Organized sports are among the most common youth activities in the United States, and athletic coaches can often become important mentors to their players. Nonetheless, few studies have examined the characteristics of youth who form mentoring relationships with coaches and whether such relationships are associated with later academic outcomes.…

It is well-known that college students are at an increased risk for alcohol use and binge drinking compared to their same-age peers who are not in college. We use Moffitt's developmental taxonomy, specifically, her discussion of adolescence-limited offending, to contextualize this finding regarding this minor form of deviance. We also incorporate…

This study uses the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health data set to evaluate the long-term influence of school discipline and security on political and civic participation. We find that young adults with a history of school suspension are less likely than others to vote and volunteer in civic activities years later, suggesting that…

This paper analyzes the distribution of education and labor market benefits from sports participation. Results show that effects are similar across gender, but differ on other dimensions. In particular, participants in team sports show greater gains than those in individual sports. Quantile regressions show that educational gains are larger for…

General strain theory provides one framework for explaining the relationship between physical health and delinquency, pointing to mechanisms such as negative emotions, social bonds, and stress proliferation. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were used to examine these hypothetical mediators. Controlling for demographic…

Background: Adolescence is a critical phase of development and experimentation with delinquent behaviors. There is a growing body of literature exploring individual and structural impacts of discrimination on health outcomes and delinquent behaviors. However, there is limited research assessing how school diversity and discrimination impact…

Social work researchers often use variable-centered approaches such as regression and factor analysis. However, these methods do not capture important aspects of relationships that are often imbedded in the heterogeneity of samples. Latent class analysis (LCA) is one of several person-centered approaches that can capture heterogeneity within and…

Why are transfer students at an increased risk for disengagement and dropout? Previous research suggests that the loss of school-based social relationships play a role. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) are used to analyze what predicts student transfer and what effect this has on students' social…

Previous research finds adolescent work hours to be associated with increased alcohol use. Most studies, however, fail to account for possible selection effects that lead youth to both work and substance use. Using data from the first two waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 12,620), a fixed effects regression method…

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…

Objective: Colleges have increased postsecondary educational access for youth, including individuals with disabilities, but completion rates remain low. This study tests the hypothesis that health conditions that reduce social integration predict lower educational attainment among college students. Method: The sample from the nationally…

Prior literature on educational attainment indicates that there is both a female advantage and an LGB bonus: women are more likely to have earned bachelor's degrees than men, and lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) persons are more likely to have earned a bachelor's degree than heterosexuals. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of…

Youth violence is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among Blacks and Latinos. Violent behaviors within Latino subgroups and the reasons for subgroup differences are not well understood. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 16,615), this study examined the risk for violent behaviors among an ethnically…

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), this study investigates patterns of well-being among multiracial adolescents. Specifically, this article addresses three questions. First, using various categorizations for multiracial background, are there measurable differences in emotional and social well-being…

Background: The rise in adolescent obesity has become a public health concern, especially because of its impact on disadvantaged youth. This article examines the role of disadvantage at the family-, peer-, school-, and neighborhood-level, to determine which contexts are related to obesity in adolescence and young adulthood. Methods: We analyzed…