Children and adolescents of Latino/Hispanic background often face challenges that differ from other subpopulations in the United States. Language barriers, issues related to parental citizenship status, and the economic disadvantages often faced by these children and adolescents can result in various negative outcomes, such as depression,…

The disproportionate vulnerability of African American youth to certain negative outcomes, including teen pregnancy, low academic achievement, HIV infection, and violent death, has emphasized the need for out-of-school time program providers and funders to seek programs that have been found to have positive impacts for this population.…

Despite a decade-long decline in substance use among adolescents, research tells that about 80 percent of teens have begun to drink alcohol and 50 percent have used an illegal drug by their senior year in high school. Substance use among teens is related to poorer outcomes for adolescents and youth (e.g., unintentional injuries, homicides and…

Adolescents are influenced by a variety of social factors and institutions. Prior research confirms what many of us know instinctively: that parents can be one of the strongest influences in adolescents' lives. For example, higher levels of parental involvement in their adolescents' lives are linked with lower levels of delinquency, violent…

The reproductive health of American adolescents has been, and continues to be, a matter of serious concern. America's teen birth rate--already the highest among developed nations--is again on the rise, and rates of sexually transmitted diseases among American teens are very high. As such, the development and identification of effective…

This publication reports trends in teen childbearing, adolescent sexual activity, and sexually transmitted diseases in the nation, in each state, and in large cities using data from the 2002 National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Rates of teenage childbearing continue to steadily decline, and the 2002 rates are historic lows for each age…

Summarizes research from the 1980s on topics of adolescent sexual activity, contraception, abortion, marriage, adoption, and childrearing. Emphasizes research about antecedents of adolescent sexual and contraceptive behavior because they are key risk factors in adolescent pregnancy. Notes advances in data and methods and highlights research gaps.…

Analyzes attitudes and values concerning marriage and fertility using data from the 1987 wave of the National Survey of Children. Most respondents were aged 18 to 22. Their views on marriage, divorce, abortion, and related topics should be taken into account in developing policy. (DM)

Examined assertion that parental communication and monitoring of adolescents discourages premarital sexual activity among White 15- and 16-year-olds from 1981 National Survey of Children. Analyses indicated little support for this hypothesis in total sample. Daughters of traditional parents who had communicated with them about sex or about…

The assertion that parental communication and monitoring of adolescent children will discourage premarital activity was examined in a two-stage study. First, the influence of a set of variables measuring parental supervision and discussion was analyzed using data for all 15- and 16-year olds interviewed in the 1981 National Survey of Children.…

Child health and well-being are intrinsically important and also contribute to a healthy, productive adolescence and adulthood. Parents can play an important role in helping their children acquire or strengthen the behaviors, skills, attitudes, and motivation that promote physical and mental health and overall well-being in childhood, adolescence…

For the past several decades, the teenage birth rate in the United States has exceeded that of other industrialized nations. To explore the factors behind this high birth rate, this volume summarizes recent research conducted in the United States on the perceived causes of teenage childbearing. This review is organized around the events leading to…

This study compared the well-being of children born to mothers younger than 17 years old(very young teens), 18 to 19 years old (older teens), and mothers in their early twenties. Measures of well-being were assessed in five domains: (1) health and psychological well-being; (2) quality of home environment; (3) cognitive development and educational…