The objective of this study was to examine differences in psychological distress, service utilization, and prescriptions for medications between adolescents with histories of family involvement with child protective services (CPS) and adolescents without such involvement. Data on 3,497 students were obtained from the 2009 cycle of the Ontario…

This study examined the relationship of instrumental and emotional aggression to bullying, victimization, and psychosocial maladjustment. It was hypothesized that both types of aggression would be associated with bullying behavior and that emotional aggression would be exclusively associated with risk of victimization and psychological…

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of an abstinence education program on sexual intercourse initiation and on possible cognitive mediators of sexual initiation for virgin seventh graders in suburban Virginia. Methods: Measures of sexual behavior and 6 mediating variables were compared at 3 time periods for program participants and a matched…

This is the first of two reports that summarize the findings from an impact evaluation of a violence prevention intervention for middle schools. This report discusses findings after 1 year of implementation. A forthcoming report will discuss the findings after 2 years and 3 years of implementation. In 2004, the U.S. Department of Education (ED)…

The current study explores whether theorized risk factors in Western countries can be used to predict school violence perpetration in an Asian cultural context. The study examines the associations between risk factors and school violence perpetration in Taiwan. Data were obtained from a nationally representative sample of 14,022 students from…

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual students (LGB) and those questioning their sexual orientation are often at great risk for negative outcomes like depression, suicidality, drug use, and school difficulties (Elliot and Kilpatrick, How to Stop Bullying, A KIDSCAPE Guide to Training, 1994; Mufoz-Plaza et al., High Sch J 85:52-63, 2002; Treadway and Yoakam,…

This study demonstrates the efficacy of Equine Assisted Counseling (EAC) by comparing EAC to classroom-based counseling. Students (n = 164) identified as being at high risk for academic and/or social failure participated in 12 weekly counseling sessions. Within-group paired sample t-test results comparing pre- and post-treatment scores for…

Analyses examined risk factors for seventh- and ninth-grade youth categorized as nonoffenders, physically violent, relationally aggressive, and both violent and relationally aggressive. Bivariate and multivariate results showed that relationally aggressive youth were elevated on most risks above levels for nonoffenders but lower than those for…

This article reports on analyses examining contextual influences on parenting with an ethnically and geographically diverse sample of parents (predominantly mothers) raising 387 children (49% ethnic minority; 51% male) in high-risk communities. Parents and children were followed longitudinally from first through tenth grades. Contextual influences…

Violence among American youth is a significant societal problem. The past decade witnessed juvenile arrests for violence, weapons, drugs, and curfew violations peak in the mid 90's. Analogous to the arrest trends for older juveniles, the arrest rate for young offenders rose 63% from 1987 until 1994 when it declined slightly. Since that time,…

The authors assessed a cohort of 2,335 students from the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area to identify predictors of violent behavior and to determine whether the predictors varied by gender. The sample was 76% White; boys and girls were equally represented. The majority lived with two parents. A measure of violent behavior collected at the end of the…

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a revised state-of-the-art drug prevention program, Project ALERT, on risk factors for drug use in mostly rural midwestern schools and communities. Fifty-five middle schools from South Dakota were randomly assigned to treatment or control conditions. Treatment-group students received 11…