As children reach adolescence, peer groups gain special power to influence their behavior, and young people tend to adapt their behavior to fit group norms. When students engage in bullying, alcohol and drug abuse, and other behavior, those in their peer group are more likely to engage in those behaviors as well. The authors sought to evaluate…

Parochial schools are assumed to provide better social and academic experiences; however, few studies account for selection bias when comparing with public schools. This study contrasted public versus parochial schools using propensity score matching across a range of outcomes (e.g., perceptions of school, emotional symptoms, substance use,…

This study aims to identify the relationships between Individualized Education Program (IEP) status and substance use. More than 122,000 eighth-, ninth-, and eleventh-grade students provided survey data in 2013. Analyses tested associations between IEP status and tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use, accounting for emotional distress and…

Monitoring the Future (MTF) is designed to give attention to substance use among the nation's youth and adults. It is an investigator-initiated study that originated with, and is conducted by, a team of research professors at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research. Since its onset in 1975, MTF has been funded continuously by…

This study aims to examine options to increase the supportive power of parents, teachers, school administrators, and counselors who directly interact with children and adolescents and have a fundamental responsibility to protect them from the risks of substance abuse and evaluate the effectiveness of associated training programs. The study design…

Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) is an evidence-based protocol that addresses both moderate-risk and high-risk substance use problems for individuals. In an urban college's master's and bachelor's social work programs with 218 students, SBIRT training was introduced into core course curricula, with many students…

This study evaluated the impact of Motivational Interviewing (MI) and Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) workshops on posttraining knowledge, skills, negative attitudes, and interest in implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs). Participants (N = 70) were primarily mental health counselor (41.4%), social workers…

This dissertation explores and connects the concepts of self-creation and self-care as a means to better address the evolving needs of students seeking to actualize themselves in and beyond higher education. These needs include helping students manage change, and other issues such as stress, anxiety, substance abuse, and physical health…

This text presents current, accessible information on enhancing the counseling process using a brain-based paradigm. Leading experts provide guidelines and insights for becoming a skillful neuroscience-informed counselor, making direct connections between the material covered and clinical practice. In this much-needed resource-the first to address…

Support for the extended care provisions of the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 was, to a large extent, based on the belief that allowing youth in foster care to remain in care past their 18th birthday would improve their outcomes as adults. Research following foster youth into adulthood has shown that…

Providing treatment to survivors of human trafficking requires mental health professionals to understand complex layers of multiple traumas. These layers include an understanding of how trafficking occurs; what gender, ages, sexual orientations, life circumstances, and ethnicities are most at risk to be trafficked; the lasting impact of…

Background: There are well-documented inequities in smoking between sexual and gender minority (SGM; e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender [LGBT]) and straight and cisgender people. However, there is less information about risk for and resilience against smoking among SGM people. Such information is critical for understanding etiology and…

A joint effort by the National Center for Education Statistics and the Bureau of Justice Statistics, this annual report presents the most recent data available on school crime and student safety. The indicators in this report are based on information drawn from a variety of data sources, including national and international surveys of students,…

This study explored potential barriers to sustaining recovery from substance use disorders (SUD) in adolescence, particularly for youth enrolled in school-based recovery programs, or recovery schools. Participants (N = 28) enrolled full-time in a Massachusetts recovery high school completed a survey of demographic information and scales assessing…

Background: Little research exists examining the impact of multiple minority identities, particularly sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, and sex on health-risk behaviors like mental health, substance use, violence, and sexual risk among high school students in the United States. In this study, we use a nationally representative dataset to examine…