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By the time youth reach high school, they have often experienced violence personally, witnessed it, or for some, committed it in their own neighbhoorhoods, homes, or school systems. Although statitics speak volumes to the "larger picture" of the culture of violence, they do not reveal how teens come to understand violence, nor do they reveal how teens deal with the violence they experience. This is a qualitative research project that compliments telling statistics on youth violence. Interviews were conducted with youth at two suburban high schools in the aftermath of the Columbine High School tragedy. This paper reveals that youth tend to understand violence as inevitable and out of contol, and they look to individualistic explanations for violence. In many regards, their understandings of violence resonate with mainstream media accounts of youth violence. This paper further interrogates the connections between the media, youth, and their understandings of violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Obesity plagues school-age populations throughout the United States. A number of stressors have been identified as increasing the risk of poor health outcomes among children, particularly weight status (BMI). While part of the aim of this paper is to examine stressors and their relationship to children's BMI, the central purpose of this paper is to highlight social and personal capital variables as mediators to negative stressors. Methods: The sample included 5th-7th grade students (n =334) attending a middle school in Northwest Arkansas. This sample was representative of 5th-7th students in both the school district generally and the middle school specifically. Results: Logistic regression models were designed to assess the probability of a student being overweight or obese. Overall, students with higher depressive symptomatology and lower selfreported social class increased the probability of being overweight or obese. Additionally, students reporting higher levels of social capital had lower probabilities of being overweight and obese; an inspection of changes in the stressor's coefficients, once resources are introduced, are suggestive of self-esteem and social capital playing a mediating role. Conclusions: While mental health and social class are inextricably linked to poor health outcomes among youth, social capital has been largely unexplored, particularly in examining weight status outcomes. Future analyses needs to examine more carefully the role of youth's social relationships in helping to potentially ameliorate negative health outcomes, particularly those related to nutrition and eating lifestyles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on adolescents in age discordant relationships suggest a wide range of negative outcomes for the adolescent. Using three waves of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health, in this paper we explore the connection between involvement in age discordant relationships for adolescent girls and depression. We find that girls who enter into age discordant relationships are no more or less likely to be depressed beforehand, are more likely to be depressed during or shortly after the relationship, but are no more or less likely to be depressed several years later. While the current paper does suggest negative mental health outcomes during or near the relationship, there appear to be no lasting effects. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has found that there are multiple factors that influence the racial identification of mixed-race adolescents. This paper examines whether the racial identification of mixed-race adolescents can be understood through the broader theories of Status Maximization or Identity theory. Status Maximization theory posits that mixed-race adolescents will attempt to identify as the highest racial status group they possibly can. Yet, due to the "one-drop" rule, mixed-race black-white adolescents will be limited to selecting only "black" as their primary identification when forced to select one race. Identity theory posits that the higher frequency or better quality contacts with parents or individuals in mixed-race adolescents' peer networks affect the racial identification of mixed-race adolescents. I use the National Longitudinal Adolescent Health (Add Health) dataset to perform statistical analyses on mixed- race adolescents. I find that Asian-white and American-Indian-white adolescents do not status maximize, but that black-white adolescents do adhere to the one-drop rule when forced to choose one race. Also, several social-psychological variables are found to influence the racial identification of mixed-race adolescents, corroborating previous research. My research suggests that racial identification for Asian- white and American-Indian-white adolescents are both fluid and optional; this is not the case for black- white adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life course sociologists and developmental psychologists assert that adolescent romantic relationships aid in the developmental goal of providing "practice" for romantic relationships in adulthood. Yet, too much practice or practice in poor quality adolescent relationships may negatively impact young adult relationships. This paper examines the role of adolescents' romantic relationship profiles and the quality of their romantic experience on young adult romantic unions and the quality of these unions. Using three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we identify adolescent romantic relationship profiles as single (no relationships over a three year period), solo (one short-term relationship), steady (one long-term relationship), serial (several relationships not overlapping in time), or concurrent (several relationships overlapping in time). Adolescent romantic relationship quality is defined by emotional commitment, social embeddedness, conflict and sexual intimacy. We investigate how relationship profile and quality measured at times 1 and 2, when respondents are 12 to 20 years old, impact young adult romantic union type and quality measured at time 3 when respondents are 18 to 25 years old. Results indicate that both adolescent relationship type and quality are formative for young adult relationship type and quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescence is a stage in the life course characterized by increasing cognitive abilities and independence and a heightened sensitivity to peers. In this paper, we investigate the relationships between adolescent girls' growing sense of self and their heightened susceptibilities to peer influences within the school context by focusing on a salient issue for girls: body weight. We explore the roles of schoolmates and coursemates on adolescent girls' weight perception and weight control using longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) and the new Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement Study (AHAA). We find that schoolmates' and coursemates' behaviors and attributes affect how girls perceive their weight and their attempts at weight loss. Girls surrounded by female coursemates or schoolmates who are attempting weight loss are significantly more likely to be attempting unnecessary weight loss net of prior weight control, BMI, and all other control variables. Girls with coursemates who perceive themselves as overweight are also significantly more likely to perceive their own weight as overweight even when they are not. Additionally, girls who are surrounded by many overweight girls (in their schools or courses) are less likely to misperceive their own weight as overweight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we add knowledge to the sparse literature about "the long arm" of children. From an integrated life course-stress process approach, we argue that children have a long reach---strong capabilities to influence parents' mental health across the life course---years after they are actively being parented and long after negative experiences in their young lives have occurred. Using a sample of 670 African-American and white adults age 65 and older, we show that offspring's troubles in youth affect parents' current level of concern about their adult children, even controlling for negative experiences occurring in their children's adult years. Moreover, elderly parents have higher levels of anger if they had one or more teenagers who were in trouble---drank or used drugs, were disobedient, or had trouble in school---even though these events occurred when their offspring were much younger, about a quarter century prior. Effects are especially notable among African-American parents. