Although homophobic verbal victimization has been associated with negative mental health outcomes, little actually is known about its general prevalence and relationship to mental health among adolescents. In addition, the relationship of homophobic name-calling to mental health in gender non-conforming adolescents is not well understood. This…

Family is an important socialization context for youth as they move through early adolescence. A significant feature of this complex socialization context is the accumulation of potential family risk factors that may compromise youth adjustment. This study examined cumulative family risk and adolescents' adjustment difficulties in 416 two-parent…

Victims of child abuse and neglect are at an increased risk of involvement with the juvenile justice and adult correctional systems. Yet, little is known about the continuation and trajectories of offending beyond initial contact with law enforcement. Neglect likely plays a critical role in continued offending as parental monitoring, parental…

Youth suicide represents an area of important public and mental health concern. Although diagnostic correlates (e.g., depression) of suicidality have been identified, very few studies of youth have analyzed relationships between empirically-derived dimensions of psychopathology, representing broader dimensions of risk, and different suicidality…

Hispanic youth are at risk for experiencing depressive symptoms and smoking cigarettes, and risk for depressive symptoms and cigarette use increase as Hispanic youth acculturate to U.S. culture. The mechanism by which acculturation leads to symptoms of depression and cigarette smoking is not well understood. The present study examined whether…

Several studies have indicated that an early onset of delinquent and problem behaviors is associated with a greater risk of subsequent behavioral and mental health problems. This study builds on that literature by examining histories of behavior problems in relation to indicators of thriving and precocious behavior during late adolescence. Using…

The present study examines prevalence and correlates of experiencing and perpetrating relational aggression in the context of young adults' romantic relationships. We assess correlates of relational aggression in four domains of risk: (1) Social-cognitive, (2) Relationship, (3) Trait/dispositional, and (4) Mental health. Results indicate that…

Community, demographic, familial, and personal risk factors of childhood depressive symptoms were examined from an ecological theoretical approach using hierarchical linear modeling. Individual-level data were collected from an ethnically diverse (73% African-American) community sample of 197 children and their parents; community-level data were…

A sample of 146 African American adolescents living in impoverished neighborhoods with high HIV rates participated in the Chicago HIV Prevention and Adolescent Mental Health Project (CHAMP), a longitudinal study of adolescent HIV risk exposure. The current study examined self-reported reasons why African American adolescents may participate in…

Studies indicate that African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Latino youth have higher rates of unmet mental health needs and lower rates of mental health service utilization compared to non-Hispanic White youth, suggesting that obstacles may exist in the help-seeking and service utilization pathway for minority youth. Parental cultural…

This research examined the "mental health literacy" of adolescents concerning eating-disordered behavior. A vignette describing a fictional 16-year old female meeting diagnostic criteria for bulimia nervosa was presented to 522 female high school students, followed by a series of questions concerning treatment of and treatment-seeking…

Whether athletes in sports that emphasize leanness differ from athletes in other sports with regard to eating attitudes and disposition toward eating disorders was studied for 104 female and 87 male postsecondary level athletes. Results indicate that different groups of athletes may be at different risks of eating disorders. (SLD)