Mental health challenges for youth continue to be a growing concern. Youth-serving organizations have the potential to play a significant role in recognizing the signs and symptoms of mental health challenges in youth. The Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training course is widely used to equip adults working with youth with skills to support…

Retaining people no longer credited toward college completion--a group known in academic parlance as "stop outs"--is a core concern among administrators seeking to remove barriers to education. Preventing stop outs from becoming stay outs means re-enrolling students beset by debt, or targeting vulnerable demos close to graduation.…

The purpose of this study was to apply two of Kirkpatrick's Four Levels of Training Evaluation to evaluate the implementation of PAX Good Behavior Game training in a challenged Ohio middle school. The study explored teacher "reactions" to and perceived "learning" from the training as it relates to the middle school's goals, and…

This research examined the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP) through the perspective of teachers located in a northeast Ohio county who received a grant to implement the program over a period of several years. The current investigation involved a Likert-style questions which were developed using the general implementation requirements of…

Adolescent suicide is a growing public health concern. This research explores adolescent perceptions of suicide to identify potential focus areas for future prevention programming. This qualitative study utilized focus groups with 14 high school students. Thematic analysis was used to capture key concepts. Salient themes included: "Deciding…

Scholars and researchers are increasingly calling attention to the need for community-based coalitions to become more inclusive of local residents and engage those most directly affected by the issues. One population, however, often remains the recipient of services as opposed to partners or leaders in community change initiatives: youth. Over the…

On a given day, more than 43,000 youths who largely identify as students of color and are disproportionately male are held in residential placement facilities as a result of involvement with the juvenile justice system. More than two-thirds of youths living in placement facilities who participated in a national survey shared aspirations to…

Among programs designed to reduce teen pregnancy, few evidence-based interventions specifically aim to reduce repeat pregnancies. Repeat pregnancies among adolescent mothers, however, are both prevalent and consequential. About one-sixth of births to adolescent mothers are repeat births. Compared to adolescent mothers with only one child, those…

High school students are often involved in sexual and dating violence. The bystander approach aims to stop sexual and dating violence from their initial occurrence by promoting social norms supporting victims and tolerating no violence. Recent studies of high school bystander programs report promising evidence of effectiveness in improving…

Background: School nurses and personnel play a vital role in promoting the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with school nurses' and personnel's professional practice to provide parents with HPV vaccine information and to encourage parents to vaccinate their child against HPV. Methods:…

Leadership in infant and early childhood mental health must take into consideration issues of diversity, historical context, power dynamics, and difference in worldview and experiences. This article describes the importance of equitable and effective partnerships with rural/remote, underserved, and Indigenous communities in the United States and…

This article summarizes a project focused on the PROSPER program delivery system as a formal vehicle for addressing substance misuse and abuse in Ohio communities. Promoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience (PROSPER) is a nationally recognized, evidence-based program delivery system designed to implement prevention…

Background: Nearly 60% of teenagers in the USA have experienced abusive online behaviour. Identifying effective programmes to address these behaviours and promote digital citizenship is a research priority to reduce the rate of occurrence and consequential harmful effects of abusive online behaviour. Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of a…

Established in the year 2000, the Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education is a multidisciplinary center located at a school of social work that engages in collaborative, community-based research and evaluation that spans multiple systems and disciplines. The Center currently occupies 4,200 sq. ft. with multiple offices and…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the federal law that secures special education services for children with disabilities from the time they are born until they graduate from high school. The law was reauthorized by Congress in 2004, prompting a series of changes in the way special education services are implemented. These…