Transgender individuals are disproportionately affected by HIV in the United States. Given increased risk of HIV among youth, there is a need to understand HIV risk and protective factors among transgender individuals who are 18 years and younger. Patterns of HIV testing, HIV education, and condom use have known associations with HIV outcomes…

Sexual minority youth have a higher risk of suicidal behaviors than their straight peers. Despite this alarming trend, there is limited information on how health-risk factors are systematically associated with suicidal outcomes in relation to the intersection of sex and sexual orientation identity. Data from the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey…

Objective. To examine temporal changes in the correlates of experimental and current e-cigarette use and associations with tobacco quit attempts. Method. Repeated cross-sectional analyses of data from the 2011 (n = 17,741), 2012 (n = 23,194), and 2013 (n = 16,858) National Youth Tobacco Surveys--a nationally representative sample of U.S. middle…

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends routine human papillomavirus (HPV) immunization for 11- to 12-year-old adolescents. In 2008, Louisiana required the school boards to distribute HPV vaccine information to parents or guardian of students in Grades 6 to 12. This article investigates the impact of this policy on HPV…

Adolescence is a common time for sexual initiation and information seeking about sexual health, yet little is known about how adolescents' sources of information about sex influence their sexual beliefs and behaviors. This is particularly true for Latino adolescents, whose sources of sex information and sexual behaviors are vastly understudied. A…

This article presents the results of a randomized clinical trial evaluating the eight-session "Family Eats" web-based intervention promoting healthy home food environments for African American families. African American families (n = 126) with 8- to 12-year-old children completed online baseline questionnaires and were randomized into…

There remains a persistent gap in health outcomes between wealthy and poor countries. Basic measures such as life expectancy and infant and under-five mortality remain divergent, with preventable deaths being unacceptably high, despite significant efforts to reduce these disparities. We examine the impact of empowerment, measured by Freedom…

This study investigates socioeconomic differences in patterns and trends of tobacco consumption over time among youth in India. Additionally, the distribution of tobacco use risk factors across social class was examined. The data were derived from a longitudinal study of adolescents, Project Mobilizing Youth for Tobacco Related Initiatives.…

Purpose: Despite evidence that adolescents become addicted to nicotine even after limited use, adolescents believe they can experiment with or smoke cigarettes for a few years and easily quit. The goal of this study was to examine adolescents' understanding of the definition and process of nicotine addiction using a mixed-methods approach. Method:…

Background: An environment that supports healthy eating is one factor to prevent obesity. However, little is known about postpartum teen's perceptions of their home and school environments and how this relates to dietary behaviors. Purpose: This study explores the relationship between home and school environments and dietary behaviors for…

Aggressive and weapons carrying behaviors are indicative of youth violence. The theory of planned behavior is used in the current analysis to improve our understanding of violence-related behaviors. We examine the influence of perceived behavioral control (self-control and decision making) as a part of the overall framework for understanding the…

Introduction: Group-randomized trials (GRTs) are one of the most rigorous methods for evaluating the effectiveness of group-based health risk prevention programs. Efficiently designing GRTs with a sample size that is sufficient for meeting the trial's power and precision goals while not wasting resources exceeding them requires estimates of the…

Purpose: To examine the utility of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) for explaining physical activity (PA) intention and behavior among a large population sample of overweight and obese adolescents (Alberta, Canada), using a web-based survey. Secondary objectives were to examine the mediating effects of the TPB constructs and moderating effects…

Text messaging services are becoming an increasingly popular way to provide sexual health information to teens, but little is known about who uses such services. This study assessed whether teens at a greater risk for negative sexual health outcomes use a sexual health text message service. A text message service that connects teens with sexual…

Context: School suspension may have unintended consequences in contributing to problem behaviors, including dropping out from school, substance use, and antisocial behavior. Tobacco use is an early-onset problem behavior, but prospective studies of the effects of suspension on tobacco use are lacking. Method: Longitudinal school-based survey of…