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars have recently documented important changes in the hours that individuals and families spend at work and the time of day when they do that work. In this paper we assess the health implications of these emerging patterns in the organization of work time. Using 1996-2004 data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLS79), we investigate the effect of work time on six health outcomes at age 40. Our simple bivariate models show that part-time workers are consistently linked to worse health and that night and variable hours workers also report more health penalties. At the same time, part-time workers are less likely to be obese as compared to full-time and overtime workers. We find that the patterns in the bivariate model are partly accounted for by social structure: socio-demographic characteristics, family, and work environment. When we introduce these controls, a small negative effect of overtime work appears. When further controlling for the presence of prior health problems, we find that negative health associations for part-time and irregular work hours disappear, suggesting that a selection process contributes to those differences in health. The association between hours, shift, and obesity persists even when accounting for these spurious relationships and reciprocal effects, suggesting that works schedules have an impact on preventive health behaviors such as sleep and exercise. Our findings highlight the methodological challenges of studying work-time and health relationships, and explain inconsistencies in prior research on this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on family structure has led some pundits and scholars to claim important sex-based differences exist in parenting. Recent research suggests that any existing differences might be explained by the absence of a second parent rather than specific sex-typed parenting. However, little research has examined potential differences in sexual outcomes between children in single-mother and single-father families. This paper presents individualist and structuralist perspectives for potential differences in adolescent sexual activity and outcomes. We test these explanations by comparing single mothers and single fathers in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N=2,181 mothers and 230 fathers) and the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997 (N=2,154 mothers and 257 fathers). Preliminary results suggest no significant differences across the sexual outcomes comparing youth in single-mother and single-father families, providing support for the structuralist perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Studies in both health and risk behavior literature has since long suggested that peers influence adolescent's behavior. Most research in this tradition has studied peer influence in terms of friendships relations. In network literature an alternative mechanism of influence had been put forward, based on actors similar positions in the peer network. In this paper both mechanisms of influence are tested with regard to adolescents' sexual risk behavior and substance use. Methods: A network autocorrelation model is used to test both influence mechanisms in a representative sample of Flemish adolescents in secondary school (N=10.525), clustered in about 122 different networks. Each network was analyzed separately and afterwards a meta-analysis was conducted. Results: Results indicate that peers not only are influenced by their best friends, but also by their peers in structurally similar positions. Peers are more influenced in 5th grade than in 3rd grade and peer influence is stronger for substance use than for sexual risk behavior. When comparing both influence mechanisms, influence by cohesion is somewhat stronger than influence by structural equivalence, although an interaction effect was found with grade. Conclusions: This study has shown that in a setting such as school classes, where an informal structure of positions is developed as a consequence of repeated interaction, teenagers not only are influenced by their best friends but also by peers in structural equivalent positions. Implications of these findings are discussed for health and risk behavior studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an in-depth examination of the link between health during adolescence and educational attainment in early adulthood. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) 97 and the Children/Young Adults of the NLSY79, I address three questions. 1) Is there variation by social status in the link between health and education? 2) What are the social mechanisms that mediate the connection between adolescent health and educational attainment? 3) Do infant, adolescent and maternal health disparities account for racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in educational achievement? The results show that the adverse educational consequences of poor health span the socioeconomic spectrum: rather than avoiding the adverse educational consequences of poor health, children with high social status suffer more educationally than their disadvantaged peers. Secondly, I find that differences in school attendance and performance go furthest in explaining the health/education link. Finally, the findings suggest that researchers must continue to look for the sources of the elusive racial/ethnic and socioeconomic achievement gaps, since infant, adolescent and maternal health do not play a large role in explaining them. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we address two critical gaps in prior research regarding the association of children's mental health problems with educational attainment: the lack of attention to the temporal form of the association and the failure to consider diverse explanations. Using data from the Children of the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth data set, we identify latent classes that characterize trajectories of internalizing and externalizing problems from ages 6-8 through ages 16-18. Youth in the classes vary significantly in their likelihoods of high school completion and college entry. Youth who experienced internalizing or externalizing problems in childhood or adolescence were less likely than youth with stably low levels of problems to complete high school; youth who experienced externalizing problems at either age were less likely to enter college but college entry was only significantly associated with internalizing problems that began in childhood. We evaluated the ability of three sets of mediators to explain these patterns: academic aptitude, disruptive behaviors, and educational expectations. Educational expectations were important mediators even in the presence of controls for academic aptitude and disruptive behaviors. We conclude that social responses to youth's mental health problems contribute to their disrupted educational trajectories. