Background: Youth violence is a significant problem affecting community health. Community-academic partnerships can advance youth nonviolence education by synergizing the strengths of collaborators while working toward a common goal. We describe a collaboration between an urban public middle school, community nonprofit, and university-based…

In this article, we report findings regarding parent communication and daughter's experiences of bullying and victimization in a sample of Hispanic families with seventh-grade daughters. About 57% of daughters reported experiencing any form of victimization and 37% reported engaging in some type of bullying behavior. Overall, the most common type…

Although earthquakes themselves do not kill people, they highlight the critical importance of physical infrastructure resilience, safety measures and preparedness for natural disasters. Earthquakes are one of several environmental crises that can be categorized as a natural hazard/disaster. This study uses the qualitative method of research. The…

Background: The US Office of Adolescent Health (OAH) funded studies of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention programs in 2010. The results of a 5-year OAH study conducted in the state of Hawai'i with middle school youth has implications for school leaders in the selection and implementation of comprehensive sex…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention established School Health Profiles (Profiles) in 1996 to monitor school health policies and practices in secondary schools in states and school districts across the United States. Profiles is a system of surveys conducted biennially in even-numbered years and provides data on the following topics:…

Background: This process study is a companion to a randomized evaluation of a school-based, peer-led comprehensive sexual health education program, Teen Prevention Education Program (Teen PEP), in which 11th- and 12th-grade students are trained by school health educators to conduct informative workshops with ninth-grade peers in schools in North…

School-based substance use prevention programs are a common method to approaching drug use in youths. Project SOS is a single-session drug prevention program developed by police officers and delivered by elite junior hockey players to students in grades 6 and 7. The current study evaluates the effects of Project SOS at achieving its objectives of…

Background: Few HIV/STI and pregnancy prevention programs for youth in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities have been rigorously evaluated despite sexual health disparities in this population. This study reports the evaluation of a culturally adapted Internet-based HIV/STI and pregnancy prevention program for AI/AN youth, Native…

Although graduation rates are rising, the high school dropout problem remains a national crisis, and evidence-based information about interventions for at-risk students is critically needed. Prior research shows that Check & Connect, an individualized mentoring program, has positive effects on school persistence and progression for students…

Background: The host of costly individual and societal consequences of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD) use underscores the importance of ATOD prevention education. "It's Up 2U" is an evidence-informed, game-based, e-learning ATOD prevention program developed by Children's Health Education Center (CHEC) targeting middle school…

Childhood obesity has reached epidemic levels in developed countries and is showing no signs of abating. The causes of obesity in adolescence are extremely complex, and therefore approaches to prevention and treatments must be multifaceted. Early adolescence is a developmental period when youth are becoming more independent, are influenced by…

The Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) program is a gang- and delinquency-prevention program delivered by law enforcement officers within a school setting. Originally designed in 1991 by Phoenix-area law enforcement agencies to address local needs, the program quickly spread across the United States. In this article, we describe…

This study examined how group composition influences students' level of satisfaction with a dating violence and sexual assault prevention program. A 10- to 12-session program was presented to 396 urban African American middle school students in mixed- and same-gender groups. Both males and females were significantly more satisfied with the…

Few after-school programs target alcohol and other drug (AOD) use because it is difficult to encourage a diverse group of youth to voluntarily attend. The current study describes CHOICE, a voluntary after-school program which targeted AOD use among middle school students. Over 4,000 students across eight schools completed surveys and 15%…

This fifth annual update on America's high school dropout crisis shows that, for the first time in history, the nation has crossed the 80 percent high school graduation rate threshold and remains on pace, for the second year in a row, to meet the goal of a 90 percent high school graduation rate by the Class of 2020. This report highlights key…