Background: Adolescent girls are likely to be less active than adolescent boys. A range of factors including multiple psychosocial aspects are thought to influence their engagement in physical activity (PA). This study aimed to explore adolescent girls' perceptions and experiences of school-based PA to inform a subsequent intervention, the Girls…

BACKGROUND: Research indicates that victimization exposures are associated with sexual risk-taking behaviors, but there is a relative lack of research on the relation between peer victimization and sexual risk taking among adolescents. This study fills this gap through examining how bullying, cyberbullying, and dating violence victimization at…

Background: Despite previous research indicating an adolescents' alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use is dependent upon their sex and the sex composition of their social network, few social network studies consider sex differences and network sex composition as a determinant of adolescents' ATOD use behavior. Methods: This systematic…

Background: Bullying is a global problem among children and adolescents. The purpose of this study was to explore bully victimization in Peru and to identify potential adverse mental health and social outcomes resulting from bully victimization. Methods: This study analyzed data from an ongoing prospective cohort of children taking part in the…

Background: Few studies have examined the interplay among quantifiable aspects of peer bonds, friendship types, personal characteristics, and behavioral outcomes in schools in distressed neighborhoods. The aim of this study was to identify compensatory and protective factors that can be promoted in school-based prevention programs. Methods: The…

One method in which health professionals can influence adolescent substance use is by correcting social norms. According to the social norms theory, individuals often erroneously believe that the majority of people engage in unhealthy behaviors, a misperception that may motivate individuals to increase their own unhealthy behaviors. The social…

Background: Adolescent peer group self-identification refers to adolescents' affiliation with reputation-based peer groups such as "Goths" or "Jocks." These groups tend to vary on normative characteristics, including the group members' attitudes and behaviors. This article examined whether adolescents' baseline peer group…

Background: Problems related to gangs have been noted in large cities and in many schools across the United States. This study examined the patterns of alcohol, drug use, and related exposures among male and female high school students who were gang members. Methods: Analyses were based on the Youth Violence Survey, conducted in 2004, and…

The study concludes that some 4-H youth smoke and that there are attitude and behavior differences between 4-H youth smokers and nonsmokers (Author)

Effective procedures used for initiating a student health-related peer group program in the New York City public high school system are identified, and a replicable model for forming peer groups is discussed. (MJB)

Through a case history, the mental and physical concerns of venereal disease among young people are examined. Not only is there a moral issue to resolve but also an educational one. (CJ)

During the four year period of the contract, extensive clinical tests were completed which indicated significant immediate effects of cigarette smoking on healthy young males and females. Significant differences between smokers and nonsmokers were observed in terms of knowledge, attitudes, and practices. (Author)

Abstinence-only programs for preventing teen pregnancy are the only options in some states but are the programs of choice in others. Effectiveness data, however, are lacking. The SOS Adolescent Family Life Program (SOS), an abstinence-only teen pregnancy prevention program, was implemented in south central Louisiana. Peer mentoring with an…