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As product of the Healthy Youth/Healthy Regions study (HYHR), a cross-sector, multidisciplinary analysis of the relationship between youth well-being and geographic disparities in the Sacramento region of California, this paper will draw on data from multiple methodologies in order both identify the level of regional youth civic engagement, broadly defined, as well as understand the individual and contextual factors affecting these patterns of engagement. In particular, we examine the influence of community racial and ethnic make-up on the likelihood of Latino youth to engage civically, as a possible form of collective action. The Sacramento region, with its high level of racial and ethnic diversity, is an excellent case study for such an analysis. Indeed, in 2002 the city of Sacramento itself was deemed by The Harvard Civil Rights Project, the country's most integrated city. Preliminary HYHR civic engagement data show a high variation in youth participation (i.e. voting, volunteerism) across counties within the Sacramento region. This uneven youth involvement is particularly troubling in light of the regional disparities in education, workforce, and health outcomes, also identified by the study. Holding the assumption that civic engagement is an appropriate and potentially effective means toward addressing disparities in youth outcomes, this paper's focused analysis seeks to understand community factors involved in the choice by youth to engage civically, on behalf of the their own needs, within the HYHR region. Key to this analysis is understanding the interplay of such efforts with the resources and civic attitudes held by youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper asks how immigration status and religiosity affect adolescent health. Despite the many studies reporting a positive religion-health connection, to our knowledge no research has studied whether such relationships exist for first, second, and third generation immigrant adolescents. Our findings suggest that prior studies have yielded simplistic conclusions about the effects of religion. Although being religious protects many youth from engaging in risky behaviors, its effect varies by race and ethnicity. Among Filipinos, religiosity does not reduce the likelihood of abusing substances and engaging in delinquency and violence, and among Mexicans, it has no effect on violence. This contrasts sharply with the protective effects exhibited for whites and blacks. Effects for immigrant generational status are more consistent by race and ethnicity, with higher generations of adolescents at higher risk for risk-taking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Racial and ethnic identity becomes most prevalent during adolescence. Understanding racial choice and change during adolescence is important to understand how youth perceive themselves, which in turn affects their relationships with others. Using data from Waves I and III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (henceforth Add Health), a nationally representative sample of youth in 7-12th grades, we examine changes in racial identification over time among Hispanic adolescents. Empirical analyses suggest that the initial racial identification of the respondents has significant impact on the odds of changing race by Wave III. We also find evidence that family and context have significant effect on the change of racial identifier over time. Overall, our findings support the notion of fluidity of race, but also find that race is only a "fluid" choice for some Hispanic youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the role of the family environment in adolescent overweight and obesity. Excessive weight is directly related to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancer. The increased prevalence of obesity accounts for 27 percent of the growth in inflation adjusted per capita health care spending between 1987 and 2001. Parents can play an important role in preventing their adolescent from becoming overweight or obese. By encouraging children to engage in other activities besides television and video games, obesity can be prevented.

Using a sample of 15,150 adolescents derived from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we examined unique additive and various multiplicative influences of level of acculturation, race/ethnicity, family and community on physical illness. Analyses provided evidence for beneficial additive influence of community rurality on adolescent physical health net of influences of other community and family adversities. Findings suggest that rural Latino youth are at greater health risk than rural Whites and other rural minority groups. Two acculturation proxies, English spoken in home and third generation status, increased negative health risks. Findings suggest acculturated Latino youth are at higher risk of chronic physical illness than youth who remained adherent to their own culture. Focus group interviews were conducted to explore possible explanations for these influences. Discrimination, limited service accessibility, and disrupted parent-child relationships emerged as potential explanations for the excessive rural health disadvantage and for the detrimental health influence of acculturation for Latino youth. Policy and program implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood obesity and, concomitantly, food insecurity and hunger, are issues that disproportionately affect children with absent fathers. In this study, we investigate the relationship between nonresident father involvement and adolescent weight, specifically adolescents' risk of being under- and overweight, using longitudinal data from the National Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Our results indicate that the relationship depends on family income and fathers' obesity, and varies for boys versus girls. Among poor children, involvement with a nonresident father at wave 1 significantly reduces a child's chances of being underweight at wave 2 of the survey (boys and girls). Poor children with overweight fathers experience further reductions in their risk of being underweight. Among higher income children, girls (but not boys) who are involved with an overweight father at wave 1 have an increased risk of being overweight at wave 2. Child support payments are not associated with being at risk of overweight or underweight. Policy efforts aimed at improving child well-being should continue to encourage nonresident father involvement, but should take into account the potentially negative effects of nonresident fathers' obesity on children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We utilize nationally representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine whether parental involvement is associated with well-being for a sample of 5415 adolescents with nonresident fathers. We use structural equations models to create latent variables and measurement models for the main father involvement predictors (contact, activities, and communication) and adolescent outcomes (externalizing problems, internalizing problems, and grades). Father-adolescent relationship quality is also included as a central predictor. We find that father involvement in activities with adolescents is negatively related to externalizing problems and positively related to grades. In addition, adolescents with closer relationships to their fathers report fewer externalizing and internalizing problems. Communication is indirectly but significantly related to lower levels of externalizing and internalizing problems through closeness. As in past studies, we find that contact has no direct relationship to adolescent well-being, but is indirectly and positively associated with better grades through activities. This study demonstrates that the social contributions that nonresident fathers make to their adolescents' lives can have a positive effect on their well-being over and above economic contributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the role of parenting in adolescent alcohol and drug use for black, white and Latino adolescents. While several factors have been identified as critical in the use of drugs by adolescents, family structure and parenting behaviors have been consistently identified as crucial factors. While much research has observed racial and ethnic differences in adolescent drug use, little research has examined parental substance use behavior in these race-ethnic