Online harassment is a widespread phenomenon with consequential implications, especially for adolescents, who tend to engage in high-risk behavior online. Through the use of Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), we examine the predictors motivating the intention of youths to adopt protection behavior against online harassment. A survey was conducted…

This study examined the impact of various school-related factors on adolescents' depressive mood, including prosocial behavior, verbal aggression, and relationships with teachers. The data used in this study were collected in the context of a larger survey on victimization in secondary schools from the French Community of Belgium. Participants…

We used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to examine transitions among alcohol use classes in 2225 White and African American adolescent girls, and race differences in predictors of transition into and out of problematic drinking classes. Latent class analysis confirmed four classes for White girls and three for AA…

This study examined the unique and simultaneous contribution of adolescents' characteristics, parent-child relationship and friends' characteristics on early sexual intercourse, while accounting for family status. A longitudinal multi-sample design was used. The first sample was recruited in a suburban context (n = 265; 62% girls) and the second…

Investigates effects of drug-use initiation and conduct disorder (CD) among 1031 adolescents who participated in the Drug Abuse Treatment Outcomes Studies for Adolescents (DATOS-A). The mean age of first drug use was 12.7, 57% met DSM-III-R criteria for CD, and earlier initiators were more likely to have CD. (Contains 27 references and 4 tables.)…

Investigates the links between adolescent risk-taking and personality, as conceptualized using the Five-factor Model of personality (N=459). Results reveal that risk judgments, personality factors, age and sex were significant predictors of risk behaviors; however, the personality factor of significance was found to differ depending upon the risk…

Both family structure and processes have been associated with young people's sexual behaviour, but most studies are cross-sectional and focus on only one outcome: age at first intercourse. This paper uses longitudinal data from a survey of Scottish teenagers (N=5041) to show how low parental monitoring predicts early sexual activity for both sexes…

Frequency of participation and levels of interest in more than 60 leisure pursuits were measured by questionnaire administered to 1,248 Australian adolescent high school students. Sex was major predictor of participation in sports and vocational activities and of interest in sporting and gregarious activities. Age, school location, ethnicity and…

This study, using Andersen's health care utilization model, examined how predisposing characteristics, enabling resources, need, personal health practices, and psychological factors influence health care utilization using a nationally representative, longitudinal sample of Canadian adolescents. Second, this study examined whether this process…

Data from a randomly selected sample of 840 Ontario students were used to examine factors that affect self-rated physical health. Analyses focused on demographics, family structure, financial situation, child-parent relationship, school achievement, self-esteem, alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use as factors which directly and indirectly influence…