The burden of mental health conditions and poor psychosocial wellbeing among children and adolescents is associated with significant lifetime costs, as mental health conditions is associated with learning lower educational attainment and impeding the development of socioemotional skills which translates into reduced earning potential and labor…

When families make the news, it is often for negative reasons such as violence or abuse. Negative perceptions of low-income families tend to be especially strong. However, families are critical to the positive development of children and youth, as well as to problems that may affect that development. Thus, it is important to examine not just the…

A National Evaluation of Title IV-E Foster Care Independent Living Programs for Youth was conducted to evaluate the influence of the Independent Living Initiatives, Public Law 99-272, on States' development of programs, policies, and services; and the impact of services on outcomes for older youth discharged from foster care. The first phase of…

Outdoor behavioral healthcare (OBH) programs treat adolescents with emotional, behavioral, and substance abuse problems using wilderness therapy and related therapeutic and educational curricula. Elements of OBH are designed to reveal and address problem behaviors, foster personal and social responsibility, and enhance clients' emotional growth.…

A study examined the learning and character development effects of the outdoor wilderness experience. The research consisted of a retrospective study in which surveys were completed by 429 participants in outdoor programs sponsored by the Student Conservation Association, the National Outdoor Leadership School, and Outward Bound; and a…

In 1960, Project TALENT gathered demographic, cognitive, and socio-psychological data from a nationwide sample of high school students (N=375,000). An investigation of the antecedents and consequences of adolescent childbearing for young parents was conducted with all adolescent childbearers in the ninth and twelfth grade cohorts for whom 5-…

There is increasing awareness that how young people spend their time outside of school has consequences for their development. As part of this awareness, interest in organized activities--extracurricular activities, after-school programs, and youth organizations--has grown markedly. On balance, the bulk of research on organized activities has…