This collection of fact sheets includes: (1) Alcohol and Drug Use; (2) Bullying and Suicidal Behaviors; (3) Dietary Behaviors; (4) Disease Prevention and Health Care Access; (5) Injury Risk and Violence Behaviors; (6) Physical Inactivity; (7) Sexual Behaviors; (8) Tobacco Use Behaviors; and (9) Weight Management. [For "[West Virginia Youth…

Existing research has illustrated that Native American, American Indian, and Alaska Native youth (referred to, henceforth, as Native and Indigenous youth in this report) as well as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth often face unique challenges at school related to their marginalized identities. A long history of violence…

Purpose: Peer crowds are macro-level subcultures that share similarities across geographic areas. Over the past decade, dozens of studies have explored the association between adolescent peer crowds and risk behaviors, and how they can inform public health efforts. However, despite the interest, researchers have not yet reported on crowd size and…

The role of interpersonal components of perfectionism in suicide outcomes among youth was assessed and the Perfectionism Social Disconnection Model (PSDM) was tested by determining whether the links between socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP) and perfectionistic self-presentation (PSP) and suicide outcomes are mediated by experiences of social…

This is the first study to examine whether high school students experiencing frequent bullying behaviors are at risk for "later" depression and suicidality. A total of 236 students who reported frequent bullying behavior without depression or suicidality during a suicide screening were interviewed 4 years later to reassess depression, suicidal…

In recent years anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) bullying has been a pervasive discussion in popular and scholarly discourse. While such a discussion has documented the negative impact of bullying on the physical, psychological, social, and emotional lives of young people, it has not had a critical and sustained analysis…

Background: Research on the extent to which cyberbullying affects sexual minority youth is limited. This study examined associations between experiencing cyber and school bullying and engaging in aggressive and suicidal behaviors among sexual minority youth. We also explored whether feeling connected to an adult at school moderated these…

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) youth experience numerous disparities, including but not limited to access to health care, HIV risk, safety in school, educational opportunities, and family support. Historically, research on this community lumped together LGBQ experiences with experiences of transgender and…

Growing evidence suggests that exposure to early-life adversity poses risk to youth development, with impaired mental health a central concern. This population-representative study of adolescent students (n = 11,222) investigates the effects of two key forms of early adversity--victimization and poverty--on adolescent mental health in a step-wise…

Many fingers are pointed at today's youth who are maligned for problems of bullying, school dropout, teen violence, suicide, and sexual encounters at ever younger ages. But these are symptoms of the culture of discord adults have created for youth. Too many youth lack positive adult and peer relationships, a loving and caring community, and a…

Students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) experience higher rates of victimization by bullying than do their heterosexual-identified peers. In this article, we investigate the extent to which this difference in rates of victimization can explain LGBTQ youths' greater rates of suicidal ideation, suicide…

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is of increasing concern, yet many adolescents who self-injure are reluctant to seek professional help. Instead, they turn to friends for support, although it is unclear what these friends can offer. This study aimed to identify adolescents' views of how peers and online friends can help young people who…

Research shows that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning or queer (LGBTQ) youth are at high risk for bullying and violence, poor mental health, and other challenges. The availability of data from WestEd's California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS), which provides arguably more data on LGBTQ youth than any other source in the nation,…

Identifying patterns of victimization continuity and discontinuity over time can inform school-based efforts to prevent and intervene with peer victimization. We conducted a four-wave longitudinal study of students through their transition from middle to high school. Participants were 135 diverse students from Grade 8 to Grade 11 who completed…

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…