Objective: To ascertain the association between pubertal stage and deliberate self-harm. Method: Cross-sectional survey of 12- to 15-year-olds in 300 secondary schools in the U.S. state of Washington in February-April 2002 and the Australian state of Victoria in June-August 2002. A total of 3,332 students in grades 7 and 9 provided complete data…

Children's voluntary reading positively correlates with school grades, vocabulary growth, reading comprehension, verbal fluency, general information, and attitudes towards reading. Drawing on qualitative interviews collected alongside six waves of longitudinal survey data in an urban setting in eastern USA, We argue that voluntary reading by…

Young people are concerned with making and keeping friends, and they invest a great deal of energy in group social life to do so. This book charts the interactions of young people both in and out of school and the role of peers and friends in strengthening social attachments and in establishing social identities. It describes how social identities…

The relationship between activity and positive self-esteem in girls 12 to 17 years of age was explored by this study. The primary goal was to determine if the positive relationship between physical activity and positive self-esteem which exists for women also exists for girls. It was also hoped that insight would be gained regarding the factors…

The Brief Intervention Program (BIP) is a mental health day program in Melbourne (Australia) for adolescents with severe mental health problems who are at risk for suicide. The 10-week program serves closed groups of 6-8 adolescents aged 13-18 years and has 3 phases: engagement and orientation (week 1), treatment (weeks 2-9), and integration (week…

Based on a need in Hawaii for a multilevel responsibility and commitment to ensure adolescent wellness, the Hawaii Adolescent Wellness Team developed a plan based on research and discussions with a variety of professionals and community leaders in health, education, and social service. This resource handbook is designed to assist communities in…

This study examined the relation between family variables and the mental health outcomes of adolescents. Family members' feelings about one another were assessed when the children were in grades 6 and 8. Family members' closeness to one another was assessed when children were in grades 8 and 12, and in a 4-year follow-up study. Adolescents' mental…

The use of aptitude and competency testing in the public school system can have some undesired effects on students in terms of the stress and anxiety tests can impose. Adolescence is already a time in a child's life when many different pressures are coming to bear upon the psyche. Among the most undesirable consequences that can result from the…

Research has documented the genetic contribution of paternal alcoholism and Antisocial Personality Disorder as risk factors for adolescent deviant behavior, including substance abuse. Teens (n=147) between the ages of 12 and 19 years and their parents participated in the study. The sample consisted of 74 substance abusing teens/families drawn from…

Guidelines and resources for a four-part conference and workshop series on parent education for parents of early adolescents (ages 10-15) are presented. Each part of the series is intended to be a one-day conference containing a keynote address and three workshops. Workshop topics included in the four parts are: (1) Living with 10- to 15-Year…

What are the long term consequences associated with serving as a state FFA officer? Using a semi-structured interview format, selected state FFA officers from a twenty year time span were interviewed to assess their perceptions of and assets attributed to their experiences as a state officer. Results indicated that past state officers, regardless…

This study was conducted to investigate whether women are in fact more depressed than comparable samples of men, as per the stereotype, and/or whether women could be seen as suffering from higher levels of related forms of maladjustment as compared to those of men. Male and female subjects (60 adolescents, 82 young adults, and 82 middle-aged…

Teenage pregnancy has become a major public health problem in the United States. A study was conducted to assess an intervention based upon computer-assisted instruction (CAI) to avert teenage pregnancy. Social learning and decision theory were applied to mediate the adolescent environment through CAI so that adolescent development would be…

Eleven percent of teenage girls and 14 percent of teenage boys in a recent survey acknowledged having had a same sex sexual encounter. It may be assumed that the number of adolescents with concerns related to sexual orientation exceeds the number with actual same sex experiences. If, as self-identified homosexual adults have reported, their sexual…

Focusing on English instruction for mainstreamed learning disabled (LD) high school students, this paper surveys and interprets the literature on the subject, examines specific teaching methods and student study skills that have worked in this area, and reviews the English program proposed by Daniel Fader. Specifically, sections discuss the…