patterns, or has examined inhalants as a substance. We use social control theory as a guiding perspective, and data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Results show that there are significant differences in both family structure and alcohol and drug use across race, and that parental drinking behaviors changes the relationship of family structure to drug use. Results for stepfamilies are explained when parental drinking behaviors are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bangladeshi children under the age of 10 have experienced significant improvements in nutrition and sex differences in child nutrition have declined significantly during the past decade regardless of family structure, a tremendous change from previous observations in Matlab. However, our attempts to understand adolescent nutrition and other longitudinal work that studies child nutrition in developing countries are hindered by the lack of an appropriate standard of comparison using a population in developing countries. The WHO endorsed standard population—based on U.S. children—misclassifies a large number of children in Bangladesh as malnourished, particularly in the adolescent years when rates of obesity in the U.S. begin to rise. We explore malnutrition in adolescents in Matlab, Bangladesh using the current and past standards, and test the standards for sensitivity to various thresholds to evaluate the current standards and begin a path toward a more appropriate comparison. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focused on how education may impact the ability of adolescents to make healthy lifestyle choices. Specifically it looked at the relationship between adolescent smoking and curriculum exposure by examining a nationally representative sample of American adolescents. Multinomial logistic regression models indicated that adolescents who perceived themselves to have higher analytic abilities were less likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors. Additionally, those adolescents exposed to more challenging and complex curriculums were significantly more likely to be occasional smokers but they were not significantly more likely to be experimental or regular smokers. Another pattern across the models was the positive association between higher GPA and the likelihood of being a non-smoker. This work is important because it considers health behaviors in their formative stages rather than in adulthood when choices have become patterns. Additionally, it begins to unpack why the structure of schools matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although adolescents from divorced or separated households smoke at higher rates than their peers, the mechanisms underlying this difference in behavior have not been adequately described. Using a sample of 2,694 adolescents from two waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and drawing on theories of parental involvement, modeling, and the same-sex hypothesis, this study tests whether nonresident fathers? practices affect the propensity of their adolescent children to smoke. The findings suggest that nonresident fathers? involvement does affect the probability that adolescents smoke, but that these effects vary according to adolescents? gender and fathers? modeling of smoking behavior. Implications for theory and public policy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) and the Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement (AHAA) transcript study to investigate the transition to high school. Using the percentage of middle school classmates that transition to high school together, I examine how students build relationships at their new school through teacher and student attachment?while also considering concurrent changes such as moving and changes in family structure. Students who experienced a move experience a decrease in teacher attachment and students who have changed family structure experience an increase in student attachment. Furthermore, similar to previous research (Schiller 1999), I find significant interactions between percent of classmates transitioning together and those students in the lowest quartile of academic performance in middle school. Further research to be conducted before the ASA meeting includes analysis of academic outcomes and utilizing the large in-school samples of Add Health to estimate school level effects. By estimating the social and academic structure of the high school, I will be able to further current empirical knowledge about the institutional role in student integration and success in school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the progression over time of two conditions, depressive symptoms and heavy drinking, among adolescents. Data are from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health Study, a nationally representative school-based sample of adolescents interviewed in 1994-1995 and reassessed in 1995-1996 (N=14,736). Depressive symptoms are measured by a 16-item version of the CES-D and heavy drinking is based on reports of both frequency and quantity of alcohol use among regular drinkers in the past year. Basic multilevel models were used to control for the effects of school context while estimating the relationship of depressive and drinking over time. Each outcome evidenced strong stability over time and there was significant variation among schools. Multivariate analyses yielded that increasing symptoms of depression are associated with current heavy alcohol use, being female, older, an ethnic minority, having lower income, and living in a non-intact family. The odds of becoming a heavy drinker increases over time for teens with current high levels of depressive symptoms, as well as those who are male, older, non-Hispanic White, and living in a non-intact family. This study reveals that depressive symptoms and heavy drinking are interrelated among adolescents, although different sociodemographic risk patterns emerge for each outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the 1994-1995 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we examine the effect of closeness with mother and father on teen beliefs regarding the consequences of pregnancy. Unlike previous studies in this area, we include measures of closeness to both mother and father, and examine effects for both males and females by family type (two biological/adoptive, stepfather, and single mother families). Our findings indicate that the relationship between closeness and beliefs about pregnancy varies by gender and family type. Parental closeness is most salient for boys living with two biological/adoptive parents. For girls living with two biological/married parents, and boys and girls living in stepfather families, the effects operate through control measures (i.e., other aspects of the parent-child relationship, as well as adolescent, socioeconomic, and demographic controls). For teens living in single mother families, closeness with mother has no effect on beliefs about the consequences of pregnancy. Overall, our study finds that, rather than closeness per se, it is teen beliefs regarding their parents viewpoint on educational achievement and engagement in sexual activity that has the strongest effect on their beliefs regarding the consequences of pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the National Longitudnal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a nationally represented sample of 90,000 youth grades 7-12 in 1994-5, we examine the friendship choices of multiracial and monoracial adolescents to examine how, and if, they are socially integrated in single race groups. Three patterns are apparent in our results. First, Black-White and Asian-White biracials exhibit patterns somewhere in-between their two monoracial counterparts (what we term ?blending?). However, other Black and White multiracial subgroups behave more like Blacks and Whites, respectively (called ?amalgamation?). The tendency of multiracials to choose other multiracials as best friends (racial homophily) is only seem among