Relationships matter. What seems to be a simple truth continues to present a challenge--and significant opportunity--for those who work with youth. Research has repeatedly shown that positive relationships are an important catalyst for success, but often there's a gap between the relationships young people say they need and the relationships that…

In this update to the National Technical Assistance Center for the Education of Neglected or Delinquent Children and Youth's (NDTAC's) 2006 issue brief on family involvement, the evolving definition of family and the compelling reasons for family engagement are explored. Further, promising advances in the field and innovative ways in which systems…

Youths' perspectives are often unexplored in youth program development and implementation. This article examined youths' perspectives of a 4-H youth prevention program called "Health Rocks!" that is designed to promote healthful decision-making skills, stress coping, and socioemotional skills related to substance use. Qualitative and…

Childhood bullying is a grave breach of children's human rights and a serious public health issue. The phenomenon has warranted research attention in developed societies and shown to have serious short- and long-term implications for individuals, families, and society as a whole. This article provides an overview of the school bullying phenomenon…

Background: In 2018, Georgia ranked fourth in the USA for the number of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and first for rate of new HIV diagnoses. Structural barriers to HIV prevention and care include homelessness, inadequate access to healthcare, insufficient sexual health education, HIV criminalisation and incarceration. Objective: Georgia…

Adolescents in rural Uganda face unique opportunities and challenges to their health. The primary goal of this exploratory cross-sectional survey study was to describe the health behaviors of adolescents of age 13-19 living in four Ugandan fishing communities as a foundation for developing programs to reduce risky health behaviors and HIV/AIDS…

The world is overcoming an unprecedented challenge with the COVID-19 pandemic's worldwide spread. Epidemics and pandemics are part of history. The oldest records are related to the plague of Athens in 430 BC and throughout times numerous other diseases affected humankind, devastating societies. Nowadays, the global world allows rapid communication…

Due to an increasing number of children under the age of three attending early childhood education and care (ECEC), there is an increasing need for high-quality care settings. In addition to primary caregivers, ECEC teachers are important socializers of children's emotional development and may become children's attachment figures. Early preventive…

Camp has proven to be an effective positive youth development strategy for children and youth who experience trauma and adversity. However, training camp counselors who are prepared to meet the needs of trauma-exposed youth in these settings are less understood. This pilot evaluation study provides the results of a social simulation-based training…

Depression is one of the most common psychological disorders experienced by adolescents. Research has shown depression rates are higher in Asian-American adolescents when compared to their European-American counterparts. This paper will investigate possible programs for preventing and responding to Asian-American youths' depression through a…

Physical separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins has been identified as the most effective method for preventing the transfer of aquatic nuisance species, particularly Asian carp, from the Mississippi River Basin to the Great Lakes. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers selected Extension to conduct a study of a key stakeholder…

Aims: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is implementing opioid overdose (OOD) education and naloxone distribution to reduce rising rates of OOD deaths. This study assessed knowledge and interest in OOD prevention with naloxone at a VHA hospital where naloxone kits were not yet available. Methods: Veterans receiving opioids for =3 months,…

Many interventions are characterized by repeated observations on the same individuals (e.g., baseline, mid-intervention, two to three post-intervention observations), which offer the opportunity to consider differences in how individuals vary over time. Effective interventions may not be limited to changing means, but instead may also include…

Although anti-bullying programs often include a component that focuses on strengthening teachers' abilities in identifying and addressing bullying, it is not clear which bullying situations teachers find difficult to address and what type of support is needed. In the current qualitative study, we investigated what teachers considered difficult…

Purpose: Communication plays an important role in health decisions and behaviors. Friends and family exert influence through communication and, when considering smoking, this is particularly salient among those friends and family who smoke. Guided by primary socialization theory and integrated behavioral model, the present study examined the…