Unhealthy coping mechanisms become more widely available to young people during their teenage years. Students frequently choose these unhealthy activities as avenues for dealing with the stress of physical and social changes that confront them during adolescence. For these reasons, a need exists for intervention programs that teach adolescents to…

Background: Drug use has been noted among students in Taiwan during the past decade and schools have a role in preventing or delaying students' drug use. We developed and evaluated a school-based, drug-use prevention program integrating the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and life skills for junior high school students. Methods: We recruited 441…

Identity theft is the fastest growing white-collar crime in America, increasing 40% annually. Identity theft occurs when personal-identifying information, such as a social security number, date of birth, or address, is used to commit fraud. From January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2005, 255,565 people in the United States were victims of identity…

This paper presents J. P. Shaver's model of rational decision making based on moral values and makes specific suggestions for implementing the model in health education instruction. (MM)

The success of a health fair as a source of health education and promoter of healthful behaviors depends to a great extent on the organizational expertise of the sponsor. In order to organize a successful health fair, objectives, target population, location, time, financing, and publicity must be considered. (JN)

Sixth graders in primary prevention groups were taught various skills--interpersonal, decision making, problem solving and self-instructional--and facts about tobacco smoking to help them avoid cigarette smoking. Follow-up data showed that students trained this way smoked far less than those in a control group a year later. (Author/PP)

Educational imagery is a teaching method that guides students into decision-making situations through directed daydreaming or fantasizing. The theory is that if a decision is clearly imagined and acted out, the process will be facilitated in real life. (JN)

A decision story is a brief scenario describing a health problem which might be faced in real life. Such topics as venereal disease, drug use, and nutrition can be explored by use of the decision-making model. The phases involved in processing the decision story strategy are described. (JN)

This article outlines concepts and skills that will help teachers and students interpret news and controversies generated by medical research. Students need to: (1) understand some basic research concepts; (2) apply critical thinking to health news; and (3) know how to locate additional information sources. (Authors/PP)