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)

Compared 24 incarcerated juvenile offenders and 24 nonoffending adolescents on Revised Behavior Problem Checklist (RBPC). Offenders scored higher (indicating more psychopathology) on RBPC subscales which represent externalizing types of problems. Offenders also scored significantly higher on subscales reflecting internalizing problems and…

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…

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…

Investigates rural and urban adolescents' perceptions of mental health. Provides insight into rural and urban students' perceptions of problematic behaviors, who should intervene, and how. Recommends that health care providers help adolescents expand their range of coping behaviors, especially in regard to alcohol abuse and violence. (Author/GCP)

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)

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…

Charts the phases of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance, and hope in a rural work-study program for disadvantaged youth that lost its funding. An overview of national studies and reports on client terminations and program terminations is outlined. Closure-oriented tasks for the practitioner and implications for program…

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.…

Examined whether depressed adolescent mothers experienced more psychosocial stressors than did nondepressed mothers and which stressors best predict maternal depression. Findings from 154 adolescent mothers revealed that depressed mothers consistently reported more problems in most areas of psychosocial functioning. Best predictors of maternal…

Investigates the effects of a unit of instruction in mental health on rural adolescents' conceptions of mental illness and their attitudes about seeking professional help for emotional problems. Results indicate that attitudes and conceptions improved and had not deteriorated significantly 12 weeks later. (Author/MKA)