Background: Numerous studies document support for sexuality education to be taught in high school, and often, in middle school. However, little research has been conducted addressing support for sexuality education in elementary schools. Methods: As part of the state Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Survey administration, the…

Background: For schools to be safe and supportive for students, school health professionals should be aware of the particular challenges lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) students face, especially the risk for discrimination, violent victimization, and depression in the school setting. We assessed school health…

Background: We describe the prevalence of behaviors that put American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) high school students at risk for teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and the relationships among race/ethnicity and these behaviors. Methods: We analyzed merged 2007 and 2009 data from the national Youth Risk Behavior…

Background: Text messaging is an increasingly common mode of communication, especially among adolescents, and frequency of texting may be a measure of one's sociability. This study examined how text messaging ("texting") frequency and academic performance are associated with adolescent sexual behaviors. Methods: A cross-sectional…

Background: The Institute of Medicine (2012) concluded that we must "strengthen schools as the heart of health." To intervene for better outcomes in both health and academic achievement, identifying factors that impact children is essential. Study objectives are to (1) document associations between health assets and academic achievement,…

Background: To date, research has focused primarily on psychological correlates of weight-based teasing. In this study, we extended previous work by also examining physical health-related variables (eg, physical self-concept and physical fitness [PF]). Methods: Participants included 1419 middle school students (637 boys and 782 girls). Of these,…

Background: In fall 2009, many US communities experienced school closures during the influenza A H1N1 pandemic (pH1N1) and the state of Michigan reported 567 closures. We conducted an investigation in Michigan to describe pH1N1-related school policies, practices, and identify factors related to school closures. Methods: We distributed an online…

Background: The 2009 H1N1 vaccination campaign was the largest in US history. State health departments received vaccines from the federal government and sent them to local health departments (LHDs) who were responsible for getting vaccines to the public. Many LHD's used school-based clinics to ensure children were the first to receive limited…

Background: Schools can promote healthy eating in adolescents. This study used a qualitative approach to examine barriers and facilitators to healthy eating in schools. Methods: Case studies were conducted with 8 low-income Michigan middle schools. Interviews were conducted with 1 administrator, the food service director, and 1 member of the…

Background: Violence-exposed youth rarely receive mental health services, even though exposure increases risk for academic and psychosocial problems. This study examines the association between violence exposure and mental health service contact. The 4 forms of violence exposure were peer, family, sexual, and witnessing. Methods: Data are from…

Background: In 2007, legislation was proposed in 24 states and the District of Columbia for school-based human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine mandates, and mandates were enacted in Texas, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Media coverage of these events was extensive, and media messages both reflected and contributed to controversy surrounding…

Background: The School Climate Measure (SCM) was developed and validated in 2010 in response to a dearth of psychometrically sound school climate instruments. This study sought to further validate the SCM on a large, diverse sample of Arizona public school adolescents (N = 20,953). Methods: Four SCM domains (positive student-teacher relationships,…

Background: Weight misperception has been documented among children although the impact on health risk behaviors is less understood, particularly among middle school students. The goals of this study were to describe sociodemographic differences in actual and perceived weight, correspondence between actual and perceived weight, and weight-related…

Background: Despite school-based and other interventions for pediatric obesity, many obese youth of the present generation will persist in their obesity into adolescence and adulthood. Thus, understanding not only how better to tailor weight interventions but how to promote overall adjustment for persistently obese youth is of utmost importance.…

Background: Media literacy programs have shown potential for reduction of adolescent tobacco use. We aimed to determine if an anti-smoking media literacy curriculum improves students' media literacy and affects factors related to adolescent smoking. Methods: We recruited 1170 9th-grade students from 64 classrooms in 3 public urban high…