Objective: Despite evidence-based interventions for the psychiatric disorders that often precede suicidality, suicide remains a leading cause of death among youth. There has been increased interest in whether preventive interventions targeting early risk factors lead to decreased distal risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB). We examined…

School-based empowerment programs are types of interventions targeting students with or without behavioral, psychological, and emotional difficulties at schools. The purpose of the current study was to examine the effectiveness of a school-based social and mental empowerment program on students' behavioral and developmental problems. We…

The national high school graduation rate reached its highest level in U.S. history--82 percent--during the 2013-14 school year (Kena et al., 2016)--but dropout remains a persistent problem in the Midwest and nationally. Early warning systems that use research-based warning signs to identify students at risk of dropping out have emerged as one…

Freshman year has been identified as a very important year in high school. It has been shown more than any other year to determine whether a student will complete high school or drop out. Schools who examine grade-level data on a regular basis often find that freshmen students receive the most office discipline referrals and most failing grades,…

This study investigated the social, emotional and mental wellbeing predictors of bullying victimisation and perpetration for boarding students following the transition from primary school to secondary boarding school. Longitudinal data on 76 male and 74 female boarding students in Grades 7, 8 and 9 was used from a larger longitudinal study of…

This longitudinal study investigated the importance of parental monitoring to the deterrence of adolescent problem behavior by examining bidirectional associations among perceived parental monitoring, adolescent disclosure and problem behaviors across the high school years. Adolescents (N = 2,941; 50.3% female) were surveyed each year from grades…

The current research examines how social goals and perceptions of what is needed for social status at school relate to school misbehavior and substance use among rural adolescents (N = 683). Results indicate that social goals and perceptions of social status have differential links to problem behaviors depending upon adolescents' achievement.…

Two theoretical perspectives have been proposed to describe, explain, and intervene in adolescent development--prevention science and positive youth development (PYD). An integrative model bridging these two perspectives posits that it is important to assess the extent to which the same, similar, or complementary mechanisms may be responsible for…

Background: Escalation of youth violence within a large geographic school-complex area in southeastern rural Hawaii became a major problem in 2006. How cultural forces impact the problem was an impetus to examine youth violence from perspectives of adults and children in rural communities. Gathering these data was an essential first step toward…

Previous research highlighted that pupils actively involved in bullying and victimization are prone to develop diverse psychological problems. The overall aim of our study was to investigate effects of different forms of bullying and victimization on coping with interpersonal stressors and psychological adjustment among children and adolescents.…

The current study replicates work of Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northeast and Islands. It describes dropout prevention programs in nine Mid-Atlantic Region (Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) school districts serving communities with populations of 24,742-107,250 (as of July 2008). All nine…

The current study replicates work of Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Northeast and Islands. It describes dropout prevention programs in nine Mid-Atlantic Region (Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) school districts serving communities with populations of 24,742-107,250 (as of July 2008). All nine…

Given the increased risk factors in the transition from middle school to high school, this study tracked academic and school discipline records for students receiving general and special education services as they transitioned from Grade 8 to Grade 9. The authors employed analysis of variance and structural equation modeling to determine the…

This issue of the quarterly newsletter of the Center for Mental Health in Schools includes the following features and regular segments: (1) Complex Problems, Limited Solutions; (2) Research into Practice: Supporting Successful Transition to Ninth Grade; (3) Schools & MH Research; and (4) Response Form.

Health promotion and community building strategies are increasingly using the arts as a basis for engaging young people. Through involvement in arts activity, participants have been shown to develop supportive social networks and report increased feelings of well-being (Jermyn, 2001). In particular, drama strategies and programs have been used as…