This report highlights findings from the 1998 Minnesota Student Survey, administered to 3,791 voluntary participants, comparing students in alternative school settings with those in public schools. Alternative schools and area learning centers are high school diploma granting programs designed for students who are behind in their work, have…

Maslow's theory of a hierarchy of needs is used to analyze Navajo youths' struggles for identity, fulfillment, and self-esteem. Answers to the challenges of substance abuse, violence, and gang membership are offered based upon George Bearden's eight-step plan, which stresses the importance of understanding human needs to perceive and transform…

Discusses failure of education programs to affect spread of AIDS by intravenous drug users in inner cities. Suggests following policy responses: confidential, identity-linked reporting of HIV test results; programs to alert the sexual partners of HIV-positive persons; elimination of barriers to HIV testing; routine offering of HIV testing; and…

By procrastinating, allowing others to keep them from studying, deliberately not trying, and using other "self-handicapping" strategies, students can convey that those circumstances, rather than lack of ability, are the reasons for subsequent poor performance. Survey data from 256 eighth-grade students indicated that boys use those strategies more…

Explains the incidence and nature of drug trafficking and chemical dependency among adolescent black males. The paper also discusses the social science theories of Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Molefi Asante to better understand the behaviors, and the consequences of those behaviors, of young black males who participate in drug trafficking. (GR)

Stress accompanies most superintendencies, but how much strain a superintendent experiences hinges on personality traits and coping ability. Superintendents are pressured by innercity work environments, changing demographics, tightening finances, confrontational school boards, and dissatisfied constituents. For some, the answer is early…

Whether athletes in sports that emphasize leanness differ from athletes in other sports with regard to eating attitudes and disposition toward eating disorders was studied for 104 female and 87 male postsecondary level athletes. Results indicate that different groups of athletes may be at different risks of eating disorders. (SLD)

Analyzes the frequency and correlates of suicidal behaviors among 1,093 male and 1,250 female white and 609 male and 812 female African-American South Carolina public high school students. Suicidal behaviors are not infrequent among adolescents (75% reported no suicidal behaviors); they often coexist with other high-risk behaviors. (SLD)

Counselors who work with children regularly face the ethical dilemma of confidentiality for which there are few definitive answers. Confidentiality and Minors Questionnaire about managing student's confidential information was distributed to district guidance supervisors. It appears that counselors' judgment of what breaches confidentiality is…

Research on the hypothesized relationship between sexual orientation and suicide is limited. National or statewide data on frequency and causes of completed suicide in gay and lesbian people do not exist. Methodological limitations in research literature include lack of consensus on definition of key terms, nonrepresentative samples, and lack of…

In a sample of students (n=93), preference for country and western music was not associated with depression or suicidal preoccupation as has been suggested by Stack and Gundlach. However, preference for heavy metal music was associated with prior suicidal ideation. Stronger associations were found between music preferences and measures of…

This chapter explores the proliferation of poker (both live and online) and discusses how campuses have responded to this activity. The chapter concludes with some implications for practice and further research.

This study aims to assess the predictive value of two sets of variables, self-attributions, and coping behaviors, on sexually abused (SA) teenagers' functioning, while controlling for abuse-related and family variables. A total of 103 female adolescents completed self-report measures to assess their psychological functioning in terms of anxiety,…

Objective: To describe the early adult psychopathological and social outcomes of adolescents who deliberately poisoned themselves. Method: Prospective cohort study with a 6-year follow-up of 132 of 158 (84%) adolescents who, between ages 11 and 16 years, had taken part in a randomized trial of a brief family intervention after deliberate…

Objective: Interview data collected from 275 clients with severe mental illnesses are used to test the construct and criterion validity of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Scale (PSS). Method: First, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses are used to test whether the scale reflects the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom…