This Research-to-Impact brief is the eighth in a series from Voices of Youth Count. Voices of Youth Count is a national research and policy initiative designed to fill critical gaps in the nation's knowledge about unaccompanied homelessness among youth and young adults ages 13 to 25. Voices of Youth Count research estimated that nearly 4.2 million…

Background: Preventing externalizing problems in children is a major societal concern, and a great number of intervention programs have been developed to this aim. To evaluate their preventive effects, well-controlled trials including follow-up assessments are necessary. Methods: This is a systematic review of the effect of prevention programs…

Childhood obesity and the early development of type 2 diabetes (T2 DM) place students at risk for chronic health problems. The school nurse is uniquely situated to promote school health initiatives that influence health behavior. The purpose of this review was to determine effective nonpharmacological interventions for prevention of T2 DM in…

We conducted a review of empirically based prevention programs to identify prevalence and types of family support services within these programs. A total of 238 articles published between 1990 and 2011 that included a family support component were identified; 37 met criteria for inclusion. Following the Institute of Medicine's typology, prevention…

Rates of childhood obesity have more than tripled in the last 40 years, resulting in a challenge from the public sector and various governmental institutions for the development of effective prevention/early intervention programming. Based on an extensive review of the literature, an evidence-based, school-wide curriculum is proposed. Promoting…

Teen pregnancy in the United States has declined significantly in the last two decades. Despite these declines, rates of teen birth, HIV, and STIs in the United States remain among the highest of any industrialized nation. Socio-economic, cultural and structural factors such as poverty, limited access to health care, racism and unemployment…

Rates of overweight in youth have reached epidemic proportions and are associated with adverse health outcomes. Family-based programs have been widely used to treat overweight in youth. However, few programs incorporate a theoretical framework for studying a family systems approach in relation to youth health behavior change. Therefore, this…

Reviews two federal studies that involved national searches for effective parenting and family interventions targeting pre-birth to adolescence. Results identified 3 effective program approaches, 13 principles of effectiveness, and 35 programs. Recommendations include increased dissemination research on training and technical assistance systems,…

This bulletin summarizes the results of a training and technology transfer program focussing on strengthening families for the prevention of delinquency. A national search was conducted for representative family strengthening programs, and through a process that involved national conferences, regional training sessions, and technical assistance,…

Reviews common barriers to family participation in prevention services and highlights advances in strategies for recruiting families. Presents practical, detailed procedures for enlisting hard-to-reach families into prevention services and into prevention research evaluation interviews. Reports on recruitment success rates from a family counseling…

This report represents the testimony of Dr. Mary Ann Hutchison, Project Director of the mental health demonstration and research discretionary grant, "Strengthening Head Start Families: Reducing High Risk Through Mental Health Prevention/Intervention," who discusses the importance of reauthorization of Head Start's mental health…

This manual provides a state-of-the art review of child neglect in the United States, its nature, causes, and the implications of that knowledge for preventive and remedial intervention. After an introduction, the first chapter considers the definition of neglect including types of neglect, the withholding of medically indicated treatment from…

The rural community mental health center tends to serve a large geographic area, have decentralized service delivery, require its professionals to function as generalists, and coordinate closely with other agencies. The last decade has seen an increasing strain placed on this pattern. As block grant and fee-for-service shifts resulting from the…

Reviews research relevant to family-based adolescent health promotion, focusing on efforts to prevent problems and encourage healthy development. Discusses family processes that appear central to healthy adolescent functioning, including attachment, reducing disharmony, and encouraging responsibility. Describes selected family interventions,…

The prevention of child abuse is bound up in the joining together of social nurturance and social control, which flow directly from the concept of support systems. Families involved in maltreatment are likely to be cut off from prosocial support systems. In contrast to psychiatric approaches, more recent behavioristic methods concentrate on…