While firearm-related injuries are the leading cause of death among US children between 1-18, and account for nearly half of suicides among young people, public health experts continue to struggle in identifying efficacious mechanisms to reduce and prevent firearm access for children. Currently 4.8 million children live in a home with a loaded and…

Several agencies have emphasized the importance of establishing clear protocols or procedures to address the needs of youths who are identified as suicidal through suicide prevention programs or in emergency department settings. What constitutes optimal guidelines for developing and implementing such protocols, however, is unclear. At the request…

To date, people with intersex variations have been mainly studied via small-scale clinical research, with only a small amount of reflective commentary contributed by sociocultural scholars. This paper reports on findings from a 2015 online Australian survey of 272 people with intersex variations, which aimed to redress the gap in research on this…

Smoking and sexual risk behaviors in urban adolescent females are prevalent and problematic. Family planning clinics reach those who are at most risk. This randomized effectiveness trial evaluated a transtheoretical model (TTM)-tailored intervention to increase condom use and decrease smoking. At baseline, a total of 828 14- to 17-year-old females…

Mental disorders are diagnosable conditions characterized by changes in thinking, mood, or behavior (or some combination of these) that can cause a person to feel stressed out and impair his or her ability to function. These disorders are common in adolescence. This "Adolescent Health Highlight" presents the warning signs of mental disorders;…

Obesity and type 2 diabetes is becoming a major health problem affecting children and adolescents in the United States. This article reviews the current literature examining the association between the presence of acanthosis nigricans (AN) and risk for developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in obese children and adolescents. Ethnicity, family…

In a context where more than 1,000,000 American adolescents are processed by juvenile courts annually and approximately 160,000 are sent to residential placements, this paper examines "what works" and "what doesn't work" in reducing the criminal behavior of juvenile offenders and presents examples of government initiatives that have successfully…

As suicide attempts and self-injury remain predominant health risks among adolescents, it is increasingly important to be able to distinguish features of self-harming adolescents from those who are at risk for suicidal behaviors. The current study examined differences between groups of adolescents with varying levels of self-harmful behavior in a…

This study examined how individual, relational and environmental factors related to adolescent demand for HIV voluntary counseling and testing (VCT). A cross-sectional survey among randomly selected 16-19-year-olds in Ndola, Zambia, covered individual (e.g., HIV knowledge), environmental (e.g., distance), and relational factors (e.g., discussed…

Reduced HIV risk behavior and increased use of care and support services have been demonstrated among adults accessing HIV voluntary counseling and testing (VCT). The impact of VCT on adolescents is, however, not known. Focus group discussions were held with adolescents and parents in two South African townships to establish the perceptions of and…

Reviews "Children and Youth in Limbo: A Search for Connections," a book by Nadia Ehrlich Finkelstein. The book develops a categorical scheme for providing care to children and adolescents in families with varying degrees of commitment and permanency, and stresses the need for youths to have and maintain "roots." (MDM)

This study tested the efficacy of a school-based prevention program for reducing suicide potential among high-risk youth. A sample of 105 youth at suicide risk participated in a 3-group, repeated-measures, intervention study. All groups showed decreases in suicide risk behaviors, depression, hopelessness, stress, and anger. Increased personal…

Counselors who are working with the more complex issues of at-risk youths can enhance implementation of prevention programs by altering their roles to function within a collaborative-consultation model. Collaborative consultation is described and contrasted with more traditional consultation models, and a five-stage implementation process is…

Survey of school counselors revealed that schools with a written suicide policy incorporated more of the recommended components of suicide prevention programs than schools lacking written guidelines. Almost half the schools did not use components that are necessary to ensure a systematic and comprehensive suicide prevention program. (RJM)

Examines what researchers are beginning to understand about pathways from the experience of abuse in childhood to revictimization in adolescence and adulthood. Considers the issues of sexual development, sexual relationships, and risk factors associated with sexual abuse. Addresses the risk of revictimization in adulthood in terms of the…