This study examines the relationship between dating violence, forced sexual intercourse (FSI), and four measures of sexual risk taking (i.e., age at first sex, number of recent (within the last three months) sex partners, alcohol/drug use at last sex, and condom use at last sex) among a sample of 1124 ethnically diverse sexually active adolescents…

Travelers are a migratory subgroup of homeless youth who may be especially prone to engaging in risky behavior. This study compared the substance use and sexual behavior of young homeless travelers and non-travelers to evaluate the extent and possible sources of travelers' increased risk. Data came from face-to-face interviews with 419 homeless…

Objective: High rates of substance-use disorders (SUD) have been found in samples of adolescents and adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Predictors of SUD in children with ADHD who are at risk for the development of SUDs remain understudied. The main aims of this study were to identify clinically meaningful characteristics…

Hispanic youth are at risk for experiencing depressive symptoms and smoking cigarettes, and risk for depressive symptoms and cigarette use increase as Hispanic youth acculturate to U.S. culture. The mechanism by which acculturation leads to symptoms of depression and cigarette smoking is not well understood. The present study examined whether…

Introduction: ADHD has a high comorbidity with substance use disorders (SUD). Both diseases have profound social, psychological, and economic consequences and are therefore highly relevant for health systems. The high comorbidity indicates some shared underlying neurobiological substrates. Knowing these substrates may increase the understanding of…

The causes and contexts of food insecurity among children in the U.S. are poorly understood because the prevalence of food insecurity at the "child" level is low compared to the prevalence of "household" food insecurity. In addition, caregivers may be reluctant to admit their children may not be getting enough food due to shame…

Youth suicide is a public health issue and the second leading cause of death for young Iowans ages 15 to 24 years, with young males six times more likely to die than their female peers (Iowa Department of Public Health, 2009). Suicide among adolescents is a complex issue, but there are patterns of individual, family, school, and community…

This article describes a model designed to engage very high-risk pregnant and parenting young mothers who are not traditionally served by home visiting or other young parent programs. These disengaged young mothers do not live in stable environments: they are street or gang involved, in danger of dropping out of school or have already dropped out,…

Background: Parental emotional neglect is linked to psychiatric disorder. This study explores the associations between children's perceptions of parental emotional neglect and future psychopathology. Methods: In a school-based longitudinal study of nearly 1,700 children aged 11-15 we explored children's perceptions of parenting, as measured by the…

Due to concerns over Thai adolescent risky behaviors, effective prevention strategies are needed. Determining the role neighborhood context plays in program engagement and outcomes may inform these strategies. This study includes 170 mother-adolescent pairs (M = 13.44, SD = 0.52) in Bangkok, Thailand in a prevention program for adolescent…

Objective: There is increasing interest regarding the risk and overlap of executive function deficits (EFDs) in stable cigarette smoking and substance use disorders (SUD). Therefore, we examined whether earlier EFD was a risk factor for subsequent cigarette smoking and SUD and further explored the relationship between EFD and SUD. Method: We…

This article reports on a review of selected New York State school prevention program student case records. Methods: Data were extracted from Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) standardized Prevention Activity Summary forms. A total of 407 records from 12 high schools throughout New York State were reviewed. Results: The age…

Concern exists that youth who spend a lot of time participating in organized out-of-school activities (e.g., sports) are at-risk for poor developmental outcomes. This concern--called the over-scheduling hypothesis--has primarily been assessed in terms of adolescent adjustment. This longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of 1,115…

A study found that adolescents who recently acquired medication by buying it had the worst risk profile among all medications classes in terms of concurrent substance use and the severity of prescription misuse. It is hoped that the findings could help identify subgroups of adolescents prescription misusers who are most vulnerable to consequences…

The Strengthening At Risk and Homeless Young Mothers and Children Initiative, funded by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, aims to improve the housing, health, and development of homeless and at-risk young families. This article describes the services provided in four program sites (Pomona, CA; Antelope Valley, CA; Minneapolis, MN; and Chicago, IL)…