Analyzes assessment forms of 670 South African adolescents referred over four years to an adolescent psychiatric unit to establish how they entered mental-health care. Examines referral sources and appropriateness of referral. Although the majority of referral came from non-mental-health trained sources, the referrals were clinically appropriate.…

The perceived mental health needs of adolescents were measured by questionnaire to groups of teenagers, parents, community child guidance personnel, self-help groups, police and court related people, school personnel, mental health administrators and area board members. (Author)

The number of adolescent firesetters increases every year; therefore it is essential that mental health professionals be aware of the characteristics of firesetters. Describes the individual and environmental factors that relate to the etiology and levels of firesetting. Specifically, discusses the different types of firesetters and their…

Profiles characteristics of adolescent suicide attempters (N=27) and the treatment they received in a pediatric emergency room. Results demonstrated that the evaluation of suicidal adolescents cared for in a pediatric facility may be episodic. Suggests need for comprehensive program to approach the problem. (Author/ABL)

Provides information on mental health of Mexican-American adolescents, with emphasis on prevalence of mental health disorders, service delivery, and utilization. Outlines agenda for research on this group. Topics include epidemiology of mental health disorders (stressing longitudinal studies, service delivery, and utilization); developmental…

Authors attempted to describe a two year experience in developing an adolescent program with strong community ties. (Author/RK)

The construct of peer pressure was examined as part of a qualitative study of the determinants of mental health for 41 high-risk adolescents. While the concept of peer pressure enables adults to explain youths' troubling behaviors, content analysis of the participants' accounts of their lives reveals peer pressure to be a myth. (Author/MKA)

Authors explore the feasibility of camping programs for incorporation into the state hospital system of Texas. (CB)

Makes general observations about youth services in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, The Netherlands, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. Specific reference is made to nontraditional outpatient, youth advisory services attempting to reach youth alienated from traditional mental health services. (Author/RH)

Examined characteristics of 56 male street children in Colombia through participant observation and standardized psychological test scores. Data indicated that subjects' mental health was adequate. Two different styles of street life were found--gamines (those who chose to leave home) and chupagruesos (those who were abandoned). Found that…

Contrasts the experiences of most adolescents during social and psychological development with the special challenges faced by those developing an awareness of their homosexuality. Emphasis is placed upon the interplay between societal prejudices and discrimination toward homosexuality and personal development and risk-taking behavior in gay…

Reports on a study that explored adolescent women's (N=1,025) emotional problems, suicidal behavior, and the frequency and type of sexual assault they experienced in school. Results indicate that 23% of women suffered at least one assault. A correlation emerged between number of assaults and measures of emotional disorder. (RJM)

Article discussed the increasing concern felt by physicians with the too often hasty and unwarranted hospitalization of the young adolescent in the turmoil of the normative crisis of adolescence. (Author/RK)

This essay reviews the universal physical, sociocultural, and metapsychologic needs of human beings as manifested in adolescents, the circumstances that interfere with the satisfaction of their needs, diagnosis of the resulting clinical aberrations, and the ethnic, sociocultural, and other vectors that influence seven vectors of effective therapy.…