Objective: The Internet represents a new and widely available forum for gambling. However, relatively few studies have examined Internet gambling in adolescents. This study sought to investigate the correlates of at-risk or problem gambling in adolescents acknowledging or denying gambling on the Internet. Method: Survey data from 2,006 Connecticut…

We examined correlates and predictive associations of tattoos and body piercings among 1,462 Colorado students in grades 9 to 12. More boys (19%) than girls (17%) reported tattoos, but more girls (42%) than boys (16%) reported piercings (earlobes not included). Older students reported more body modification. Structural equation models showed that…

A decade after Eric D. Harris and Dylan B. Klebold fatally gunned down 13 people and wounded 23 others at Columbine High School, researchers are still sifting for answers to questions raised by the elaborate and notorious attack. Books and studies being published to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the April 20, 1999, massacre at the…

Guided by Anderson's theory of the code of the street, this study explored social mechanisms linking individual-level disadvantage factors with the adoption of beliefs grounded in the code of the street and with drug trafficking and gun carrying--the co-occurring behavior shaping violence among young men in urban areas. Secondary data were…

In this case study focusing on a gifted adolescent female who took her life at the age of 18 using a firearm, the researcher investigated the personal, environmental, and cultural variables that may have contributed to her suicide. Data were collected from interviews, documents, and other artifacts, including a videotape that was a compilation of…

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) has become very prominent among adolescents in middle and high school settings. However, little research has evaluated the role of the school environment in the behaviour. This study examined whether indices of school trust and perceived safety were predictive of NSSI behaviour. Results indicate that these variables…

Increasingly influential theories hold that the "teenage brain" suffers cognitive flaws that impel risk taking. Aside from warnings by leading researchers that brain science is insufficiently advanced to yield definitive findings that teenage behaviors are internally driven, the belief that adolescents take excessive risks has been developed using…

In this study I examine the critical factors and themes that are identified as salient influencers of overt and relational aggression among youth. Sex differences and similarities associated with such adolescent perceptions are assessed. Forty-eight ethnically diverse youth between the ages of 14 and 16 years participated in sex-specific focus…

Keeping firearms at home may increase personal safety but it may also increase the risk of injury. This study uses data from three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to assess the extent to which adolescents' easy access to firearms at home increases the risk of violent offending and violent victimization. Access to…

Student victimization in schools is a major concern of educators, policymakers, administrators, parents, and students. Understanding the scope of the criminal victimization of students, as well as the factors associated with it, is an essential step in developing solutions to address the issues of school crime and violence. This report uses data…

Objective: This study searched for gender differences in filicidal offense characteristics and associated variables. Methods: In this binational register-based study all filicide perpetrators (75 mothers and 45 fathers) and their crimes in Austria and Finland 1995-2005 were examined for putative gender differences. The assessed variables were…

This study examined the extent to which violent behavior and peer victimization were associated with suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts in a nationally representative sample of 11,113 adolescents who completed the 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Boys were more likely to be involved in physical fighting and weapon carrying, whereas girls were…

Biology and the particular gun culture of the United States come together to explain the persistent and powerful attraction of American boys to both real guns and toy guns. The 1990s saw adults begin to conflate "the gun problem" with "the boy problem," sparking attempts (largely failed) to banish toy guns from homes and…

The national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) monitors priority health risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems among youth and adults in the United States. The national YRBS is conducted every two years during the spring semester and provides data representative of 9th through 12th grade…

This study aimed to describe the social, behavioural and offence characteristics of all convicted perpetrators of homicide aged 17 and under; to examine their previous contact with mental health services, and to discuss strategies for homicide prevention. An eight-year (1996-2004) sample of 363 juvenile homicide perpetrators in England and Wales…