Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Self-Mutilation In Adolescents: Recognizing A Silent Epidemic, Constance Glenn, Susan M. Denisco

Nursing Faculty Publications

This article describes the physical and emotional manifestations of self-mutilation behavior (SMB) in adolescents and provides information about diagnosis and treatment. The authors' own survey of school nurses' on-the-job experience with SMB is presented. Finally, the implications of the problem for nurse practitioners (NPs) who care for teens at risk for SMB are discussed.

Girls' Perception Of Physical Environmental Factors And Transportation: Reliability And Association With Physical Activity And Active Transport To School, Kelly R. Evenson, Amanda Birnbaum, Ariane L. Bedimo-Rung, James Sallis, Carolyn C. Voorhees, Kimberly Ring, John P. Elder

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Background

Preliminary evidence suggests that the physical environment and transportation are associated with youth physical activity levels. Only a few studies have examined the association of physical environmental factors on walking and bicycling to school. Therefore, the purpose of this study was (1) to examine the test-retest reliability of a survey designed for youth to assess perceptions of physical environmental factors (e.g. safety, aesthetics, facilities near the home) and transportation, and (2) to describe the associations of these perceptions with both physical activity and active transport to school.

Methods

Test and retest surveys, administered a median of 12 days later, …

Depression, Sensation Seeking, And Maternal Smoking As Predictors Of Adolescent Cigarette Smoking, Judy Van De Venne, Kay Bradford, Catherine A. Martin, Megan Cox, Hatim A. Omar

Family Sciences Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine maternal and adolescent depression, maternal and teen sensation seeking, and maternal smoking, and their associations with adolescent smoking. Data were collected from a sample of 47 male and 66 female adolescents (ages 11-18 years) and their mothers from three different health clinics. The findings indicated that maternal sensation seeking was linked indirectly with adolescent smoking through teen sensation seeking, both of which were significantly associated with teen smoking (β = 0.29, p < 0.001 and β = 0.32, p < 0.001, respectively). Teen depression was associated positively with teen smoking (β = 0.24, p < 0.01) when controlling for sensation seeking behaviors. Maternal smoking was also directly linked to adolescent smoking (β = 0.20, p < 0.05). These findings underscore a potentially important role of sensation seeking in the origins of adolescent smoking, and clarify pathways of influence with regard to maternal attitudes and behaviors in subsequent teenage nicotine use.

Early Predictors Of Sexual Behavior: Implications For Young Adolescents And Their Parents, Lisa D. Lieberman

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

The study provides empirical evidence of the independent contribution of nonsexual romantic relationships in the seventh grade to the onset of sexual intercourse by the ninth grade for both males and females. In addition, it shows that among females, seventh graders in serious relationships with older teenagers—uniquely defined as those two or more years older—have an increased likelihood of sex in the ninth grade. Finally, the study demonstrates that seventh graders of both genders who have had serious romantic relationships were already significantly different in the sixth grade from those who have not: They had peers who were more accepting …

Evaluative Behavioral Judgments And Instrumental Antisocial Behaviors In Children And Adolescents, Reid G. Fontaine

Reid G. Fontaine

There is a growing body of scientific research that has drawn a distinction between instrumental (or proactive) and reactive forms of aggressive behavior in children and adolescents. Whereas neurocognitive, psychophysiological, and other psychological factors have been shown to distinguish these aggressive subtypes, social cognitive research on alternative types of instrumental antisocial behavior (e.g., stealing, cheating, and illicit substance use) in youth is limited. Research on social information processing and aggression has shown that evaluative behavioral judgments may be of particular importance to understanding instrumental antisocial tendencies. Herein presented is a review of research on social cognition and discernible forms of …