This occasional paper presents national demographic subgroup data for the 1975-2022 Monitoring the Future (MTF) national survey results on 8th, 10th, and 12th graders' use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. The study covers all major classes of illicit and licit psychoactive drugs for an array of population subgroups. The 2020 subgroup data presented…

The paper is a reflective narrative of engaging two school students aged 13-16 as advisors in participatory research in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 crisis. It outlines different ways to facilitate the active engagement of children and young people and include their voices in research. The authors also discuss the benefits and methodological and…

Monitoring the Future (MTF) is a long-term study of substance use and related factors among U.S. adolescents, college students, and adult high school graduates through age 60. It is conducted annually and supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. MTF findings identify emerging substance use problems, track substance use trends, and inform…

This occasional paper presents national demographic subgroup data for the 1975-2019 Monitoring the Future (MTF) national survey results on 8th, 10th, and 12th graders' use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. The 2018 subgroup data presented in this report accompany the "Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use: 1975-2019:…

A systematic review was conducted on the role of substance use initiation in subsequent use and substance-related problems among adolescents. Specifically, we examine previous studies to identify whether age of onset predicts subsequent levels of misuse; we also posit reasons for this association that have been suggested within the literature. In…

The Montana Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is administered by the Montana Office of Public Instruction every two years to students in grades 7 through 12. The purpose of the survey is to help monitor the prevalence of behaviors that not only influence youth health, but also put youth at risk for the most significant health and social problems…

The "High School Puente Program" aims to help disadvantaged students graduate from high school, become college eligible, and enroll in four-year colleges and universities. Interdisciplinary in approach, the program has three components: writing, counseling, and mentoring. Students in the ninth and tenth grades receive rigorous writing…

Alternative education programs are one way of responding to the disengagement of young people from mainstream schools. While there are a great variety of programs, those where young people experience success have incorporated a number of elements of best practice (Mills & McGregor 2010). This article reviews the attributes of effective…

This study examined two potential developmental pathways through which the temperament risk factor of negative emotionality (NE) leads to prospective increases in depressive symptoms through the mediating role of stressors and anxious symptoms in a sample of early to middle adolescents (N = 350, 6th-10th graders). The primary hypothesized model…

Studies of when youth classify academic achievement in racial terms have focused on the racial classification of behaviors and individuals. However, institutions--including schools--may also be racially classified. Drawing on a comparative interview study, we examine the school contexts that prompt urban black students to classify schools in…

Thin-ideal (or media) internalization is an important eating disorder risk factor that has become a central target of many prevention programs. However, evidence for its valid assessment in young, mixed-gender, adolescent samples is limited, and the current study is the first to explore the psychometric properties of the 30-item Sociocultural…

The Montana Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is administered by the Montana Office of Public Instruction every two years to students in grades 7 through 12. The purpose of the survey is to help monitor the prevalence of behaviors that not only influence youth health, but also put youth at risk for the most significant health and social problems…

The current study examined the curvilinear links between involvement in organized activities (OA) and sport activities specifically and various indicators of psychological and social development. Participants included 150 9th and 10th graders (57% females) from an urban, selective-enrollment high school. Eligibility for admission is based on city…

The authors examined the effect of Grade 7 parental styles on Grade 10 religious values. The authors surveyed 784 participants (382 boys, 394 girls; 8 unreported) in Grade 7. The mean age of the group at Time 1 was 12.3 years (SD = 0.5 years). Time 2 occurred 3 years later when students were in Grade 10 (372 boys, 375 girls). In addition to…

Bullying in schools has received increasing attention since its implication in a number of school-based shooting incidents. A number of protective factors have been identified as reducing risk behaviors such as substance abuse among adolescents. This framework, however, has not been examined with respect to bullying victims. The results of a…