American Indians have among the highest prevalence rates for both substance use and obesity, yet there is a dearth of studies that have examined this relationship. We examined a subsample of American Indian adolescents (n=623), using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. We examined the association between body mass index…

Despite evidence that American Indian (AI) adolescents are disproportionately involved in crime and delinquent behavior, there exists scant research exploring the correlates of crime among this group. We posit that Agnew's General Strain Theory (GST) is well suited to explain AI delinquent activity. Using the National Longitudinal Study of…

Background: Estimates suggest that about 48% of nearly 19 million cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) occurring annually in the United States are acquired by persons aged 15-24 years. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that adolescents' attitudes about protecting themselves from STDs predict their laboratory-confirmed…

Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), we estimate the determinants and direction of change in individual racial identification among multiracial and monoracial adolescents as they transition to young adulthood. We find that while many multiracials subsequently identify as monoracials, sizable numbers of…

Context and Purpose: This study's objectives are to: investigate potential additive and multiplicative influences of rurality and race/ethnicity on chronic physical illness in a nationally representative sample of youth; and examine intra-Latino processes using a Latino sub-sample. Specifically, we examine how rurality and individual psychosocial…