Reviews research which has clarified the needs and problems of adolescents in secure units and has highlighted the relationship between provision offered in child care, penal, and health services. Discusses new research findings, particularly those arising out of studies of young people (n=104) in two youth treatment centers. (Author/ABL)

As teenagers mature, they seek to move away from the adult community's normative pressures. A 10-year survey of adolescents in 10 communities found more congruence than conflict between parent and adolescent world views. Seattle, Washington's innovative youth charter offers an ideal way to map out adult and adolescent roles. Includes nine…

Describes Improving Academic Achievement through Success (IMPAACTS), a program designed to assist those first-time juvenile offenders who are participating in a deferred prosecution program to improve their academic achievement. Discusses the goals, procedures and future of the program. (Author/BH)

Describes how creative writing led to a development in literacy and had a therapeutic effect for incarcerated youths in a county jail. States that six inmates composed and recorded a rap song "How to Stay Out of Jail" as a caution to their younger siblings. Concludes that this improved the inmates' self-esteem and helped them reevaluate…

Describes life space crisis intervention that is excellent instructional example of intervention strategy that addresses peer exploitation in which bright, passive-aggressive student gets aggressive student to blow up and act crazy so that staff will have to intervene to control and punish impulsive student. Presents life space interview…

Reviews the definitions of the term "youth at risk" and their perspectives on predisposing conditions. Discusses implications for counseling. Asserts that the sound diagnosis and treatment of adolescents' problems involves careful identification of predisposing conditions and negative outcomes. Includes 16 citations. (Author/CRR)

Lacking adult guidance and surrounded by equally confused peers, too many early adolescents make decisions with harmful or lethal consequences. Middle grade schools are potentially society's most powerful tool for recapturing youth adrift. Recommendations for transforming middle schools and an action plan for mobilizing community and social…

During first year of operation, Teen Line (peer telephone listening service) received 2,270 calls, two-thirds of which were from females. Four percent of topics discussed dealt with crisis situations (suicide, physical abuse); 96 percent were concerned with issues such as peer relationships, family dynamics, and need to have someone "to talk to."…

Examined hypothesis that adolescent problems are positively associated with overt and covert forms of parental conflict. Compared observed marital interactions in families of adolescents with problems to those in families of adolescents without problems. Findings suggest that both overt parental conflict and some forms of covert conflict play…

Compared long-term effectiveness of time-limited and time-unlimited psychodynamically based therapies, with minimal-contact group as control. Findings from 30 children diagnosed with psychological problems and their parents revealed that all groups showed significant improvements from pretest to posttest. Other findings suggest that long-term…

Summarizes some well-informed suggestions on how to deal with gang problems from variety of sources. Examines what educators and schools can do; how one relates individually to gang members; and what community and parent action can be taken. Provides details on additional useful resources. (Author/NB)

This "Voices of Pioneers" section of the journal highlights the work of Jane Addams, who founded the settlement house movement in America with the establishment of Hull House in Chicago in 1899. Presents excerpts from Addams' book "The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets (1909)" to illustrate her views on guns, stealing,…

Discusses problems facing children and adolescents in the former Soviet Union. Describes efforts of Bureau for Youth Welfare which has networked with various organizations to create projects in all the Russian Republics. Briefly describes international conference on Modern Society and the Psychosocial Problems of Children held in Moscow in May…

Examines the distribution of drug use among adolescents 12 to 17 years in data from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. Results indicate that the risk of drug use is highest in father-custody families even after controlling for socio-demographic variables. Risk is lowest in mother-father families. (Author/EMK)

Runaway behavior is presented from the point of view of 26 teenagers in a rural New England shelter. Reasons for running include seeking freedom from abusive treatment, and a search for connection. Running was found to be a "last resort" behavior. Many youths expressed the desire for reconciliation. (Author/EMK)