When a survey of students at Eisenhower Middle School in Everett, Washington indicated that they spent a good part of the school day feeling tired and hungry, that they felt unsafe in some areas of the school, and that worn-down facilities left many of them feeling depressed, the author and his staff concluded that, in order to improve the…

This study investigated significant relationships between youth assets and youth alcohol, tobacco, and drug use that differ according to family structure (one- or two-parent households). Data were collected from a randomly sampled inner-city population (n=1,256 teenagers and 1,256 parents of the teenagers) using in-home, in-person interviews.…

Forty-nine suicide cases were drawn from an original sample of 151 consecutive youth suicide deaths. We used information from 270 interviews with parents and other survivors to evaluate mental health treatment sought for and by the decedent and barriers to mental health treatment. Participants reported the same primary barriers for the decedent:…

Context: Hispanics in the United States have a higher prevalence of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (type 2 diabetes) and experience more complications for the disease than non-Hispanic whites. Differences in medical management or self-management practices may, in part, explain the relative high risk for diabetes complications among…

This article highlights some of the concerns about and benefits of curriculum-based suicide prevention programs delivered to students in a high school setting. In addition, it presents information about a specific curriculum-based prevention program and provides evidence that the program changed unwanted attitudes about suicide in all the areas…

The national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) monitors priority health risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems among youth and adults in the United States. The national YRBS is conducted every two years during the spring semester and provides data representative of 9th through 12th grade…

Efforts to improve child and adolescent health typically have featured interventions designed to address specific health risk behaviors, such as tobacco use, alcohol and drug use, violence, gang involvement, and early sexual initiation. However, results from a growing number of studies suggest that greater health impact might be achieved by also…

Screening is available and effective in colorectal cancer (CRC) control, but underutilized. The purpose of this study was to use focus group data to develop recommendations for the development of educational interventions to increase CRC screening, using an audience segmentation strategy. Demographic segments were based on urban-rural residence,…

Purpose: Description of study participants and documentation of the desired diversity in the Prevention Research Centers Healthy Aging Research Network's Workgroup on Promoting Cognitive Health large multisite study designed to examine attitudes about brain health, behaviors associated with its maintenance, and information-receiving preferences…

Background: While higher smoking prevalences have been better described for adults and adolescents in the mountainous areas than in the plain area in Taiwan, no studies have previously examined whether this disparity begins with children in elementary schools. The purpose of this study was thus designed to explore clustering in smoking behavior…

Objectives: This report presents health statistics from the 2009 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) for the civilian noninstitutionalized adult population, classified by sex, age, race and ethnicity, education, family income, poverty status, health insurance coverage, marital status, and place and region of residence. Estimates are presented…

This cross-sectional study aimed to assess smoking prevention and cessation education delivered as part of the UK National Curriculum and to evaluate the relative effectiveness of health, social influence and other/non-health components. In all, 1789 students aged 11-15 from 12 secondary schools completed online surveys assessing smoking status,…

Research on whether health education, specifically personal health classes affects behavior change is inconclusive. In this study, a sample of students from two large southeastern universities enrolled in a required personal health course and an elective personal health course were administered the National College Health Risk Behavior Survey…

Objective: The authors' purpose in this research was to establish estimates of the prevalence and correlates of nonsuicidal self-injury among university students. Participants: The authors recruited participants (N = 2, 843) from a random sample of 5, 021 undergraduate and graduate students attending a large midwestern public university. Methods:…

This article addresses ways in which fitness tests can be used positively in physical education. We take the position throughout the article that fitness tests should be used as formative evaluation to further educational goals. We begin by discussing the different ways in which adults and children use fitness tests. The next section, the heart of…