The role school social workers play within schools, the training they receive, and whether they are present in junior high schools are all factors that pose barriers and opportunities for school social workers' involvement in dropout prevention efforts during the middle school years. Such efforts are necessary because the unique challenges of…

Despite the well-known relevance of comorbidity, few studies have examined the impact of comorbid anxiety or externalizing symptoms on the prevention of depressive symptoms in adolescents. To replicate earlier positive effects of a cognitive-behavioral prevention program of depressive symptoms and to test the hypothesis that the prevention program…

Context: Appalachia has high rates of tobacco use and related health problems, and despite significant impediments to alcohol use, alcohol abuse is common. Adolescents are exposed to sophisticated tobacco and alcohol advertising. Prevention messages, therefore, should reflect research concerning culturally influenced attitudes toward tobacco and…

In Vietnam, between 2000 and 2006, HIV rates among 15- to 49-year-olds in the general population have increased from 27% to 53%. The HIV epidemic is occurring in a context of rapid socioeconomic changes, which have brought about conflicting ideals and norms between "traditional" and "modern" gender roles. We discuss the…

PATS (Paying Attention to Self) is a peer support program for adolescent children of parents with a diagnosed mental illness. The program aims to promote positive mental health, reduce the likelihood of mental health difficulties, increase young people's coping skills and empower them to meet their own and their families' needs. PATS combines peer…

The National Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England places much emphasis on creating partnerships at both national and local levels between government, the drinks industry, health services, police, individuals and communities to tackle alcohol misuse and associated harm and disorder. This article describes the characteristic structures and…

In this chapter, we present a brief review of the developmental literature linking healthy adjustment to five core competencies: (1) positive sense of self, (2) self-control, (3) decision-making skills, (4) a moral system of belief, and (5) prosocial connectedness. A central premise of this chapter and the rest of the volume is that promoting…

Background: Longitudinal studies on risk indicators of internalizing problems in childhood are in short supply, but could be valuable to identify target groups for prevention. Methods: Standardized assessments of 294 children's internalizing problems at the age of 2-3 years (parent report), 4-5 years (parent and teacher report) and 11 years…

A large-scale population trial using the Triple P-Positive Parenting Program (TPS) was evaluated. The target population was all parents of 4- to 7-year-old children residing in ten geographical catchment areas in Brisbane (intervention communities) and ten sociodemographically matched catchment areas from Sydney (5) and Melbourne (5), care as…

Schools in England are legally required to have an anti-bullying policy, but the little research so far suggests that they may lack coverage in important areas. An analysis of 142 school anti-bullying policies, from 115 primary schools and 27 secondary schools in one county was undertaken. A 31-item scoring scheme was devised to assess policy.…

The numbers of children raised by their grandparents are increasing. Although placement with their grandparents may be the best setting for children whose parents can no longer care for them, research suggests the children may experience difficult school functioning such as behavioral, emotional, and academic problems. Additionally, the…

After the fatal shootings at Virginia Tech last April, colleges went shopping for hardware. They bought sirens, mass-messaging systems, surveillance cameras, and door locks. Some colleges armed their police departments for the first time. Others added assault rifles to their arsenals. "Active shooter" drills happened everywhere. As administrators…

Evaluators sometimes wish for a Fairy Godmother who would make decision makers pay attention to evaluation findings when choosing programs to implement. The U.S. Department of Education came close to creating such a Fairy Godmother when it required school districts to choose drug abuse prevention programs only if their effectiveness was supported…

Monitoring the Future (MTF) is a long-term study of American adolescents, college students, and adults through age 50. It has been conducted annually by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research since its inception in 1975. It is supported under a series of investigator-initiated, competing research grants from the National…

This is the first of two reports that summarize the findings from an impact evaluation of a violence prevention intervention for middle schools. This report discusses findings after 1 year of implementation. A forthcoming report will discuss the findings after 2 years and 3 years of implementation. In 2004, the U.S. Department of Education (ED)…