Working together, schools and families can provide a character-based approach to sexuality education. Schools can give parents a wake-up call, provide historical perspective, share good news, encourage parents to talk with kids, help discuss dangers, identify rewards of waiting, give guidelines, and support chaste lifestyles. (Contains 21…

There is no shortage of opinion about school violence. This article taps the expertise of youths themselves. Conversations were held with 95 high school students, both one week and one year following the shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Two sets of responses are compared and questions are raised for educators as to how to…

Evaluates the effectiveness of a family-school-community intervention model in an off-campus disciplinary alternative school. Finds positive changes in students' self-esteem and life skills and significant improvement in their attendance and grades while in the program. All except two students were still in school 1 year after leaving the program.…

Believes that the drop in urban teenage crime can be attributed to the change in how communities meet the needs of children and teenagers. Compares the U.S. cities with successful youth programs to ones that lack resources. Recommends that suburban and rural communities should also adopt programs to combat youth crime and violence. (CMK)

This essay with photographs describes the experiences of two runaways, examining why they left home and how they found help. Although runaways have a reputation for being irresponsible, they usually have good reasons for leaving home. The nun who ran Noah's Ark, where both the runaways featured found shelter and help, estimated that only about two…

This is a guide to nonfiction, selective fiction, and videos for young people searching for answers. Its assortment of titles can give adolescents, ages 12 to 18, a better understanding of growing up in a rapidly changing world. With a few exceptions, most of the material included here has been published since 1990 and is currently available. The…

In this applied research project, the tendency for Youth Workers to treat admissions as a sudden procedural event was problematic at a treatment program. Literature from (brief) constructivist therapies, youth care work, and interviews with administrators, youth workers, and youths at a treatment program were used to solve the problem. The Context…

A common misconception about gangs is that they resemble past images of motorcycle riders. Society is now faced with what are called "hybrid" gangs whose members are usually 14 to 16 years of age, who dress conservatively, who display subtle gang identifiers, and who are motivated by a combination of profit and poor family life. This…

The places and circumstances in which teens encounter frightening or abusive behavior are presented in this book; students act out or read aloud the skits in order to initiate discussion. This book prompts teenagers to confront the violence in their lives by helping them examine the underlying causes of the violence, by provoking discussion about…

Drug use and delinquency share many common antecedents: early antisocial behavior, difficulties in school, impaired family relationships, delinquent or drug-using peers, and rebelliousness. But these common factors could underlie a cluster of problem behaviors or lead to distinctly different behavioral manifestations. Using data from 1,363 West…

In response to instances of violent acts involving children and teens both as victims and perpetrators, the Maine Legislature passed a resolve to study the issue and to identify and describe the extent of the problem among children, teenagers, and young adults in Maine. Results of a survey (n=542) designed to: (1) ascertain the perceptions of…

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that for every high school of 2,000 or more students in the United States, there is at least one successful suicide and thirty to fifty attempts each year. This report offers one state's examination of suicide and presents some effective responses to this problem. Discussed are those…

This report presents verbatim, a hearing before the Subcommittee on Children, Family, Drugs and Alcoholism. The hearing featured a series of testimonies and stories on violence among young people in the United States. It opened with remarks by Subcommittee Chairman, Christopher Dodd. He was followed by numerous statements on the nature of violence…

Early adolescence presents many challenges to youth, their parents, and educators. During these transition years, students experience physical, emotional, and educational transformations. The Scarborough school system in Ontario, Canada, conducted a study of the Ministry of Education's Transition Years pilot project in four of its schools. The…

This idea book is a resource to help individuals focus their good will and energy on helping girls and young women in their communities. After a brief introduction to each of seven advocacy strategies, ideas for action are listed under each. The first advocacy strategy focuses on organizing your community for action. Ideas for action include…