half-Native American multiracials. Our results suggest that multiracials experience complex signals about their identity, but that friendship choices can provide a clue about their own identity and their level of acceptance by others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health the authors examine the extent to which neighborhoods influence adolescent outcomes across eight important domains. Findings suggest that residential context is particularly important for educational outcomes and risk-related outcomes (e.g., drug use) and not important for health-related outcomes or day-to-day activities. Controls for individual and contextual-level characteristics reduce the estimate net effects of neighborhoods for educational characteristics but not risk-related outcomes. These findings provide indirect evidence for institutional mechanisms associated with educational outcomes and epidemic mechanisms for risk-related outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a sample of 20,000 adolescents derived from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study examined the influences of community poverty and race/ethnicity on adolescent obesity net of the influences of family socioeconomic characteristics. Findings of a multilevel analyses provided strong evidence for the independent influences of community poverty and race/ethnicity on adolescent obesity. Prevalence of obesity is significantly higher in poor communities than in affluent communities; and higher among African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans than Caucasians. The interaction between race and community poverty show that race/ethnicity moderates the influence of community poverty on obesity prevalence. The influence of community poverty is stronger among Caucasians than among minorities suggesting that unlike Caucasians, most minority groups may not accrue benefits of structural community advantages. In sum, findings suggest racial and community differences in adolescent obesity may not be reduced to family socioeconomic disparities. The study findings underscore the importance of understanding additive and multiplicative influences of community and race/ethnicity on adolescent obesity for creating effective group and community based interventions aimed at reducing this major public health problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is clear evidence that the number of multiracial children in the United States is growing, yet existing research offers few insights into how outcomes for these children compare to those of single-race peers. We address this gap by using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to assess racial differences in depression for white/black, white/American Indian, and white/Asian youth. Our findings deviate substantially from the predictions of the marginal man hypothesis, an influential, rarely tested thesis about the social consequences of being multiracial. We find that white/black and white/Asian youth report no more symptoms of depression than do whites or single-race nonwhites. In contrast, we find some evidence of elevated levels of depression among white/American Indians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although researchers have examined HIV and AIDS risk behaviors among juvenile detainees detained in juvenile detention facilities, there are no studies which have examined HIV and AIDS risk behaviors among youth offenders who have been waived to adult court and are detained in US jails. To date, there are no studies on the health risks behaviors of youth transferred to adult courts or housed in adult facilities, specifically, in US jails. Although much of the health risk behavior research on youth detainees has focused on youth housed in juvenile detention facilities, research on youth transferred to adult facilities is minimal. Teplin et al. (2005) notes "research is especially needed on youths transferred to adult courts or housed in adult facilities." The most recent US Department of Justice study found that 7600 youth (<18) were held in adult jails on a given day. Each year, 5600 new court commitments to state adult prison systems involve youths younger than 18 years (Sickmund 2004). Yet, youths incarcerated in adult facilities often do not receive developmentally appropriate HIV interventions. Using exploratory qualitative pilot study data collected from a sample of 30 Title XVI African-American male youth (15-17) offenders detained at the District of Columbia Jail, this paper provides thick, rich and descriptive narratives on HIV risk behaviors among a population of youth offenders that has received little attention by researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescence is a particularly important time for the formation and crystallization of sexual scripts (Simon and Gagnon 1984). Academics, educators and health care professionals alike are all invested in understanding sexual practices of adolescents to better address their needs. Research has found that, among adolescents, greater knowledge of sexual health predicts greater odds of safer sex practices, but that a vast majority of adolescents, particularly religious adolescents, believe sexual heath misperceptions (Crosby and Yarber 2001, Ryan et al 2007). Furthermore, a significant proportion of young people report engaging in risky sexual behaviors but have difficulty seeking support those of same religious denomination as themselves (Testa and Coleman 2006). Using Wave 1 of Add Health, a nationally representative sample of American adolescents, this research helps to untangle the relationships between religious affiliation, intensity of religiosity and sexual health knowledge. Results indicate that religious adolescents score higher than non-religious adolescents on the sexual health knowledge scale. Importance of religion has a statistically significant negative effect on sexual health knowledge. When religious denomination and religiosity are interacted, religious service attendance has a negative effect for non-Christians and importance of religion has a negative effect for Catholics and Mainline Protestants. Understanding which pieces of being religious help or hinder sexual health knowledge, and by extension possibly sexual health practices, education and intervention efforts by health professionals or sex educators can be better tailored to the gaps they are missing and created in a way that can be respectful of religious traditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing upon social network and sexual identity literature, this study investigates the extent to which social integration can influence the development of non-normative sexuality. This study seeks to broaden existing understandings of the importance of friendships to encompass their influence on identity development among adolescents questioning their sexual identity. Specifically, this study uses logistic regression to analyze data from two waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Logistic analyses examine the interactive effects of adolescent same sex attraction and each of three distinct friendship network variables on whether or not an individual adopted a non-normative sexual identity in adulthood. Results indicate that respondents who report same-sex attraction are increasingly likely to adopt a non-normative identity as the number of people who nominate the respondent as a friend increases. This finding was driven by male respondents. The number of friend nominations was an insignificant predictor among female respondents. Female respondents were, instead, more highly influenced by the extent to which their closest friendships were reciprocated. This study's findings point to the importance of further investigating the relationship between social network characteristics and processes of identity formation among adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, political advocacy campaigns have popularized (and in some cases, institutionalized) the idea that sexual orientation is immutable and biological. However, sociological