A study examines the long-term effects of a family process program on social and cognitive competence and aggressive and deviant behavior among rural African American adolescents. Results suggest that family processes influence the status and changes in adolescent competence and behavior, while analysis of covariant structures suggest that…

This report is part one of three volumes to be published by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) in response to the request of members of Congress to review the physical, emotional, and behavioral health status of contemporary U.S. adolescents, including adolescents in groups who might be more likely to be in special need of health-related…

This paper examines the major conflicts and stresses which surround the coming of age in rural Ireland today and which commonly contribute to mental breakdown. The study is based on ten months of participant observation in an Irish-speaking village of Southwest Kerry, combined with weekly visits to the county mental hospital. The author uses a…

Historical change in occupational and educational status projections of Texas rural Mexican American teenage boys and girls between 1967 and 1973 were examined. The study determined the nature and extent of historical change patterns occurring among these youth in reference to the following dimensions of occupational and educational status…

With the ultimate goal of articulating a research agenda, a November 1999 conference of researchers and educators examined the educational, social, and economic factors affecting rural adolescents' transition to the workforce. The first section of this white paper discusses the need to clarify research questions about adolescence to include a…

This paper describes strategies for developing drug abuse prevention programs in rural communities, based on available evidence about factors contributing to drug abuse. Comprehensive interventions to prevent drug abuse and other youth problems are needed because drug abuse is entwined with other problem behaviors and stems from a complex set of…

Surveyed all secondary school students (n=1,175) in rural county school system to assess prevalence rates of substance use for teenagers and their parents. Age, sex, and race were related to frequency and type of substance abuse. Lifestyle variables such as music preferences, sexual activity, and choice of friends also related to substance use.…

This 4-year study of 191 girls and 185 boys living in intact families in the rural Midwest examined the trajectories of life events and depressive symptoms during adolescence. Compared with boys, girls experienced a greater number of depressive symptoms after age 13. Changes in uncontrollable events were associated with increases in girls'…

This paper examines the unique characteristics of rural adolescents raised on farms. As part of a longitudinal study on rural youth development, semistructured interviews were conducted each year for 4 consecutive years with 87 adolescents from 4 rural high schools in upstate New York. This study focused on data from the 19 adolescents who resided…

In 1990, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) was completed by a random sample of 1,448 West Virginia public-school students in grades 9-12. The sample was 51 percent male and 89 percent white. About 71 percent of subjects were aged 15-17; 39 percent were in the ninth grade. The YRBS covered behaviors producing vehicle-related or other injuries,…

This paper examines rural high school students' educational and occupational expectations and their relationships to personal, educational, school, and family characteristics. Questionnaires were distributed to all 10th and 12th graders in four small rural high schools in diverse geographic regions of Ohio. Almost all of the 491 respondents were…

Little is known about preventing alcohol use by youth in rural America, and almost no rural alcohol prevention program has been evaluated. To address these deficiencies, this paper critically examines the issue of alcohol use by rural youth within a public health framework. The literature is reviewed to identify what is known about the prevalence…

Using 170 ninth-grade rural students, the study examined (1) whether modality preferences are a factor in student learning styles; (2) whether male and female students and students at different achievement levels expressed differing learning style preferences; and (3) how learning style characteristics relate to student self-concept and general…

Examined the effects of a multicomponent, four-year hearing-conservation program for farm youth. Researchers conducted pre- and postintervention hearing tests in control and intervention students. Surveys examined family hearing loss, farm work, noise exposure, and hearing-protection device (HPD) utilization. Significantly more intervention…

A survey and in-depth interviews in an isolated British coastal town examined adolescents' computer and Internet use at home and in school. Adults had ambitious, future-oriented notions about how such technologies would expand children's educational opportunities and social and spatial horizons; in contrast, adolescents actually used technology in…