Research has indicated a strong relationship between low peer status in childhood of children with and without and later problems in adolescence and adulthood and children with social deficits often show similar patterns of behavior. They may be withdrawn and hesitant to interact with peers, socially aloof and "unaware" of their peers, or they may…

This paper describes causes of special education conflict and explores alternative conflict management approaches being pioneered by state education agencies and school districts. The focus is on early informal dispute resolution strategies as alternatives to due process hearings and mediation. Problems with both due process hearings and mediation…

This pamphlet on health trends features the results of the 1999 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) on Youth Suicide, which collected demographic and behavioral data from students in 109 Oregon public high schools. The survey asked four questions regarding sadness and suicidal behavior, including whether suicide had been attempted. This report…

This paper reports on part one of a study that examined the effectiveness of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) Program as a drug resistance, violence avoidance program in West Vancouver, Canada schools. Attitudes toward DARE held by students, teachers, and parents of children in the program were examined in order to evaluate how DARE was…

With the emergence of greater stress in the life of today's youth, much effort has gone into the investigation of effective coping methods for adolescents. By employing coping strategies, youth gain self-control and learn appropriate behavioral responses to many of life's stressors. Effective coping can assist adolescents in mastering cognitive,…

This report focuses on the causative factors of violence in school children. It summarizes information about the demographic and mental health characteristics of students who carry weapons to school and includes comments from students on the reasons why they carry them, as well as what the research says. Results of the 1999 Youth Risk Behavior…

This paper describes a program designed to help court-ordered, truant, status-offenders in a small Kansas community. The Truancy Diversion Program involves systems-oriented family interventions in the context of a broader community systems approach to deal with truancy. In this model, families join with the educational system, the mental health…

Using the violent events that took place at Columbine High School in 1999 as an example, this book serves to inform teachers, administrators, school resource officers, and concerned parents about school violence. It can be used to help develop a response and prevention plan to handle threats and violence in schools. This book is a guidance manual…

Youth suicide is recognized as a serious public health problem, but suicide within juvenile facilities has not received comparable attention, and the extent and nature of these deaths remain unknown. This article utilizes an example of a young man in a juvenile justice facility who succeeded in committing suicide to illustrate these points.…

Two studies evaluated outcomes of a University Experience (freshman seminar) course to ease the transition to college and enhance student retention at the University of South Florida. In the first study, course evaluations of "typical" USF students (N=540) who completed the course in fall 1998 were overwhelmingly positive in support of…

This report presents findings of a project that identified and examined three communities where schools have successfully reduced discipline problems and improved learning and behavior of all students, including those with disabilities. Site visits by a research team and expert panels (including both lay community members and professionals) were…

This practicum involved development and implementation of an inservice training workshop on behavior management in the high school setting. Participants were five teachers with students who exhibited challenging behaviors. Prior to the workshop, a needs assessment was conducted which found that the school had a high rate of referral and placement…

This report highlights the important trends in adolescent drug use. Although the focus is on the abuse of alcohol, nicotine, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and inhalants, it is important to remember that adolescents abuse a wide range and combination of drugs. This report also addresses state-of-the-art treatment methods, and summarizes research on…

"Welfare to work" is an issue in the substance abuse field because of the high number of people on welfare who have a substance abuse problem. One-fourth of women on welfare either abuse or are addicted to alcohol or other drugs. For women ages 18-24 the incidence is as high as 37%, according to the Center on Addiction and Substance…

African American college students are among the age group of African Americans who are at significantly higher risk for heterosexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Much of the research in this area suggests that for the majority of these students, there is little or no relationship between the knowledge of HIV transmission and…