Although school violence is on the decline, it remains a significant concern for the general public, policymakers, and researchers. This report commissioned by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) takes a comprehensive look at the state of the research on school violence and includes additional discussions about research on serious violence and…

A high school education prepares young people to participate positively in the economy and in civic life, among other positive life outcomes. However, nearly one in five American high school students does not graduate from high school on time, if ever. Progress has been made on understanding why students fail to complete high school and on raising…

Assesses the relative effects of parents and peers on adolescent alcohol use via mechanisms of attachment and opportunity. Results indicated that peers are more influential than parents in shaping adolescents' patterns of alcohol consumption and that unstructured peer interaction is an especially powerful predictor of adolescent alcohol use and…

Examines the degree to which children's achievement-related beliefs could be predicted from their friends' beliefs. Friends showed consistent, albeit modest similarities with regards to their self-perception of competence, academic standards, and importance of meeting standards, and preference for challenge. Friends appeared influential with…

Examines the importance of peer influence and personal attitudes in relation to self-reported use of alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana for 213 younger adolescents and 219 older adolescents. Friends' use was significantly related to substance use for both age groups, both sexes, and all substances examined. Resistance self- efficacy was…

Interpersonal influences on the desire to have a child were examined in a sample of pregnant low-income urban adolescents. It was hypothesized that adolescent girls who report poorer relationships with their parents would report greater emotional reliance on their boyfriends and greater reliance on boyfriends would predict greater desire for a…

The paper reviews the literature regarding runaway children, defines runaway youth, and discusses predisposing factors. Suggestions are offered for further research on the etiology and treatment of runaway behavior. (JDD)

Etiological studies canvassing five major domains of risk are reviewed. The five domains reflect unique facets of risk that are central to many current prevention approaches and include: peer social influences, family processes, expectancies, social skills, and personality factors. Each domain is discussed with regard to major theoretical issues,…

This literature review discusses gender differences in psychosocial determinants of adolescent smoking. Studies show that external pressures (e.g., peer and parental smoking) are important for boys and girls, although their influence may be moderated differently by age and type of smoking behavior assessed. Gender-specific components of…

Study creates and tests a comprehensive model of adolescent problem drinking. Results indicate that high levels of parental support and a positive school climate in the 8th grade influence the formation of relationships with peers with positive values in the 10th grade that guard against problem-drinking behavior in the 10th grade. (Contains 40…

Reviews school-based approaches to prevention of adolescent alcohol use and abuse undertaken in the 1950s through the 1970s and discusses problems associated with such studies, remedies to these problems, and current school-based approaches. Also discusses the Alcohol Misuse Prevention Study, a longitudinal intervention undertaken in the 1980s to…

Examines reasons for early school dropout among high school students and their plans to resume their education. Dropout data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 reveal various reasons for dropping out that include school-related, family-related, and job-related causes, as well as influences from peers and residential mobility.…

This literature review summarizes and analyzes the current literature on variables predicting high school dropping out and the relationship between those variables and language minority youth (defined as those who are national origin minorities by birth and who speak, in varying degrees, languages other than English). After the introduction, which…

Although hypotheses about the consequences of peer relationships for children's development have served as the foundation for much of the research into children and adolescent peer relationships, direct assessment of the impact of such relationships on children's personality, social behavior, or cognition has rarely been done. This book discusses…

A study analyzed mitigating conditions and factors that prevented the uptake of apprenticeships and traineeships among young people aged 15-19 years of age who had left school in Victoria, Australia. Data were based on a thesis completed in May 2000 involving analysis of theoretical research, observation in the field, and case study interviews…