-Chaves and Craig Anderson investigate two important trends among American youth and examine the extent to which the two trends might be related. First, the authors note that U.S. youth are spending increasing amounts of time using electronic media, with the average American youngster now spending one-third of each day with some…

Objective: To explore associations between alcohol, alcohol-related eating, and weight-related health indicators. Methods: Cross-sectional, multivariate regression of weight behaviors, binge drinking, and alcohol-related eating, using self-reported student survey data (n = 3206 undergraduates/graduates). Results: Binge drinking was associated with…

Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between self-reported mental health and binge drinking, as well as health status, sociodemographic, social support, economic resource, and health care access indicators to antihypertension medication adherence. Method: Analysis of 2003 California Health Interview Survey data. Results: Having poor mental…