Attitudes toward ethnic and racial identity have been linked to both wellbeing and maladaptive outcomes that affect belonging at school. Further, relatedness (or connectedness) as an indicator of school belonging has been positively associated with adaptive forms of motivation, acceptance of school, protection against risk factors, and scholastic…

Previous studies have found evidence for gender and racial/ethnic differences in depressive symptoms in adolescence; however, the mechanisms driving this relationship are poorly understood. The goal of this study was to examine the role of individual differences in dispositional coping in the relationships between gender and depressive…

Background: In this cross-sectional study we explored relationships between aggressive and violent behaviors and emotional self-efficacy (ESE) in a statewide sample of public high school adolescents in South Carolina (N = 3836). Methods: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Behavior Survey items on aggressive and violent…

Objective: Between 2013 and 2014, past 30-day use of e-cigarettes increased from 4.5% to 13.4% among US high school students aged 9-19 years. We sought to examine the influence of perceived addiction and harm of e-cigarettes on e-cigarette use among adolescents. Design: Self-reported use and perception of harm of e-cigarettes were assessed using a…

The present study used nationally representative data from the U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) merged with census-track data from the American Community Survey (ACS) to model race-ethnic disparities in overweight, obesity, and obesity-related disease among children and adolescents as a function of neighborhood race-ethnic segregation,…

Previous studies find that romantic relationships adversely affect adolescents' psychological well-being, yet none examine the differential effects of adolescent romance for same-race and interracial daters. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), I find that heterosexual adolescents in same-race…

Background: Lifetime educational attainment is an important predictor of health and well-being for women in the United States. In this study, we examine the roles of sociocultural factors in youth and an understudied biological life event, pubertal timing, in predicting women's lifetime educational attainment. Methods: Using data from the National…

Community violence exposure (CVE) is associated with numerous psychosocial outcomes among youth. Although linear, cumulative effects models have typically been used to describe these relations, emerging evidence suggests the presence of curvilinear associations that may represent a pattern of emotional desensitization among youth exposed to…

Scholarship regarding adolescent resilience has typically defined resilience as the absence of negative outcomes rather than the existence of positive outcomes. This study drew on the challenge model of resilience, which anticipates a curvilinear relationship between stress exposure and adaptive functioning, to test whether adolescents reporting…

We examined the effects of family functioning trajectories on sexual risk behaviors and STI in adolescents. A sample of 850 predominantly (80%) Black adolescents from Michigan, United States, was assessed at baseline, 12, 24, and 36 months postbaseline. Adolescents were from working-class families with a mean age of 14.9 years (SD = 0.64, Range =…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between television viewing time, physical activity level, food consumption patterns, and academic performance of adolescents in a large urban school district in the USA where health disparities are prevalent, particularly among minority residents. Design/Methodology/Approach: The…

Based on a longitudinal sample of 1,452 African American and European American adolescents and their parents, parenting practices (i.e., monitoring, warmth, and autonomy support) at 7th grade had significant indirect effects on college enrollment 3 years post high school, through their effects on aspirations, school engagement, and grade point…

For youth with emotional and behavioral challenges, there is a trend of minority overrepresentation in restrictive settings. "System of care" refers to an approach that emphasizes cultural competence and providing services in the least restrictive setting. This study investigated the relationship between placement restrictiveness,…

Childhood obesity is emerging as a considerable public health problem with no clear antidote. The school food environment is a potential intervention point for policy makers, with competitive food and beverage regulation as a possible policy lever. This research examines the link between competitive food and beverage availability in school and…

Although the importance of parental support for child sexual abuse victims is well documented, the nature of parental support for victims sexually abused by adolescents is less understood. In this exploratory study, we examine whether parents differ in their levels of blame or doubt for their child when sexually abused by adolescents versus…