Transgender individuals are disproportionately affected by HIV in the United States. Given increased risk of HIV among youth, there is a need to understand HIV risk and protective factors among transgender individuals who are 18 years and younger. Patterns of HIV testing, HIV education, and condom use have known associations with HIV outcomes…

Background: School-based human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) education can reach most adolescents, but inconsistencies exist in state-level content policies. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the associations between state-level high school HIV education policies and adolescent HIV risk behaviors. Methods: This was a cross-sectional…

Background: In this case study, multiple participants in a large urban school district used the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model to guide development of a district wellness policy. The model's health education component is highlighted, focusing on concerns for special needs students and ones speaking English as a New…

Background: We explored the relationship between body mass index-for-age percentile, body image distortion, and unnecessary weight loss efforts in Korean adolescent girls who are underweight and normal weight and examined the mediating effect of body image distortion on weight loss efforts. Methods: This study used data from the 2013 Korea Youth…

Background: Several studies have used latent class analyses to explore obesogenic behaviors and substance use in adolescents independently. We explored a variety of health risks jointly to identify distinct patterns of risk behaviors among adolescents. Methods: Latent class models were estimated using Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System…

Male and female students manifest different behaviors in condomless sex. This cross-sectional, exploratory, correlational study examined the differences in risk factors for condomless sex between male and female high school students, using secondary data from 4,968 sexually active males and females participating in the 2011 National Youth Risk…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBS) has a long history of providing representative data on the nation's high school students. These assessments are crucial to CDC's mission of identifying health behaviors and experiences; understanding the determinants and co-occurrence of risks;…

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is an epidemiologic surveillance system that was established by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help monitor the prevalence of behaviors that not only influence youth health, but also put youth at risk for the most significant health and social problems that can occur during…

Background: Chronic disease risk factors tend to cooccur. Purpose: This study examined the cooccurrence of 8 negative health behaviors in a representative sample of urban adolescents to inform educational interventions. Methods: The prevalence, cooccurrence, and clustering of suicide attempt, lifetime history of sexual activity, tobacco use, cell…

Background: Body image refers to an individual's thoughts and feelings about his or her body and physical appearance. To date, several qualitative and quantitative findings implicate sociocultural influences, such as the media or parental pressure, in shaping female adolescents' body image perceptions. Overall, there is not much quantitative…

Purpose: To examine the relationship of general education wellness coursework on wellness behavior and knowledge of students as undergraduates and again four years after graduation. Methods: Participants were 87 college students at a large, southeastern public university. Three administrations of the General Education Wellness Test were conducted…

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is an epidemiologic surveillance system that was established by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help monitor the prevalence of behaviors that not only influence youth health, but also put youth at risk for the most significant health and social problems that can occur during…

Background: This article examines whether school contextual factors, such as referral practices and peer dynamics, contribute to Chinese American students' underrepresentation in school health programs. Methods: Data from the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (N?=?1,744) as well as interviews and focus groups (N?=?51) with Chinese American users and…

Background: Whereas much attention has been focused on adolescent risk behaviors such as substance use, much less has been devoted to self-injury in the general adolescent population. Purpose: This study had two purposes: (1) describe the prevalence of self-injury among early adolescents in the general middle school population, and (2) identify…

Background: Previous research has posited that significant relationships exist between health status and psychological measures of health (e.g., self-esteem). Less is known about the relationship between perceived quality of life (e.g., life satisfaction), weight perceptions, and dieting behaviors, particularly among middle school adolescents.…