studies have suggested that social networks may play a role in the distribution of conditions that feature intersecting behavioral and psychological components, such as suicidality (Abrutyn & Mueller 2014) and autism (Liu, King & Bearman 2010). Although sexual orientation also features a combination of behavioral and psychological components, the idea that certain components of sexual orientation may be "spread" in social networks is controversial and often laden with politically charged connotations. This study attempts to overcome this gap in the social scientific understanding of non-heterosexual populations, and highlights the role that concealability plays in social contagion. Using three waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, I evaluate a difference between the likelihood that individual adolescents will develop non-heterosexual responses over time if they have friends or siblings who report same-sex romantic or sexual relationships, compared to those with less network proximity to respondents who report non-heterosexual orientation. Building off a replication and extension of Abrutyn and Mueller's work, I adjust the sample selection filters and controls used in the original study to focus on analyzing responses indicating non-heterosexuality attraction, behavior, and/or identity. From there, I apply the survey logistic procedure that they employ in their study to enable comparison between the results they arrive at for suicidality with the diffusion patterns that result from a model adjusted to measure indicators of non-heterosexuality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research has established a link between SES and early-life health without providing clear theoretical or empirical evidence for using any particular conceptualization or operationalization of SES. Researchers refer to almost any combination of variables related to families' economic, educational, or occupational circumstances as SES. This abundance of operationalizations makes it difficult to determine how exactly SES shapes early-life health. Childhood and adolescence are unique periods of life delineated by extensive social, psychological, and physical transitions. Although these changes may make children and adolescents sensitive to different aspects of SES, research has yet to systematically compare an array of SES measures extensive enough to rigorously examine this possibility. To address this gap, I merge the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) and the NLSY79 Children and Young Adults datasets. In analyses, I consider multiple operationalizations of SES derived from the distinct components conceptualization of SES. I find that the best model of SES and early-life health includes family income, wealth, years of education, and occupational prestige. Family income and wealth play especially important roles in early-life health but also impact child and adolescent health differently. Children's health is more vulnerable to their families' wealth, while adolescents' health is more sensitive to their families' current income. Together, the countervailing effects of income and wealth negate one another such that the overall effect of economic conditions on health is the same for children and adolescents. My findings provide evidence that future research should carefully consider multiple measures of SES when studying the relationship between SES and early-life health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much research documents the etiology and health consequences of eating disorders (ED), but very little is known about the longer term effects ED on non-health domains. Using AddHealth data, this study explores gender differences in the influence of ED on socioeconomic independence in early adulthood and attempts to account for underreporting by identifying not only individuals who have been diagnosed with ED, but exhibit at-risk behaviors. Results indicate that, for females, ED or at-risk behaviors had a statistically significant negative effect on educational attainment (coefficient=-0.3, p<0.05), odds of owning a home (odds ratio=0.692, p<0.05). For males, EDs and at-risk behaviors were associated with higher levels of educational attainment (coefficient=0.473, p<0.05). These findings suggest that EDs have a lasting negative influence on female's achievement of socioeconomic independence during early adulthood, while males may not be subjected to such long lasting effects of ED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This analysis is part of a larger mixed-methods study that explores and tests if and how the urban neighborhood context helps explain the outlooks and decisions children of Mexican immigrants make with regards to school and work as they transition into young adulthood. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (AddHealth) is used to test the effects of key neighborhood characteristics on four education and work-related outcomes: grade completion, likelihood of dropping out, likelihood of attaining a bachelor's degree and likelihood of reporting being an idle/disconnected young adult. The results show a higher of proportion of college graduates in the neighborhood is associated with more grade completion, a lower likelihood of dropping out and a higher likelihood of attaining a bachelor's degree, on average. In addition, a higher proportion of immigrants' in the neighborhood is associated with higher grade completion and lower odds of dropping out, on average. These results lend support to the theoretical argument that immigrant concentration in the neighborhood is protective. The findings show no support for the segmented assimilation theory which suggests that the exposure to US born minorities, such as Blacks in the neighborhood, influences education and work-related outcomes for the Mexican-origin group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The educational system in Nigeria is characterised by high incidence of dropping out of schools with adverse implications for the youths, who are sexually hyper-active without adequate knowledge about reproductive health decision making. What do out-of-school youths understand about sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS and how do they protect themselves against the scourge? What are the factors influencing contraceptive practices among out of school youths? These and other questions are what the study is set out to address. Thus, the study was conceived to examine STIs, HIV / AIDS and contraceptive practices among out of school youths in Lagos motor parks. Using survey design, primary data for the study was collected in four (Ikeja, Ilupeju, Isolo and Oshodi) local governments in April and May 2005 from 228 respondents (214 youths aged 10 to 24 and 14 adults aged 25 to 60). Triangulation of both quantitative and qualitative techniques was employed for data collection. Specifically, 200 individual based questionnaires were employed for collecting quantitative data from the youths, while 4 in-depth interviews (2 each-1 male and 1 female on youths and adults) and 4 focus group discussions (2 each- 1 male and 1 female on youths and adults) were employed for collecting qualitative data. In terms of data analysis, frequency distribution and chi-square (at 0.05 alpha level of significance) were employed for quantitative data, while content analysis and ethnographic summary were used for qualitative data. The results showed high awareness about STIs and HIV/AIDS but low level of contraceptive practices among the majority of out-of-school youths in the study area. It was found that many out-of school youths engaged in risky sexual behaviour with prevalence of unprotected sexual intercourse. However, the results of cross tabulation showed that the level of awareness about STIs and HIV/AIDS and contraceptive practices were significantly influenced by socio-demographic characteristics (education, sex, income and marital status). The analysis also revealed that the readiness to use different contraceptive is mainly a function