Exemplary Practices in Adolescent Development

In 2003, Sierra Health Foundation's Board of Directors selected school-aged youth as the target for its next focused grantmaking effort. As part of the program research and development phase, staff and consultants examined evidenced-based practices that appear promising in positively affecting adolescent health and development for young people 10-15 years of age. Attachment A to the following report depicts the cognitive, physical, and social and emotional development of the targeted age group. This is provided as reference. The rest of the report is a summary of studies collected and examined as part of this research effort and is organized as follows: (1) Exemplary Practices of Issue-Focused Efforts; and (2) Exemplary Practices of Strengths-Based Efforts. Appended are: (1) Child Development Stages, Middle Childhood and Adolescence; (2) Literature Review: Targeted Activities to Reduce Teenage Pregnancy; (3) Literature Review: Activities to Reduce Youth Violence; (4) Literature Review: Targeted Activities to Reduce Youth Depression; (5) Literature Review: Targeted Activities to Reduce Alcohol and Drug Abuse; (6) Literature Review: Successful Practices for Prevention of Obesity in Youth; (7) Literature Review: Activities to Improve Youth Academic Success; and (8) Literature Review: Youth Development. (Contains 12 notes.)