Go Grrrls: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Gender-Specific Intervention to Reduce Sexual Risk Factors in Middle School Females.

Purpose: Adolescent females continue to face health consequences associated with risky sexual behaviors such as unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of a gender-specific intervention targeted to early adolescent females.

Method: This study used an intent to treat randomized clinical trial comparing a broad-based female empowerment curriculum with a dose-matched science and technology female leadership curriculum.

Scaling Up a Multifaceted Violence Prevention Package: County-Level Impact of the North Carolina Youth Violence Prevention Center.

Objective: Multifaceted approaches to youth-violence prevention package evidence-based programs into initiatives that yield large-scale impact. This study assessed the impact of a package of evidence-based violence prevention programs, implemented as part of the North Carolina Youth Violence Prevention Center, on county-level violence indicators.

Method: Using growth-curve modeling, the target county was compared to all other counties in North Carolina and a comparison county.

The Impact of Teen Court on Rural Adolescents: Improved Social Relationships, Psychological Functioning, and School Experiences.

Teen Court is a prevention program aimed at diverting first time juvenile offenders from the traditional juvenile justice system and reintegrating them into the community. Few studies have examined if Teen Court impacts adolescent functioning. We examined how Teen Court participation impacted psychosocial functioning, social relationships, and school experiences in a sample of 392 rural Teen Court participants relative to two comparison samples, one from the same county as Teen Court (n = 4276) and one from a neighboring county (n = 3584).

An Investigation of Relational Risk and Promotive Factors Associated with Adolescent Female Aggression.

Despite growing trends in adolescent female aggression, much adolescent aggression research has focused on males to the exclusion of their female counterparts. Using relational-cultural and social role theories, the current study identifies the risk and promotive factors associated with adolescent female aggression. Using data from the Rural Adaptation Project (a 5 year longitudinal panel study of youth from two rural, ethnically diverse, low income counties in North Carolina), a 2-level hierarchical linear model was estimated (N = 3580).

Family dynamics and aggressive behavior in Latino adolescents.

Objectives: Despite high prevalence rates and evidence that acculturation is associated with adolescent behavioral and mental health in Latino youth, little research has focused on aggressive behavior for this population. The aim of the current study was to fill this research gap by examining the influence of several aspects of family functioning, including parent-adolescent conflict, parent worry, and parent marital adjustment, on aggression among Latino adolescents.

Method: Data come from the Latino Acculturation and Health Project (LAHP), a longitudinal investigation of acculturation in Latino families in North Carolina and Arizona.

Substance use in rural adolescents: The impact of social capital, anti-social capital, and social capital deprivation.

Middle- and high-school substance use is a pressing public health problem in the United States. Despite similar or, in some cases, elevated rates of substance use among rural youth, much of the extant research on adolescent substance use has focused on urban areas. The current study aims to uncover forms of social capital (e.

Evaluating dosage effects for the positive action program: How implementation impacts internalizing symptoms, aggression, school hassles, and self-esteem.

Positive Action (PA) is a school-based intervention for elementary-, middle-, and high-school students that aims to decrease problem behaviors (e.g., violence, substance use) and increase positive behaviors (e.

Risk and protective factors across multiple microsystems associated with internalizing symptoms and aggressive behavior in rural adolescents: Modeling longitudinal trajectories from the Rural Adaptation Project.

The current study examined risk and protective factors across microsystems that impact the development of internalizing symptoms and aggression over 4 years in a sample of culturally diverse, rural adolescents. We explored whether risk and protective factors across microsystems were associated with changes in rates of internalizing symptoms and aggressive behavior. Data came from the Rural Adaptation Project (RAP), a 5-year longitudinal panel study of more than 4,000 students from 26 public middle schools and 12 public high schools.

Perceived Peer Delinquency and Externalizing Behavior Among Rural Youth: The Role of Descriptive Norms and Internalizing Symptoms.

Little research has examined the way in which perceptions of peer behavior (i.e., descriptive norms) influence externalizing behavior among rural adolescents.

