Educating children and youth with significant social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) problems continues to pose significant challenges for special and general educators. The long-term effects of challenges this group of students experience include school dropout, mental health problems, unemployment, and high incarceration rates. To date, the…

The current study examines longitudinal associations between light and heavy sexual experiences and psychiatric symptoms in African American adolescent girls receiving mental health care. Research supports bidirectional associations between adolescent romantic and sexual behaviors and depression and other mental health problems, but this finding…

Recent efforts to improve American educational practices have focused on determining the efficacy of interventions and instructional practices via randomized controlled trials. Aligned with this effort, the Institute for Education Sciences (IES), the primary funding agency for experimental research in education, has organized grant funding into…

This paper presents background, implementation, and feasibility findings associated with planning and conducting an after-school intervention program in an alternative education setting designed to prevent the initiation and escalation of violence and substance abuse among urban African American youth at high risk for life-long problem behaviors.…

Background: This article discusses the importance of screening students in schools for emotional/behavioral problems. Methods: Elements relevant to planning and implementing effective mental health screening in schools are considered. Screening in schools is linked to a broader national agenda to improve the mental health of children and…

This guidebook explores some of the practical issues associated with finding, choosing, and starting potentially effective prevention programs for at-risk preteens and teens. The guidebook is based on a study of 51 intervention programs that identified elements and delivery mechanisms that were associated with their effectiveness. A closer look at…

This paper presents baseline data on health behaviors and protective factors among junior middle school students aged 13-15 years old in China for the purpose of developing priorities, establishing programs and policies for school health and youth health and also establishing trends in the prevalence of these behaviors. The 2003 CHINA GSHS…

This regular feature of "Reaching Today's Youth" provides information designed to enable individuals to facilitate one- to two-hour training sessions appropriate for teachers, other professionals, and parents who want to increase their understanding of working effectively with students with challenging behaviors. This volume focuses on specific…

The paper focuses on the role of decision making to develop social skills in adolescents with learning or behavior problems and describes a project to implement such a decision making model. The paper begins by tracing some of the crucial issues of adolescence and then describes the Adolescent Issues Project which has produced a curriculum…

The organization of the self-help program for adolescents at Mendocino State Hospital is structured to provide a continuing growth experience for its residents through the strategic use of role relationships, status positions and other social reinforcers. (Authors)

The "Handbook of Youth Prevention Science" describes current research and practice in mental health preventive interventions for youth. Traditional prevention research focused on preventing specific disorders, e.g. substance abuse, conduct disorders, or criminality. This produced "silos" of isolated knowledge about the…

This paper provides the results of a review of the empirical literature on interventions with antisocial problem behavior Hispanic youth. It explores the process of developing and evaluating culturally competent interventions. A review of a number of interventions, focusing on three in particular, suggests that cultural conflict is at the root of…

With its roots in clinical and educational psychology, school psychology is an ever-changing field that encompasses a diversity of topics. "The Oxford Handbook of School Psychology" synthesizes the most vital and relevant literature in all of these areas, producing a state-of-the-art, authoritative resource for practitioners,…

A social worker and a psychologist, working with troubled youth in a day treatment setting, describe unique ways to use the concepts of Positive Peer Culture (PPC) to facilitate groups from the elementary to high school levels. The authors have adapted the well-known PPC concepts and incorporated them into their strength-based program, SPLASH, to…

Presents recent estimates on adolescents' risk status along with a description of the characteristics of young people who typically exhibit high-risk behaviors. Reviews common components of successful interventions and proposes a comprehensive approach to program planning that combines school-based reform with community agency efforts. (GR)