Lackluster BA completion rates have made it clear that improving postsecondary outcomes in the U.S. is not simply a matter of raising college enrollment rates. In addition to increasing the number of people who attend college, it is also important to increase the number of people who graduate. Over the years, scholars have identified many factors…

The amount of time adolescents spend communicating via digital technologies such as smartphones has led to concerns that computer-mediated communication (CMC) is displacing face-to-face (FtF) interactions and disrupting social development. Although many studies have examined CMC in adolescents' relationships with friends, few studies have examined…

Background: Much etiologic research has focused on individual-level risk factors for teen dating violence (TDV); therefore, less is known about school-level and neighborhood-level risk factors. We examined the association between alcohol outlet density around high schools and TDV victimization and the association between markers of physical…

Postsecondary education is a fundamental tool for achieving upward mobility and economic growth. Students with an associate's or bachelor's degree earn substantially more in a lifetime and experience better working conditions and job benefits than students with only a high school diploma. This study examines differences in public college…

Objective: To examine the relationship between stores selling calorie-dense food near schools and student obesity risk, with the hypothesis that high availability predicts increased risk. Methods: Mail surveys determined height, weight, and calorie-dense food consumption for 552 students at 11 Maine high schools. Driving distance from all food…

Choosing a college is one of the first important decisions that many young adults undertake. Popular media suggests how students should find an appropriate college based on traditional practices (Hallet, 2008; Kulman, 2007), yet, many aspects of the reality experienced by new kinds of students and colleges is largely ignored in the college choice…

On May 21, 1998 Kipland Kinkel entered Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon, gunned down two students and injured scores more, after murdering his parents the night before. There is a dearth of research focused on the effects of such violence in school settings where the perpetrator is a peer of his victims. We do not know if, how, or under…