Schools take different approaches to creating and fostering a healthy and safe environment for youth. Varied approaches include setting limits for acceptable behavior, defining the consequences for breaking school rules, and the provision of services to address problem behaviors. One important issue that schools have to address is substance use…

Strong anti-bullying policies are foundational to effective bullying prevention. The Youth Bullying Prevention Act of 2012 (YBPA; DC Law L19-167) is among the most comprehensive bullying prevention policies across the United States and its territories. The law and its implementing regulations require all schools and youth-serving agencies…

As young people transition through childhood to adolescence, they often face developmental challenges that can impede their quest to become flourishing, healthy adults. While both males and females experience difficulties, there are certain risk factors to which males are more susceptible. Compared with females, males tend to be more likely to…

Despite media attention to teen sexual behavior and public concern about its consequences, the public is surprisingly ill-informed or misinformed on the subject. Yet without the facts, it is difficult to develop effective approaches to curb risky sexual behaviors and prevent teen pregnancy and STI transmission. This paper presents a true or false…

This brief discusses the signs and symptoms of alcohol and drug use and provides recommendations to assess substance use among youth in your program. It is not uncommon for adolescents to experiment with different substances such as alcohol or cigarettes, but this can lead to heavy and continued use, which is dangerous and may put their health at…

Child health and well-being are intrinsically important and also contribute to a healthy, productive adolescence and adulthood. Parents can play an important role in helping their children acquire or strengthen the behaviors, skills, attitudes, and motivation that promote physical and mental health and overall well-being in childhood, adolescence…

Over the past decade, considerable legal and policy discussion has emerged about sexual activity between young teens and older individuals. This discussion has been prompted by the growing awareness of the personal and societal costs of this activity. Sex between young teens and older individuals is linked with risky sexual behaviors that could…