There are no nationally representative estimates of the prevalence of dating abuse-related stalking and harassment. We analyzed data collected from 320 twelve- to 18-year-old U.S. youth. Youth with dating experience were asked whether a dating partner had ever spied on or followed them, damaged something that belonged to them, or gone through…

Depression has been increasing rapidly and is prevalent among youth. Inadequate mental health service utilization for youth and relevant racial/ethnic disparities are a growing concern. The current study used a nationally representative database to examine racial/ethnic disparities in youth depression prevalence, mental health services…

Adolescent health has a significant influence as individuals transition to adulthood and can have lifelong effects on well-being. In addition to well-established structural determinants of health such as racism and poverty, proximal determinants of adolescent health illuminate on the health effects of the daily circumstances of adolescents. Guided…

While previous research has shown alcohol use to increase developmentally throughout adolescence, the age of alcohol initiation has rarely been incorporated into developmental trajectories. Simultaneous estimation of the effects of early alcohol initiation was made in relation to the recency and frequency of alcohol use utilizing a sample of 1,209…

Although parental monitoring often reduces youth risk behaviors, some research on bullying perpetration has found that parental monitoring deters bullying while other research has found a null effect or a positive effect. We investigated the bidirectional relationships of bullying perpetration and parental monitoring from age 11 to 18 years,…

Research suggests that youth with more financial and social resources are more likely to have access to mentorship. Conversely, the rising star hypothesis posits that youth who show promise through their individual successes are more likely to be mentored. Utilizing a nationally representative sample (N = 4,882), we tested whether demographic…

Although increasing numbers of youth are seeking help to reduce or abstain from marijuana use, little research has investigated the contextual facilitators and barriers to doing so among urban youth utilizing primary care. We qualitatively investigated contextual facilitators and barriers to marijuana reduction/abstinence in an ethnically diverse…

Adult and community support may protect against sexual experience among immigrant youth, but it remains unknown whether this support confers protection equally across immigrant generations. Drawing on data from 852 race/ethnically diverse low-income youth recruited from Boys & Girls Clubs, we used mixed effect logistic regression models to…

Rather than mitigating behavioral issues, exclusionary school disciplinary practices can actually increase student misbehavior and school dropout. However, the impact these sanctions have on students may vary based on school climate, particularly whether the environment is inclusive or punitive. Relying on a sample of over 2,000 students within 26…

Research on family contexts and adolescent sexual risk behavior has largely neglected relational aspects of sexual risk, such as having sex with strangers. The present study uses the NLSY97 to examine associations between sexually active adolescents' sex with strangers and parental monitoring, support, strictness, and household structure. More…

We integrate literature on gender and adolescent friendships to examine the association between adolescent dating violence victimization (ADVV) and relationship dissolution. In particular, we test whether ADVV increases the hazard of relationship dissolution among adolescent romances, and whether a number of friendship dynamics alter the…

Existing research on theories of intelligence shows that students with growth mindsets tend to outperform those with fixed mindsets in mathematics. We used nationally representative data to address two related questions in the general population: (a) Are there subgroup differences in the endorsement of a fixed mindset? (b) Does the negative…

Although most studies have established the importance of individual-level influences on adolescent outcomes, studies are often limited in that they do not address the effects of broader community-level factors. To address this limitation, we examined the association between community-level poverty and adolescents' academic achievement, and the…

The transition to adulthood is an underresearched topic for cross-systems youth, defined as young people who have experienced homelessness, child welfare system involvement, and educational challenges. This qualitative study explored processes of resilience in the transition to adulthood for cross-systems youth aged 18 to 24 (n = 20). Analysis of…

Theories suggest curricular tracking is linked to racial/ethnic inequality. However, prior studies largely examine cognitive outcomes like standardized test scores and neglect behavioral outcomes. They also overlook potential racial/ethnic differences "within" curricular tracks. This study asks the following questions: (a) Is curricular…