Childhood obesity and the early development of type 2 diabetes (T2 DM) place students at risk for chronic health problems. The school nurse is uniquely situated to promote school health initiatives that influence health behavior. The purpose of this review was to determine effective nonpharmacological interventions for prevention of T2 DM in…

When a sexting message spreads to an unintended audience, it can adversely affect the victim's reputation. Sexting incidents constitute a potential school safety risk. Just as with other types of adolescent risk behavior, school nurses might have to initiate the first response when a sexting episode arises, but a school nurse's role goes…

Many school-based suicide prevention programs do not show a positive impact on help-seeking behaviors among emotionally troubled teens despite their being at high risk for suicide. This study is a secondary analysis of the Surviving the Teens® program evaluation to determine its effect on help-seeking behaviors among troubled youth. Results showed…

It is well established that many adolescents who smoke want to quit, but little is known about why adolescents want to quit and if reasons to quit differ across gender. The objective of this study was to determine if reasons to quit smoking differ in boys and girls. Data on the Adolescent Reasons for Quitting (ARFQ) scale were collected in mailed…

Many students in Korea begin to use tobacco and develop a regular smoking habit before they reach adulthood. Yet, little is known about various signs contributing to the transition of the student smoking behaviors. This study used a national sample to explore and compare risk factors for smoking behaviors. Three types of smoking behaviors were…

About 35% of healthy weight adolescent females describe themselves as overweight, and 66% report planning to lose weight. Body weight dissatisfaction is associated with unhealthy weight loss practices including diet pill/powder/liquid (PPL) use. Few studies have examined diet PPL use in healthy weight adolescent females; therefore, Youth Risk…

In 2006, the first human pappilomavirus (HPV) vaccine was approved for females aged 9 to 26. However, the national HPV vaccination rate among young women has been low. Public concerns were raised in regard to the fact that HPV vaccination might encourage unsafe sex. This cross-sectional study examined the differences in sexual practices between…

Despite improvements in prevention, oral diseases are a problem among adolescents, linked to poor health outcomes and poor school performance. Little is known about adolescent oral health behavior. This systematic review describes factors that influence oral health behavior in adolescents. Inclusion criteria for the literature search were American…

This study was conducted to examine the effect of a healthy nails program on nail-biting in Turkish schoolchildren. This quasi-experimental study was of pretest-posttest control group design. A total of 50 students of a primary school formed the intervention group, while 53 students from the same school formed the control group. Data were…

The aim of this phenomenological study was to describe the phenomenon of health as experienced by adolescent girls in Sweden. Fifteen adolescent girls were interviewed with a focus on what made them feel well in their everyday life. This study reveals that the adolescent girl's health is a complex phenomenon interwoven with their lives. Health…

This study explored the relationships among personal factors, family structure and family function, adolescents’ self-efficacy for safe sex, and sexual behaviors among sexually active adolescents. A subset sample from the first three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) was selected for this exploratory…

Adolescents who engage in unprotected intercourse are at risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI). Although adolescents in rural areas participate in levels of sexual risk taking similar to that of nonrural youth, few data are available identifying factors that influence condom use among rural adolescents. The purpose of this…

Asthma is the most prevalent chronic illness in childhood affecting 7 million youth. Many youth with asthma face another risk factor in obesity. Obesity, in turn, increases disorders such as asthma. Studies have recommended that asthma programs also address weight management in youth. Taking this into consideration, the I Can Control Asthma and…

As key members of the school environment, it is important for school employees to be vaccinated. Employees are in direct contact with children in close quarters for long periods of time and such an environment can easily serve as an outbreak center for vaccine-preventable communicable diseases such as measles. Despite the fact that most school…

Previous research, over a decade old, suggests students attending alternative high schools (AHS) engage in high levels of health-risk behaviors. Data from the 2007 Minnesota Student Survey for students attending AHS ("n" = 2,847) and traditional high schools (THS; "n" = 87,468) were used for this cross-sectional analysis to…