Polysubstance use is related to elevated risk for adverse outcomes but remains understudied among early adolescents. This study focused on a cross-sectional (N = 1568) primarily Black (79%) sample of eighth grade students living in urban communities (Mean age = 13.8, SD = 0.68) to identify subgroups based on adolescents' reports of lifetime and…

Adolescents' attitudes predict sexual behavior; therefore, attitudes are targeted in sexually transmitted infection (STI) and pregnancy prevention programs. However, attitudes and behaviors do not always align. Young adolescents who have had penile vaginal intercourse (PVI) and have attitudes supportive of PVI have two risk factors for future…

Victimization has been primarily studied within the broader peer group, leaving other potentially important contexts, such as friendship cliques, unexplored. This study examined the role of popularity in identifying protective factors that buffer against victimization within early adolescents' (N = 387) friendship cliques. Previously identified…

The purpose of our study was to investigate the potential relationships in Hispanic adolescents (n = 575) between substance use and/or risky sexual behaviors and (a) physical activity (PA) and (b) sedentary time and (c) the moderating effect of gender. PA levels and sedentary behaviors were assessed using the PA Questionnaire for Adolescents,…

This study compared bullying experiences between ethnic minority youth and Korean majority youth in South Korea, and examined whether the student-teacher relationship is associated with their bullying experiences. Participants comprised 148 ethnic minority students and 165 Korean majority students in Grades 4 to 11 in South Korea. Bivariate…

Although early sexual initiation has been linked to negative outcomes, it is unknown whether these effects are causal. In this study, we use propensity score methods to estimate the causal effect of early sexual initiation on young adult sexual risk behaviors and health outcomes using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to…

Children with low socioeconomic status and ethnic minorities experience disproportionate risk of elevated depressive symptoms. This study examines the effects of risk/protective factors for depressive symptoms among multiethnic urban preadolescents. Eighth graders (N = 463; 34% African American, 29% Hispanic, 17% White, and 20% Other/Mixed; 23%…

This study compares levels of bullying others, victimization, and aggressiveness in native Norwegian and immigrant adolescents living in Norway and shows how bullying is related to proactive and reactive aggressiveness. The sample consists of 2,938 native Norwegians (1,521 girls, 1,417 boys) and 189 immigrant adolescents (97 girls, 92 boys) in…

This study examined the longitudinal relationship of early elementary predictors to adolescent depression 7 years later. The sample consisted of 938 students who have been part of a larger longitudinal study that started in 1993. Data collected from parents, teachers, and youth self-reports on early risk factors when students were in 1st and 2nd…

Commitment and attachment to school and perception of school norms were examined in a sample of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders to determine whether bullies, victims, bully victims, and students who reported no or low levels of bullying and victimization differed in their level of bonding to school and their perceptions of standards and…