Research has identified risk and protective factors related to adolescent substance use using individual-level data, but it is uncertain whether or not these relationships exist when data are aggregated to a community level. Using data from adolescents in 41 communities, this article found that most community and family risk and protective…

Coming just four days before the anniversary of the Columbine school shootings, the mass slayings by a student gunman at Virginia Polytechnic Institute last week revived vexing questions and raised familiar fears for educators across the country who grapple daily with ensuring the safety of their students and staffs. The April 16 killings provoked…

Parent drug education is considered a key aspect of drug prevention. Effective communication acts as protective factor for drug misuse in young people. This study is a Participatory Action Research study of "Drugsbridge", a drug education programme that has an emphasis on facilitating intergenerational communication about drugs between parents and…

The current study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of a mailed feedback and tips intervention as a universal prevention strategy for college drinking. Participants (N = 1,488) were randomly assigned to feedback or assessment-only control conditions. Results indicated that the mailed feedback intervention had a preventive effect on drinking…

Dramatic improvements have been made in the lives of children over the last century. Even so, many health and safety challenges remain unresolved. For example, unintentional injuries claim the lives of more children each year than any other cause of death. In addition, a panel of pediatricians reported that the incidence of childhood obesity…

Despite the increasing numbers of young Canadian females becoming infected with HIV through heterosexual transmission with an infected male sexual partner, the majority of current HIV prevention programs and services in Canada continue to ignore the needs of young heterosexual males. This research is derived from 30 in-depth interviews, 9 focus…

In 2002 MTV aired a global media campaign, "Staying Alive," to promote HIV prevention among 16- to 25-year-olds. Skeptics believed that a global MTV campaign would reach only a small group of elite young people. MTV increased access to its campaign, however, by making all materials "rights free" to third-party (non-MTV)…

The Female Athlete Triad is a life-threatening syndrome defined by disordered eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis. Objective and Participants: The author's purpose in this study was to examine female cross-country runners' (N = 300) calcium consumption, along with the prevalence of 2 components of the triad: disordered eating and menstrual…

This study extends past research by examining predictors of different types of sexual assault perpetration in a community sample. Computer-assisted self-interviews were conducted with a representative sample of 163 men in one large urban community. As hypothesized, many variables that are significant predictors of sexual assault perpetration in…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review evidence related to the factors that influence people's understanding of health information and how miscommunication of health information can jeopardize people's health. Design/methodology/approach: A literature review was conducted of English language articles, cited in major literature databases…

Background: Across the nation, schools have become actively involved in developing obesity prevention strategies both in classrooms and in cafeterias. We sought to determine the type of foods being offered during lunch in the cafeteria of 3 public high schools in 1 county and if this reflects the purchasing patterns of students. By labeling foods…

A growing body of research lends support to opportunity theory and its variants, but has yet to focus systematically on a number of specific offenses and contexts. Typically, the more crimes and contexts to which a theory applies, the broader its scope and range, respectively, and thus generalizability. In this paper, we focus on agricultural…

Objective: A high percentage of suicide victims have seen a primary care physician in the months before committing suicide. Thus, primary care physicians may play an important role in suicide prevention. Method: The authors mailed a survey to directors of training programs in family practice, internal medicine, and pediatrics, and 50.5% responded.…

Best practice in preventing severe problem behavior in schools involves implementing a continuum of effective behavior support. This continuum includes primary prevention strategies implemented with all students, secondary prevention strategies for students at-risk, and tertiary interventions for students who engage in the most severe problem…

The author's PhD training and 25 years of teaching experience did not prepare her for dealing with widespread cheating. Is it better to confront cheaters personally, or just fix the evaluation system and move on? How can the process of failing cheaters be handled in a way that is fair to all? Finally, can a potentially disastrous cheating incident…