This study evaluated the injury prevention program, Skills for Preventing Injury in Youth (SPIY) for Year 9 students (aged 13-14 years). The aim of SPIY was to reduce adolescent injury by reducing engagement in risk-taking behaviors. A randomized controlled trial was conducted and data analyzed with 32 schools, N = 2,739 students at baseline.…

Problem Statement: Aggression is defined as any kind of behavior intended to hurt others. Aggression generally arises due to the interaction between individual (e.g., social and emotional difficulties, low self-esteem, peer rejection, academic failure) and environmental (e.g., poverty, lack of family supervision, limited social support, conflicts…

Substance use among youth is a significant health concern in the rural United States, particularly among at-risk students. While evidence-based programs are available, literature suggests that an underdeveloped rural health prevention workforce often limits the adoption of such programs. Additionally, population-size restrictions of national…

Improving the long-term life outcomes of disadvantaged youth remains a top policy priority in the United States, although identifying successful interventions for adolescents--particularly males--has proven challenging. This paper reports results from a large randomized controlled trial of an intervention for disadvantaged male youth grades 7-10…

This study tested the effects of a school-based test anxiety intervention among ethnic minority youth. The study used a prospective intervention design with a sample of (N = 94) ninth graders from New Orleans exposed to Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Thirty youth with elevated test anxiety completed a primarily behavioral (e.g., relaxation…

This article reports on mother-child conflict as an outcome and moderator of Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST), a preventive intervention for depression. Forty-one adolescents (average age = 13.37, SD = 1.19) with elevated depression symptoms were randomized to receive IPT-AST or school counseling (SC). Adolescents…

The purpose of this study was to describe and evaluate a promising program model, the Joven Nobel curriculum, for Latino male adolescents that promotes positive youth development and addresses prevention of a number of risk-related sexual behaviors within a cultural context. A quasi-experimental design was used that included a pre- and posttest…