Extant research on the education of Black girls primarily focuses on urban settings, distances study participants from the outcomes of the research, and positions Black girls as problems to be solved, rather than as critical and sociopolitical actors and agents of change. This qualitative case study enacts a humanizing research approach in…

Background: The Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS) is administered biennially to adolescents; it covers knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors about risk and protective factors. Purpose: This study explored 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students' attitudes and beliefs about current trends regarding drugs, alcohol, and mental health. Methods: We asked…

Although studies have identified risk factors for adolescent handgun carrying, previous research on risk factors for carrying a handgun to school specifically is sparse. This study examines self-report data from 122,840 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students from 426 schools across Arizona, from three survey administrations (2014, 2016, and 2018). In…

Thirty years ago we would think nothing of driving to school with a jackknife in our pocket or rifle in the gun rack. Since then, the practices of possessing, transporting, and using firearms have been limited by laws, rules, and public perception. Despite restrictions on youth, the Youth Handgun Safety Act does afford 4-H shooting sports members…

Although much is known about health-risk behaviors of adolescents, less is known about their health-promoting behaviors. The purpose of this analysis was to compare health-promoting behaviors in adolescents in Grades 9-12 by gender and ethnicity and explore how these behaviors changed over time. Data were collected from 878 rural adolescents…

Communities are critical arenas for adolescent development. This study uses mixed methods to assess contextual correlates to community connectedness in 8th, 10th, and 12th grade youth. The survey examined the relationship between community connectedness and four developmental supports: safety, community monitoring, creative outlets, and meaningful…

This study investigated tenth- and twelfth-grade adolescents' ( N = 264) beliefs about homosexuality, their attitudes about gay and lesbian peers in school, and their evaluations of the treatment of gay, lesbian, and gender non-conforming peers. The results revealed differences in adolescents' beliefs about homosexuality and their attitudes toward…

A growing body of research shows school connectedness to be a powerful predictor of adolescent health and academic outcomes. This study advances a theoretically grounded definition of school connectedness and triangulates qualitative and quantitative methods to assess contextual correlates to school connectedness in 8th, 10th, and 12th grade…