Uses lifespan and ecological frameworks to investigate the factors associated with early adolescent sexual activity. Results from 803 African American and Hispanic adolescents suggest a high prevalence of early sexual activity, corresponding to higher rates of childbearing and risky sexual behavior when compared to sexual activity initiated in…

Discusses how conceptualizing anger control as a necessary survival skill for angry and aggressive youth is more productive than diagnosing these youth with labels like conduct disorders. Anger management programs should promote the ideas that angry persons need to trust others and that they have the ability to control their lives. (RJM)

Addresses a paradigm shift taking place in the field of substance-abuse prevention for youth. Introduces the youth development and empowerment (YD&E) approach, an innovative program for treating substance abuse and other problem behavior. Discusses the process of implementing the YD&E program. (MKA)

Screens penal, social services, and special education agencies in one region to determine the need for mental health services among adolescents. Determines that the need for mental health care greatly outstrips the supply. Discusses the effectiveness of treatment for the problems of these youth and a possible structure for service delivery.…

Investigates to what extent the juvenile criminal law achieves the goal of providing effective professional help in cases for which such assistance is indicated, by reviewing assessments of a sample of juveniles (N=108) brought before the court. It concludes that young delinquents need to be more adequately screened for psychiatric disorders as…

Troubled youth who are disconnected from the mainstream youth culture need relationships with caring adults and prosocial peers. Peers involved in church and school activities often ostracize troubled youth. Educators and youth workers need to encourage prosocial behaviors and encourage youth to reach out and befriend their troubled peers.…

Evaluated Adventist lifestyle as a modification of popular American culture which reduces the risk of early sexual activity in adolescents and thus also reduces the risk for both STDs and teen pregnancy. Data analysis demonstrated a wide variety of behaviors were associated with premature sexual activity, including previously reported high-risk…

Examines some of the reasons for the differences between depressed and non-depressed adolescent suicidal attempters in their response to a brief family intervention. Determined that efficacy of the family intervention in reducing suicidal ideation within the nondepressed sub-group was probably not mediated by changes in variables such as family…

Compares behaviors and social environments of African-American males in juvenile detention (N=106) with those not in detention (N=106). Factors which increased the likelihood of being in detention include: (1) drinking alcohol and getting into fights; (2) being suspended from school; and (3) breaking into property. Mother's time spent with the…

Programs serving troubled youth continuously struggle with the issue of using physical restraints and other coercive interventions. This paper revisits the issues and motivations surrounding restraint use. It offers an analytic perspective on the physical restraint cycle and the factors that tend to support its recurrence. (JDM)

Argues that the perception of increasing youth violence is based on fiction rather than fact. Provides the facts involved in the juvenile justice policy focusing on the differences between juvenile and adult violence, youth violence trends, population trends, and three legal policy issues toward adolescent violence. Offers juvenile crime…

Treatment of sexually abusive youth was initially patterned after treatment of adult sex offenders. Article discusses the important differences in understanding the developmental progression and in treatment approaches that have evolved. Supports developmental perspective for treatment of youth which views abusive sexuality as evidence of deviant…

Addresses the nature of youth violence and its connection to school violence, reviews actions taken as a response to school violence, and identifies the impact violence and its counter-measures have had on the school community. Suggests that educators focus on increasing the sense of community within their schools as both a response to school…

A youth blames himself for his mother's abandonment and sabotages relationships through self-defeating behavior. This interview identifies the precursor of his problems and helps him cope with the current reality without self derogation. (Author)

Evaluated predictors of therapy attendance in a sample of substance abusing youth in two southwestern runaway shelters. Runaway youth and their families were engaged into a 15-session ecologically-based family therapy (EBFT) intervention. Fewer days between pretreatment assessment and first therapy session predicted more sessions attended. No…