We suggest that an over-arching "fitness factor" (an index of general genetic quality that predicts survival and reproductive success) partially explains the observed associations between health outcomes and intelligence. As a proof of concept, we tested this idea in a sample of 3654 US Vietnam veterans aged 31-49 who completed five cognitive…

There have been mixed results concerning any association between self-esteem and smoking prevalence in young people. The aim of this paper was to investigate cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between self-esteem and the uptake of smoking in childhood, and how various sub-components of self-esteem are related to smoking. A sample of…

Background: School environments may promote or hinder physical activity in young people. The purpose of this research was to examine relationships between school recreational environments and adolescent physical activity. Methods: Using multilevel logistic regression, data from 7638 grade 6 to 10 students from 154 schools who participated in the…

Purpose: Most individuals with Alzheimer's are cared for in their homes by unpaid family members. Research on caregiving focuses disproportionally on costs of care, service utilization, and negative psychosocial outcomes. Few narrative accounts of Alzheimer's exist; those that do suffer similar pejorative framings and narrow foci. No studies that…

In an era of curricular accountability where everything from reading and math scores to body fat are events to be assembled, scrutinized, and standardized, the health-conscious school plays an ever-important role in community and the nation (or so we are told). This qualitative study analyzes interviews with school leaders in their role in…

Background: The school setting is frequently used both to educate youth about risks involved in tobacco use and to implement tobacco prevention and cessation programs. Given that school-based programs have resulted in limited success, it is necessary to identify other setting-level intervention strategies. School tobacco policies represent a type…

This paper uses an ecological perspective to explore the risk factors associated with bullying behaviors among a representative sample of adolescents aged 11-14 (n = 9816, mean = 12.88, s = 0.9814). Data derived from the "Health Behavior in School Children: WHO Cross-National Survey" were used to model the relationship between bullying and media…

Background: Physical fitness testing is commonplace within schools and the physical education (PE) curriculum, with advocates claiming one of the key purposes of testing to be the promotion of healthy lifestyles and physical activity. Despite this, much controversy has surrounded the fitness testing of young people. Purpose: This paper draws on…

Black men who have sex with men (MSM) and black men who have sex with both men and women (MSMW) may not perceive themselves to be part of the larger gay community and hence may not heed prevention messages aimed at the community. Objective and Participants: To better understand the participants behaviors, the authors examined differences in condom…

Though official data document that Hispanic youth are at a great risk for early sexual intercourse, STDs, and teen pregnancy, only few etiological studies have been conducted on Hispanic youth; almost no work has examined potential generational differences in these behaviors, and thus, these behaviors may have been mistakenly attributed to…

The present study aimed to investigate how classroom-based self-management lessons to promote physical activity were perceived by students, teachers, and parents. The self-management lessons were implemented by an external physical education specialist in 20 class groups at eight elementary schools. Program perceptions were evaluated in 412…

Alaska Native youth suffer disproportionately from suicide. Some researchers explain this by pointing to social disintegration brought on by rapid social change, but few make the connection to an ongoing colonialism explicit. This paper articulates some of the ways that colonial discourses affect Inupiat young people's self-conceptions, perceived…

The School-Based Health Alliance Census for the 2010-2011 school year is the 12th request for data from school-based health centers (SBHCs) since 1986. SBHCs are health centers that provide comprehensive care to children and adolescents in a setting that is trusted, familiar, and immediately accessible: their school. SBHCs serve at the…

The rapid and correct performance of computers, when accompanied by human skills, will lead to greater gains in productivity. This study focuses on the possible risks of computer use in terms of human health, rather than on the countless beneficial effects of its use on the issue of health. Health problems caused by inappropriate or inadequate use…

In a midwestern community sample, we tested for evidence of "hardening" of adolescent cigarette smoking between 1980 and 2001 by comparing adolescent smokers and nonsmokers at these two times on measures indicative of "deviance proneness" in Jessor and Jessor's [Jessor, R., & Jessor, S. L. (1977). "Problem behavior and psychosocial development: A…