Adolescent suicide is a critical problem in the United States. Identification and reporting of warning signs is a suicide prevention practice that is particularly important in schools, where adolescents spend the majority of their time. Though it is necessary to consider both risk factors and warning signs when evaluating an individual's suicide…

Nearly all states and the District of Columbia have policies requiring schools to address prevention of alcohol or drug use and abuse in high school health education curricula, according to National Association of State Boards of Education's (NASBE's) State Health Policy Database. But with the added concerns about the pandemic's impact on youth…

This study examines developmental change across adolescence in the similarity of friends versus nonfriends. This differential in similarity is a key aspect of the organization of the peer context of development: The stronger the correlation between friends for an attribute, the more the attribute delineates clustering and divisions of friendships.…

According to family systems and life course theories, periods of intense change, such as early adolescence, can disrupt stable family systems, leading to changes in family relationships. In this longitudinal study, we investigate 2 types of change in parental hostility and warmth toward their children during early adolescence (Grades 6 to…

Background: Sexting, the sharing of sexually suggestive photos, may be a gateway behavior to early sexual activity and increase the likelihood of social ostracism. Methods: Youth Risk Behavior Survey (N = 6021) data from 2015 among Pennsylvania 9th-12th grade students were used to examine associations between consensual and nonconsensual sexting…

Recent momentum to develop a trauma-informed education system provides an important opportunity for Pennsylvania schools. About two out of every three school-age children are likely to experience at least one traumatic event, such as abuse, neglect, or exposure to violence, by age 17. The effects of traumatic stress can include negative impacts on…

We describe a project focused on training parents to facilitate their treatment-resistant adolescent's treatment entry and to manage their child after entry into community-based treatment. Controlled studies show that Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) is a unilateral treatment that fosters treatment entry of adults; however,…

Studies are needed that examine neurobiological characteristics in high-risk individuals prior to substance use disorder (SUD) development. In this pilot study, 4 adolescent subjects at high risk for SUD (having at least 1 parent with an SUD) were compared with 4 adolescent reference subjects on a cortico-limbic reactivity paradigm, where they…

A 20-year retrospective study, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and published in the July 2015 issue of the "American Journal of Public Health," suggests that kindergarten students who are more inclined to exhibit "social competence" traits--such as sharing, cooperating, or helping other kids--may be more likely to…

Facilitator-led smoking media literacy (SML) programs have improved media literacy and reduced intention to smoke. However, these programs face limitations including high costs and barriers to standardization. We examined the efficacy of a Web-based media literacy program in improving smoking media literacy skills among adolescents. Sixty-six 9th…

The Center for Collegiate Mental Health (CCMH) 2021 Annual Report describes 153,233 unique college students, nationally and internationally, seeking mental health treatment; 4,043 clinicians; and more than 1,135,520 appointments from the 2020-2021 academic year. This is the 13th year the report has been produced. This year's report specifically…

Enhancing the delivery quality of school-based, evidence-based prevention programs is one key to ensuring uniform program effects on student outcomes. Program evaluations often focus on content dosage when implementing prevention curricula, however, less is known about implementation quality of prevention content, especially among teachers who may…

This study estimated the ASD prevalence in a psychiatric hospital and evaluated the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) combined with other information for differential diagnosis. Chart review, SRS and clinical interviews were collected for 141 patients at one hospital. Diagnosis was determined at case conference. Receiver operating characteristic…

Background: Little is known about the correlates of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination or willingness to be vaccinated in urban, minority adolescents. Methods: Using responses to the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey in Philadelphia, a random sample of high schools provided weighted data representing 20,941 9th to 12th graders. Stratified by…

Pennsylvania's response to adolescent suicide is its Student Assistance Program (SAP). SAP has been funded for 27 years although no statewide outcome studies using case-level data have been conducted. This study used logistic regression to examine drug-/alcohol-related behaviors and suspensions of suicidal students who participated in SAP. Of the…