This report summarizes the deliberations, findings, and recommendations of the National Commission on Adolescent Sexual Health. The report defines the characteristics of a sexually healthy adolescent, provides a foundation for understanding the three developmental stages of adolescents (early, middle, and late adolescence), and offers…

The European Alcohol Action Plan stresses that health care systems, traditionally involved in the management of alcohol problems, must play a greater role in the detection and prevention of alcohol-related harm. Primary health care is seen as an important setting for identifying individuals at risk from heavy drinking and helping them to reduce…

Findings from the 1994 Missouri School Health Education Profile and the 1995 Missouri Youth Risk Behavior Survey, and the executive summary and key findings of the 1996 School Health Education Profile are here combined. The 1994 profile is based on questionnaires completed by 252 principals and 244 teachers. The 1995 survey reports on information…

An important goal of health education is to change behavior by increasing knowledge, but current theory has not been able to account for the actual health behavior of adolescents. Theoretical and empirical work has been focused on explaining individual health behaviors: for example, risky adolescent behaviors such as drinking, smoking, drug use,…

This study examined whether video games could be effective health education and therapeutic interventions for children and adolescents with diabetes. KIDZ Health Software developed a game about diabetes self-management, and tested its effectiveness for children with diabetes. The Packy and Marlon Super Nintendo video game promotes fun,…

This report details a national survey study of parents, age 54 or younger, living with children under age 18. The study examined parents' physical health status, stress levels and negative feelings, health habits, and access to health care. Findings indicated that one in eight parents reported health problems, with health related to education,…

Studies have shown that high blood cholesterol levels play a role in the development of coronary heart disease in adults, and that the process leading to atherosclerosis begins in childhood. To address the problem of high cholesterol levels in children, the Panel on Blood Cholesterol Levels recommends complementary approaches for individuals and…

Making others especially fearful of what can happen if they ignore the advice given in a health-threat warning (fear appeal) encourages their acceptance of the message most of the time, though occasionally this strategy backfires. Current formulations of fear appeals are unable to reconcile these findings satisfactorily. The drive model notion…

A health education curriculum for secondary school and undergraduate college students is described. The prime emphasis in this curriculum is upon behavior modification and personal motivation on the part of the student. Strategies for modifying health behavior are outlined stressing the importance of students understanding and clarifying their…

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) mandates that schools receiving federal Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Community (SDFSC) funds conduct an anonymous teacher survey of the incidence of, prevalence of, and attitudes related to drug use and violence. To meet this NCLB mandate, the California Department of Education (CDE) funded the development of the…

Despite the increased use of cigarettes among college students, there is evidence to suggest that anti-smoking norms still predominate among both students and faculty. In order to assess the prejudice against college students who smoke, relative to that associated with membership in other disparaged groups, a sample of 99 college students were…

The proportion of adolescents in the United States who are obese has nearly tripled over the last two decades. At the same time, schools, often citing financial pressures, have given students greater access to "junk" foods and soda pop, using proceeds from these sales to fund school programs. We examine whether schools under financial pressure are…

These South Dakota physical education standards provide a framework for use by state education and health agencies and local school districts to create an instructional program that will enable their students to become healthy and capable of academic success. It is a framework for making decisions about which lessons, strategies, activities, and…

This report documents the proceedings of a two-day hearing held in Utah to begin a public dialogue on how professionals can work together to combat the dangers of substance abuse problems among adolescents. The introductory comments by the presiding chairman, Senator Orin Hatch, spell out the present problem in Utah. The senator points out how…

A study evaluated the effectiveness of a heart health inservice workshop by examining the health behaviors of students of the teachers attending the workshops. Results indicate that teachers attending the workshop were more motivated to improve their own behavior in order to improve the heart health behavior of their students. (JN)