The present study reports on the psychometric defensibility of the Psychological Wellbeing and Distress Screener (PWDS), which is a 10-item self-report behavior rating scale for measuring youth's bidimensional (also known as dual-factor or two-continua) mental health. The PWDS was developed using preexisting items within the Health Behavior in…

Hispanic problem behavior youth are at an increased risk of engaging in HIV risk behaviors, including low condom use. However, relatively little research has examined factors that affect condom use in this population. Although research indicates that family processes, such as higher levels of family functioning and open parent-adolescent…

This study examined gender differences in trajectories of delinquent behaviors over a 6-year period in adolescence and differential outcomes of these diverse developmental pathways. Participants were 754 children who were part of a longitudinal study of the development of early starting conduct problems. Four trajectory patterns were identified…

This study focuses on the sexual phenomenon of "hooking up." A hook-up is defined as a single sexual encounter that may or may not include sexual intercourse with someone who is a stranger, brief acquaintance, or friend. The aim of this study was to document the prevalence of hook-ups in a sample of 1,011 urban middle and high school…

This study examined the relationship between risk, assets, and negative health behaviors among a large sample of Hispanic adolescents. Data were collected from over 1,000 Hispanic youth in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12 attending school in a moderate size school district in Northwest Arkansas. Logistic regression models examined the variation in the odds…

This study examines whether health risk behaviour in adolescence can be predicted by self- and by parental reports of psychopathology (externalizing and internalizing symptoms) assessed two and four years earlier. A total sample of 366 fourth graders participated in a longitudinal study with measurements taken in grades 4, 6, and 8. In grades 4…