of its availability, accessibility and affordability among out of school youths. Considering the adverse implications of STIs and HIV/AIDS on sustainable human development, contraceptive use should be promoted among out of school youths in motor parks. Also, since prevention is the currently available solution to the epidemic, regular advocacy programmes (public campaign, mass education and film shows at motor parks) are urgently needed to raise the low level of contraceptive use among out of school youths in motor parks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study draws on three waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine the influence of juvenile delinquency on later education outcomes (i.e. attendance at a four-year college), as well as the paradoxical role of higher education in crime and substance use. A life course perspective on these dynamics is used to highlight that criminal heterogeneity is interwoven with later changes in local life circumstances that may further modify the criminal career. Results indicate that violence at wave 1 is negatively related to later college attendance at wave 3, while other crime categories and substance use bear no significant influence on this education outcome, net of controls. However, college attendance among men is found to be associated with significantly higher involvement in property offending as compared to non-college peers, even though the latter report significantly higher levels at wave 1. Findings reveal a similar 'cross-over' pattern in male and female levels of drinking and unstructured socializing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teenage mothers' high depression rates have received considerable research attention in smaller targeted samples, but a large-scale examination of the complex relationship between adolescent childbearing and depression using natural comparison groups is needed. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort, we find that teenage mothers have higher levels of depression than their childless adolescent peers and adult mothers, but the experience of teenage childbearing does not appear to be the cause. Rather, teenage mothers' depression levels were already higher than their peers' before they became pregnant and remain higher after childbearing and into early and middle adulthood. We also find that depression does not increase the likelihood of adolescent childbearing except among poor teenage girls. In this group, depression markedly increases the probability of becoming a teenage mother. Among other teenage girls, the relationship between depression and subsequent teenage childbearing is spurious. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High rates of adolescent obesity have become a national public health concern and are an important research topic in medical sociology and epidemiology. Adolescent obesity is an important health concern because of the long-term consequences of adolescent obesity which is a strong predictor of adult obesity and its resultant higher rates of coronary hearth disease, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and mortality. We used data from the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) which was a multistage cluster design sample of children less than 18 years of age selected from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The NSCH was conducted from January 2003 to July 2004. We look at two categories of being at risk of overweight and overweight. We run separate logistic analyses by gender in which we first enter demographics of race/ethnicity and age, then family background characteristics, then residence, then family socialization such as mother's exercise, health, and smoking in the family and then behavior of the adolescent such as computer hours, TV hours, reading and participation in exercise and sports teams. African American youth have higher rates of both categories in almost all models and youth from better educated families also have lower rates in almost all models. Patterns vary for boys and girls and for at risk of overweight versus overweight. Boys' weight status is more strongly linked to family structure and socialization than girl's and family structure and mother's exercise have opposite effects on boys than girls. Adolescent activities also have different influences on boys and girls overweight status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do economic factors affect perceived relationship quality among young cohabiting couples, and to what extent does this vary depending on one's gender? To answer these questions, we estimate regression models using the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, 1997 (NLSY97). We find that earnings are an important predictor of reported relationship quality for both men and women, although this varies by sex of the respondent. Men's reports of relationship quality are more closely associated with family earnings than women's. Women appear to be more influenced by the presence of children in the home. The influence of earnings on relationship quality does not differ by the sex of the earner, however. In subsequent analyses, we include measures of economic insecurity into our models. We also estimate hierarchical linear models using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), which provides similar measures of economic factors and relationship quality for both cohabiting partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent trend in health research has been to identify the early life exposures that impact later life outcomes. This study looks exclusively at how the very earliest life exposures, such as those experienced prior to birth, affect the risk of obesity during late adolescence. We use a unique population based data source that combines detailed information from a birth certificate with an individual's driver license record which provide a measure of his/her height and weight at ages 15 to 19. Our sample consists of nearly 200,000 persons who were born between 1983 and 1990 and reached their late teens in the late 1990s and 2000s. Using a series of regression analyses, we estimated the role of maternal socioeconomic resources, characteristics of the birth experience, and various prenatal behaviors adopted by the mother on an adolescent's risk of being overweight. We found that many of these early life exposures were associated with the risk of overweight, while the mother's pre-pregnancy weight was the strongest predictor of whether a child was overweight. Many of the effects associated with maternal characteristics and prenatal behaviors remained significant over and above socio-economic differences that are associated with both prenatal exposures and the risk of overweight. This results of this analysis have implications for the types of prenatal policies that should be recommended to promote less obesity among future generations. This analysis also furthers the research looking at how early life experiences, including those prior to one's birth, may affect later life health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health Carolina Population Center University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Contact person: J. Richard Udry, The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, The Add Health Project, Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27516-3997; phone (919) 966-2829; fax (919) 966-7019; email: udry@unvc.udu homepage: http://www.cpc.unc.edu/addhealth. The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) is a longitudinal study which provides data uniquely qualified to address the most important questions about adolescent health and health behaviors today. A national sample of 7th to 12th grade students completed 90,000 in-school questionnaires during the 1994-1995 school year. Twenty thousand students and a parent were interviewed in their homes during the summer of 1995; fourteen thousand of the adolescents were re-interviewed during the summer of 1996. Add Health provides a comprehensive view of adolescent health with information on: (1) physical, mental, and emotional health status, including self-reported and measured height and weight, injuries, physical disabilities, sleep disorders, self-esteem, suicide ideation; and (2) health behaviors, including eating disorders, substance use and abuse, weapon carrying and use, measures used to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, sexual behavior, contraceptive use, nutrition, exercise, and use of health services. The Add Health Study's unique design provides an unprecedented view of how an adolescent's health is shaped by characteristics of the world in which he or she lives. As well as the adolescent's view of his or her world, independent measures of the adolescent's social contexts are available including family context, peer influence and school context. In Wave III of the Survey (2000-2001), eligible respondents who participated in the Wave I, not young adults aged 18-26, were re-interviewed. A sample of 1,500 ... