Public health practice involving adolescents is largely focused on preventing or delaying the initiation of risk behavior. However, given the experimental and exploratory nature of this developmental period, this is often impractical. This article focuses on behavioral transitions and the ways in which youth involved in risk behaviors shift to…

The 1996 National Youth Gang Survey was the largest of its type ever conducted, and the results are representative of the United States as a whole. Almost 5,000 law enforcement agencies were surveyed, and more than 80% of the sample responded. Agencies in all large cities, and a random sample of smaller cities were included, as were suburban…

A research project was conducted between April and December of 1998 to learn about the experiences of the sizable numbers of Latinos who live in Dakota County (Minnesota). This diverse group was studied through examining existing demographic information, conducting interviews with 45 Latino and Anglo individuals, and conducting several focus…

This document comprises a study of how inner city adolescent males who used and/or sold drugs or had been involved in other criminal activities differed from those who had not, in order to design prevention and treatment programs and policies. The study sample consisted of 387 minority male youth (96 percent Black; 4 percent Hispanic) of ninth and…