Violence occurring in South African schools takes various forms and is a concern for all stakeholders. All forms of violence have negative effects, i.e. physical and psychological, educational damage and societal breakdown. The overall aim of the study reported on here was to explore the nature, causes and consequences of school violence, and then…

Homelessness threatens the well-being of over 1.3 million school children in the United States. Many more students are believed to experience homelessness each year, but they go unrecognized. This report provides new estimates of student homelessness in high school, and the experiencing accompanying it, based on data from the 2019 Youth Risk…

This booklet seeks to clarify teenagers' rights under New York State and federal law to make their own medical decisions. It is designed as an aid to teenagers and the professionals -- social workers, counselors, teachers, and medical providers -- who work with young people. Frequently, professionals can encourage communication between young…

The 2017 Annual Report summarizes data contributed to Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH) during the 2016-2017 academic year, beginning July 1, 2016 and ending on June 30, 2017. De-identified data were contributed by 147 college and university counseling centers, describing 161,014 unique college students seeking mental health treatment,…

This study examined the prevalence of and associations between specific psychiatric disorders, substance use problems, and trauma exposure in a sample of delinquent and nondelinquent adolescents. A nationally representative sample of adolescents ("n" = 3,614; "M" age = 14.5 years, "SD" = 1.7; 51% male; 71% White,…

The prevalence and risk factors associated with self-mutilation among opioid dependent cases and controls were determined, and the co-occurrence of self-mutilation and attempted suicide was examined. The prevalence of self-mutilation among cases and controls did not differ significantly (25% vs. 23%, respectively), with gender differences…

Objectives: Childhood maltreatment is a robust risk factor for poor physical and mental health. Child welfare youths represent a high-risk group, given the greater likelihood of severe or multiple types of maltreatment. This study examined the relationship between childhood maltreatment and self-compassion--a concept of positive acceptance of…

Incapacitated/drug-alcohol facilitated sexual assault (IS/DAFS) is rapidly gaining recognition as a distinct form of assault with unique public health implications. This study reports the prevalence, case characteristics, and associated health risks of IS/DAFS using a large, nationally representative sample of 1,763 adolescent girls. Results…

The author profiles the prevalence, severity, and characteristics of victimization among a group of youths with hearing loss presenting to substance abuse treatment. Intake data on 111 deaf and hard of hearing youths (42% female) were analyzed and compared with data from a weighted, gender-matched sample of hearing youths. After gender is…

Coohey's (2006) valuable research demonstrates that Child Protective Service (CPS) investigators use generally consistent criteria in determining when to charge a non-offending mother for failing to protect a child from sexual abuse. She concludes that the most reliable predictor that a formal charge of child neglect will be filed against a mother…

Academic and student affairs leaders long have acknowledged that much of students' learning takes place in cocurricular and extracurricular settings dominated by their peers. That fact has quietly grown in importance in recent years as educators, student affairs leaders, and student health officials increasingly have recognized that peers can play…

Randomly selected juvenile court records (n=190) of cases of child maltreatment found that 67 percent involved parents who were substance abusers. Specific associations were found between (1) alcohol abuse and physical maltreatment, and (2) cocaine abuse and sexual maltreatment. (Author/DB)

This report provides an analysis of recent findings on drug and alcohol use trends among girls. Data indicate that girls have caught up with boys in illicit drug and alcohol use and have actually surpassed boys in cigarette and prescription drug use. Also, more girls than boys are new users of substances. Marijuana is the illicit drug most widely…

A study of 122,824 students in grades 6, 9, and 12 found that physical and sexual abuse were associated with an increased likelihood of the use of alcohol, marijuana, and almost all other drugs. Use of multiple substances was highly elevated among abuse victims, and they reported initiating substance abuse earlier. (Author/CR)

Objective: This study examined the relationship between reported exposure to child abuse and a history of parental substance abuse (alcohol and drugs) in a community sample in Ontario, Canada. Method: The sample consisted of 8,472 respondents to the Ontario Mental Health Supplement (OHSUP), a comprehensive population survey of mental health. The…