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of recent interest in the changing organization of work, there is some evidence that work time may be related to health. However, whether some health effects can be attributed to time at work has not been fully disentangled. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, we analyze the effect of work time on six individual level health outcomes. Our findings indicate that, with the exception of obesity, work time does not have an independent effect on health. Until we control for a host of other variables, we find that working part time has a negative effect on health, suggesting that part time jobs have other characteristics that associate them with worse health. Working a shift with variable hours also has a negative effect on health, until we control for whether the respondent reported that health limits the amount or type of work they can do, indicating that people with health problems may select jobs with irregular hours in order to accommodate their limitations. However, even with such controls held constant, workers with variable hours, as well as full-time and overtime workers, are more likely to be obese, suggesting health risks in years to come. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the debate over 30 years on the socioeconomic effects of teenage childbearing, the consensus on its "true" effects is still unsettled. The debate is centered on theoretical considerations of early motherhood as a harmful event and teen mothers' preexisting socioeconomic disadvantages; and methodological challenges against selection bias. Alternative models have been developed, but tend to rely on strong assumptions and unrepresentative samples. This study extends this literature by employing a counterfactual approach using propensity score matching; and using data from Add Health. The counterfactual analysis attempts to obtain the causal effects of teenage childbearing by identifying better comparison groups to teen mothers, based on observed covariates. A sensitivity analysis is conducted to address selection bias on unobserved covariates. Add Health helps to capture recent changes in welfare policy and adolescent population composition. Results show that teenage childbearing has statistically negative effects--but smaller than conventional regression estimates--on educational attainment, but no effects on labor market outcomes and welfare dependency. Theoretical and methodological implications are discussed. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a proximate site of a broader normative culture that legitimizes some sexualities and deems others deviant, schools can create an unwelcoming environment for students with nonheterosexual feelings, identities or behaviors. Previous research has demonstrated that a culture of compulsory heterosexuality stigmatizes sexual minority youth, and these adolescents are at greater risk of emotional distress and social marginalization. However, schools vary with respect to the social norms and values they promote, including those related to sexuality. While some school climates may attach greater stigma to same-sex romantic attraction, other schools may be more accepting of sexual diversity. We use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine the impact of various school characteristics on same-sex attracted adolescents' emotional distress, feelings of social support, and physical conflict with peers. Our results suggest that though same-sex attracted youth are at greater risk for decreased well being, this varies according to several school characteristics. In particular, we find that youth with same-sex attractions are at greater risk in rural schools and in schools where football and religion have a strong presence. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social science researchers have well established the negative effects of perceived discrimination on mental and physical health. Using data from the Black Youth Project, including 995 Latina/o, non-Hispanic Black, and non-Hispanic white adolescents and young adults, I investigate whether the relationship between perceived discrimination and health varies by the number and type of discrimination. Although individuals in minority groups are more likely to report experiencing discrimination (i.e., on the basis of race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, social class) than non-minority groups, adolescents and young adults reporting any discrimination, regardless of the type and their minority/non-minority status, report worse self-reported physical and mental health. The negative effects of perceived discrimination on health among adolescents and young adults increases for each additional type of discrimination experienced, especially for mental health and seeking health care when one needs it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although numerous scholars have noted the important role that neighborhood context plays in creating an obesogenic environment, few studies have examined the long-term impact of adolescent neighborhood conditions on body mass in adulthood. The authors use four waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a nationally representative, school-based sample of young people in grades 7-12, to examine the net effects of objective and subjective indicators of neighborhood environment on BMI trajectories. Both parental perceptions of neighborhood disorder and neighborhood structural disadvantage were positively associated with the baseline BMI. Neighborhood structural disadvantage was also positively associated with the slope of BMI. Adolescents who lived in more disadvantaged neighborhoods not only began the study with higher body mass; they also gained weight at a faster rate than those who lived in more advantaged neighborhoods at the first wave of data collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research suggests that volunteering is associated with a number of pro social benefits, including a decrease in the likelihood of subsequent arrest. To date, research has largely conceptualized volunteering as a homogenous behavior, however there is considerable variation in why people volunteer; some individuals choose to volunteer while others are required by schools, churches, or correctional agencies. Little is known about whether these different types of volunteering have different effects on subsequent behavior. This study utilizes data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to examine the relationship between different types of volunteering and subsequent arrest. In particular, we distinguish three distinctly different types of service work: (1) court mandated, (2) school, church, and parent mandated, and (3) elective. The results show divergent effects of volunteering on arrest. More specifically, we find that court mandated volunteering increases the likelihood of future arrest, whereas elective volunteering is associated with a decrease in the likelihood of subsequent arrest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]