On June 16, 2004, the College of Human Ecology (CHE), University of Minnesota partnered with a Twin Cities community service agency to host an event that raised awareness of domestic violence and also raised funds. "The Sheila Shawl Extravaganza," was a celebration of Sheila Wellstone's life (she was the wife of Minnesota senator Paul…

In 1998, the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy launched a national media campaign in an effort to reduce and prevent drug use among young Americans. Because the campaign was implemented nationwide, there is no control group available for use in evaluating the effects of the campaign. Nevertheless, it is possible to use propensity score…

School administrators, teachers, parents, and juvenile justice officials have long been concerned about the problem of truancy in schools, especially since truancy has been linked to problem behaviors, including academic failure, school dropout, and delinquency. Thus, the prevention of truancy and programs designed to break the cycle of chronic…

Families can help prevent violence through nurturing empathy in their children. This article provides the framework for supporting families in becoming active in their children's development of empathy. Strategies are provided that help parents and family implement empathy development.

Similarities and differences in predictors of retention/attendance patterns between African American and Hispanic parent participants (N=143) from a family-focused preventive intervention were examined. Three broad retention pattern groups, nonattenders, variable attenders, and consistent high attenders, and 2 subgroups of the variable attendance…

This study sought to determine if exposure to two communication-oriented activities, videotapes and public service announcements, accounts for changes in substance use among adolescents participating in the Drug Resistance Strategies Project's keepin it REAL adolescent substance use prevention curriculum. Middle-school students (4,734, 72% Latino)…

Domestic violence imposes a large cost on society. The authors exploit state variation in timing to examine the impact of three types of law on intimate partner homicides. These laws restrict access to firearms by individuals who are subject to a restraining order or have been convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor or allow law enforcement…

Adults may feel uncertain about how to handle bullying when they see or hear it happening, or they may respond in ways that don't make the best use of the opportunity to teach a young person the difference between appropriate and inappropriate behavior. They could end up inadvertently promoting, rather than reducing bullying. This article offers…

Functional behavior assessment (FBA) is an integral component of a positive behavior support approach to preventing problem behavior across all students in the school. As primary prevention, FBA is a collaborative school-wide practice to predict common problems and to develop school-wide interventions. As secondary prevention, FBA involves simple…

This article focuses on the causes, consequences, and prevention of obesity among a subgroup of the American population, Black adolescent girls. Using an ecological perspective on obesity among Black adolescent girls, including feminist-womanist perspectives and historical and medical sociological perspectives, the authors discuss genetic,…

The report of the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education (PCESE) is questioned with reference to the achievement gap it identifies, its recommendations regarding prevention, its suggestion that many students are misidentified, and its concern for over identification of African American students in the category of emotional and…

A cohort study was designed to explore over 200 primary schoolchildren's (ages 4-7) perspectives on smoking in the context of their own lives and subsequently, to assess any changes in these perspectives over time. Results showed that, in general, the children had a negative disposition about the habit, which did not dissipate over the 3-year…

This article features "STOP (Students Taking on Prevention) the Violence," a peer-to-peer outreach initiative that empowers young people to recognize, report, and reduce the potential for youth violence. It is a national Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) program that provides young people with the attitudes, skills,…

Much of the data reported here regarding American Indian (AI) people has originated from specific areas with particular peoples. Thus, one must be cautious in applying information from one tribe to the hundreds of tribes living across the United States. As with any people, psychiatric disorder may be a pre-existing rationale for using alcohol. Or…

Suicide is a leading cause of death among youth, and schools have an important role to play in preventing suicide. Schools are the center of many adolescents' lives and they can influence students' personal and social development. Therefore, it is appropriate that the first line of suicide prevention strategies should lie within the educational…