Young people have questions about sex and development but may have trouble getting answers to them. Text messaging services can serve as a resource. This study analysed 1351 text messages sent to a sexual health text message service designed for young people in North Carolina to determine the types of questions asked of a confidential, accurate…

Aims: This study explored the prevalence and patterns of cigarette, alcohol and illicit drug use among adolescents with mild intellectual disability (ID) residing in different types of living arrangements in Serbia. Methods: A total of 100 male and female adolescents, aged 13-20 years, attending special schools for students with ID completed a…

Although numerous studies have focused on understanding various aspects of the science of weight loss and weight gain in college students, understanding how the weight-loss process affects college students psychologically and behaviorally may help administrators and student affairs professionals to better work with students on their campuses. The…

Background: Churches are an appealing setting for implementing health-related behavior change programs. Purpose: The objective of the study was to examine the relationship between perceived environmental church support for physical activity (PA) and PA behaviors. Method: Black church members from South Carolina ("n" = 309) wore an…

Food systems are of increasing interest in both research and policy communities. Surveys of post-socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) show high rates of food self-provisioning. These practices have been explained in terms of being "coping strategies of the poor". Alber and Kohler's "Informal Food Production in the…

Mobile technologies hold promise for improving diet and physical activity, but little attention is given to creating programs that adolescents like and will use. This study developed a personal digital assistant (PDA) program to promote increased intake of fruits and vegetables (FV) in predominately low-income, ethnic minority girls. This study…

The Reducing Obesity in Students Everywhere (ROSE) health promotion presentations educate students in grades 3-12 about nutrition, physical activity, reducing screen time, sleep, smoking, stress management, and the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. This article describes the content of the presentations, how information is delivered, strategies…

Background: Childhood exposure to adverse experiences has been associated with adult asthma, smoking, sexually transmitted disease, obesity, substance use, depression, and sleep disturbances. Conceptualizing bullying as an adverse childhood experience, 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data were used to examine the relationship between…

Little is known about dissemination strategies that contribute to health information recognition. This study examined (a) health campaign exposure and awareness (slogan and logo recognition); (b) perceived communication channels; (c) differences between perceptions of researcher-developed and enhancement community health information materials; and…

Background: Lack of education is a known barrier to vaccination, but data on the design and effectiveness of interventions remain limited. Objective: This study aims to identify the effectiveness of a Facebook-assisted teaching method on female adolescents' knowledge and attitudes about cervical cancer prevention and on their human papillomavirus…

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…

Young people living with HIV are challenged when it comes to exploring their sexuality. Their sex education is hampered by the fact that their preferences and attitudes towards sexual behaviour are little known about. In this study from the Netherlands, Q-methodology was used to identify sizeable and meaningful sub-groups sharing common attitudes…

Objective: The primary aim of this study was to describe and analyse the physical activity and sedentary levels of secondary school teachers in Flanders. A secondary aim was to collect information regarding a possible worksite intervention of special relevance to secondary school teachers. Design: Mixed-methods quantitative and qualitative…

The growing number of United States youth and adults categorized as overweight or obese illustrates a need for research-based family wellness interventions. Sequential, online, Extension-delivered family wellness interventions offer a time- and cost-effective approach for both participants and Extension educators. The 6-week, online Healthy…

Monitoring the Future (MTF) is a long-term study of American adolescents, college students, and adult high school graduates through age 55. The study is supported under a series of investigator-initiated, competing research grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and has been conducted annually by the University of Michigan's Institute…