Investigated knowledge, attitudes, and training needs of professionals working with adolescents who deliberately self-harm (DSH). Over three-quarters of participants were unaware that homosexual males and those who had been sexually abused are at greater risk of DSH; one-third were unaware adolescents who self-harm are at increased risk of…

Examined 100 adolescents over a three-year period to study their characteristics following an episode of deliberate self-harm (DSH). Findings show that the referral rate for black adolescents reflected the community's composition. The characteristics of black, and white adolescents who were referred following DSH possessed similar background…

The psychometric properties and validity of the Reasons for Living (RFL) Inventory were examined among psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents (N=253) identified as suicide ideators, suicide attempters, and psychiatric controls. Factor analysis provided support for RFL for clinical and research assessment while producing slightly different…

Reports on studies that traced a group of successful people who had grown up in care. Subgroup of high achievers participated in a more intensive study. A risk-and-resilience framework was used to identify the protective factors that enabled this group to achieve a life trajectory that differed from their siblings and peers. Success in education…

Compares relationships in adoptive and non-adoptive families (N=253) containing late-adolescents and examines family member roles in preventing adolescents' psychosocial risk. Results suggest a different relational configuration between family types. The father/child relationship and the mother/child relationship play different roles in preventing…

Using a socio-ecological perspective, examines the influences of adolescents' social networks, personal resources, and environmental risks on adolescents' behavior problems across three samples of youth (N=155). Findings show that social support can operate as a protective agent or as a risk factor, depending on other characteristics of subsystems…

Explores the relationship between antisocial behavior and social resources in a two-year longitudinal study of 100 high-risk adolescents (N=146) in a residential foster care facility. Risk factors and protective functions of variables are discussed, along with theoretical implications and methodological problems. (EMK)

There is a paucity of test-retest reliability data for adolescent self-reports of a wide range of risk behaviours. Grade 8 and 11 Students (N=358) completed a questionnaire on two occasions between 10 and 14 days apart. It included items about use of various substances, violent behaviour, suicidality, and sexuality. Cohen's kappa was almost…

We screened a sample of 259 female students, aged 17-20 years old, by means of the Eating Disorder Inventory 2 (EDI 2) and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). Those students identified to be at risk for an eating disorder underwent a semi-structured interview to provide a diagnosis according to DSM-IV criteria. We also considered the…

Supplied free condoms and health information to youth in Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) prevention effort. Evaluations by young people (N=616) and social workers (N=41) indicated that young were well informed about AIDS and its prevention but at risk in regard to spread of AIDS. (Author/PVV)

Investigated relationship between sexual risk taking and attitudes toward Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) precautions among Australian nonvirgin college students (n=1,006). Results showed that, although in general young women showed more positive attitudes to AIDS precautions than young men, it was only among young women that negative…

Adolescents' health-endangering behaviours receive attention because they are presumed to threaten the health of individuals in either the short or long term. The present study examined the role of psychosocial determinants on adolescents' health-endangering behaviours using elements of a biopsychosocial model proposed by Irwin and Millstein…

Rates of adolescent smoking appear to be on the increase, with a number of authors documenting increases in the 1990's. However, the issue of prevention rather than cessation has received greater attention in tobacco control programmes among youth. This review provides details of published school based and other tobacco cessation programmes for…

Methodological issues related to administering suicidal screening measures to children and adolescents are examined. Risk and comparison groups were formed within a longitudinal investigation of offspring of depressed and well mothers. Assessments were made four times for two siblings from each family. Patterns of reporting are discussed.…

This paper reports on a study of heterosexual adolescent dating violence among secondary school students in a South African community. Approximately half of the surveyed males, and just over half of the surveyed females reported involvement in a physically violent dating relationship either as a perpetrator and/or victim. The study found…