HIV/AIDS continues to spread among children, youth, and young adults across all racial, ethnic, and cultural populations, including those with disabilities. This article considers information on HIV/AIDS such as individuals' health-risk behaviors, environmental circumstances, and perceptions that may contribute to HIV-infection; how disability…

To examine young people's reactions to and understanding of HIV prevention messages developed for MTV's global HIV prevention campaign Staying Alive, videotaped campaign materials were shown to focus group discussion (FGD) participants living in urban areas of Brazil, Kenya, Nepal, and Senegal. Responses related to "personal involvement"…

Changing a health behavior and maintaining a positive change can be very difficult. This study examined attributions for health behavior change by using retrospective reports to elicit college students' (N=466) current views of successes and failures at adopting health promoting behaviors. In completing the Health Behavior Questionnaire, 229…

Substance use by American young people remains a major concern for the nation. Smoking, drinking, and illicit drug use are leading causes of morbidity and mortality, both during adolescence and across the life course. How vigorously the nation responds to teenage substance use, how accurately it identifies the substance abuse problems that are…

The 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) report is a continuation of the surveillance and reporting system for adolescent risk behaviors developed by the Division of Adolescent and School Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The purpose of the YRBS is…

"The Challenge", a publication of the US Department of Education's office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, provides critical information and resources to assist schools in creating safe and healthy environments for young people. This issue addresses the following topics: (1) Prevention Programs with Staying Power: What Makes Good Prevention Programs…

This report describes an evaluation of the Montana Tobacco Use Prevention and Education Program, which helps schools organize and deliver tobacco use prevention and education programs. Its emphasis is on policy and curriculum development in local schools; providing district-level training to develop knowledge, confidence, competency, and skills…

The Plain Talk initiative, developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, was designed to increase the amount and quality of communication that parents and community adults provided youth regarding responsible sexual decision making. It offered parents and other community adults information and skills necessary to communicate more effectively with…

The Science Communication Interest Group of the proceedings contains the following 7 papers: "Risk Perceptions and Food Safety: A Test of the Psychometric Paradigm" (Joye C. Gordon); "An Entertainment-Education Video as a Tool to Influence Mammography Compliance Behavior in Latinas" (Gail D. Love); "Promise or Peril: How…

This report details findings of a study which consisted of two main components: an analysis of the experience of international agencies in using mass media entertainment to stimulate changes in health behaviors; and an inventory of the main international projects which have utilized mass media entertainment for educational purposes. Following a…

This document presents a portrait of multiple risk-taking among teens. Using recent data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) and the 1995 National Survey of Adolescent Males, the report describes the extent to which teens engage in multiple health risk behaviors and contrast it with the extent to which teens…

This ten classroom-hour instructional model combines skill, cognitive and affective experiences in dental health. An integration of the skills and cognitions with affective reactions promotes positive feelings and improved values regarding dental health. Motivation principles and feedback systems give the students and the instructor incentive and…

Health risk appraisal tools, combined with an undergraduate health education course, appear to assist students in developing positive health behaviors. (CJ)

Reviewed research on the relationship between health, family communication, and support systems. Described a project encouraging family members to support each other's attempts to alter their diet and exercise patterns. Demonstrated that promoting social support for change among family members can encourage changes in diet and, less effectively,…

Professionals and policy makers are placing more faith and more money in education's promise to change individual habits and attitudes that result in poor health. Author finds little evidence that level of education attainment or specific instruction results in dramatic change in health behavior. (Editor/RK)