Background: The impact of chronic stressors like the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to be magnified in adolescents with pre-existing mental health risk, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study examined changes in and predictors of adolescent mental health from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Southeastern and…

Among any cohort of American youths, some will use drugs and alcohol whereas others will not. Further, some youngsters will not only use these illegal substances but also abuse them, at times wreaking havoc with their lives and ruining their futures. The purpose of this study is to attempt to unravel this heterogeneity of substance abuse; that is,…

Using a sample of 580 juvenile offenders released from out-of-home placements, this study regressed 18-month recidivism on 33 possible predictors. Over 52 percent of juveniles had new adjudications. Only gender, age, victimization history, and presence of special education needs significantly predicted recidivism. When separate models were…

Context: Children on farms perform work that places them at risk for acute and chronic negative health outcomes. Despite strategies for preventing and reducing the risk of disease and injury, children's use of personal protective equipment and safety equipped farm machinery has generally remained unreported. Purpose: This paper reports the use of…

Purpose: The purposes of this pilot study were to examine prevalence of depressive symptoms among rural adolescents and identify related social and environmental variables. Methods: A convenience sample of 299 14- to 18-year-old agriculture class students at 5 rural high schools in Kentucky and Iowa completed a survey that included demographic…

To determine aspects of the attitudinal dimension of vocational maturity among rural disadvantaged girls and boys of eastern Kentucky, samples of Grade 8 and 12 students were administered the: (1) Vocational Development Inventory-Attitude Scale, (2) Occupational Aspiration Scale, (3) California Test of Mental Maturity and the Otis-Lennon Mental…

School-family partnerships (SFPs) have been the focus of research, policy, and practice efforts for several years. Increasing the interest in SFPs has been the finding that when schools and families cooperate closely, children benefit. The more supportive links there are between settings, the more potential there is for healthy development. Such…