A Longitudinal Evaluation of the Positive Action Program in a Low-Income, Racially Diverse, Rural County: Effects on Self-Esteem, School Hassles, Aggression, and Internalizing Symptoms.

Positive Action is a school-based program that aims to decrease problem behaviors (e.g., violence, substance use) and increase positive behaviors (e.

Multi-level risk factors and developmental assets associated with aggressive behavior in disadvantaged adolescents.

The current study examined multilevel risk factors and developmental assets on longitudinal trajectories of aggressive behavior in a diverse sample of rural adolescents. Using ecological and social capital theories, we explored the impact of positive and negative proximal processes, social capital, and contextual characteristics (i.e.

Longitudinal Risk and Protective Factors Associated with Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms Among Male and Female Adolescents.

Using ecological theory and the peer socialization model, the current study identified risk and protective factors associated with internalizing and externalizing symptoms across ecological domains. It was hypothesized that the constellation of risk and protective factors within the peer microsystem would vary by gender: future optimism and negative peer influence were expected to be significant risk/protective factors for males, whereas peer victimization was expected to be significant risk factors among females. Using four waves of data, three-level hierarchical linear models were estimated for males and females.

Measuring Adolescent Violent Behavior Across Groups: Assessing Measurement Invariance of the Violent Behavior Checklist-Modified.

Measures of violent behavior are often assumed to function identically across different groups (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity).

Multilevel risk factors and developmental assets for internalizing symptoms and self-esteem in disadvantaged adolescents: modeling longitudinal trajectories from the Rural Adaptation Project.

The current study filled significant gaps in our knowledge of developmental psychopathology by examining the influence of multilevel risk factors and developmental assets on longitudinal trajectories of internalizing symptoms and self-esteem in an exceptionally culturally diverse sample of rural adolescents. Integrating ecological and social capital theories, we explored if positive microsystem transactions are associated with self-esteem while negative microsystem transactions increase the chances of internalizing problems. Data came from the Rural Adaptation Project, a 5-year longitudinal panel study of more than 4,000 middle school students from 28 public schools in two rural, disadvantaged counties in North Carolina.

Familial influences on internalizing symptomatology in Latino adolescents: an ecological analysis of parent mental health and acculturation dynamics.

The aim of this study was to examine if family system dynamics (e.g., parent mental health, marriage quality, conflict, and cohesion) that have often been overlooked when studying Latino families play a more important role in predicting adolescent internalizing symptoms than acculturation processes.

The effects of positive and negative parenting practices on adolescent mental health outcomes in a multicultural sample of rural youth.

The quality of parent-child relationships has a significant impact on adolescent developmental outcomes, especially mental health. Given the lack of research on rural adolescent mental health in general and rural parent-child relationships in particular, the current longitudinal study explores how rural adolescents' (N = 2,617) perceptions of parenting practices effect their mental health (i.e.

The differential impacts of episodic, chronic, and cumulative physical bullying and cyberbullying: the effects of victimization on the school experiences, social support, and mental health of rural adolescents.

Few studies have examined the impacts of past, current, and chronic physical bullying and cyberbullying on youth, especially in rural settings. This study augments this scant literature by exploring the school experiences, social support, and mental health outcomes for rural, middle school youth. The participants for this 2-year longitudinal study were 3,127 youth from 28 middle schools.

Ecological correlates of depression and self-esteem in rural youth.

The current study examines individual-, social-, and school-level characteristics influencing symptoms of depression and self-esteem among a large sample (N = 4,321) of U.S. youth living in two rural counties in the South.

Ethnic identity and mental health in American Indian youth: examining mediation pathways through self-esteem, and future optimism.

Mental health functioning in American Indian youth is an understudied topic. Given the increased rates of depression and anxiety in this population, further research is needed. Using multiple group structural equation modeling, the current study illuminates the effect of ethnic identity on anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and externalizing behavior in a group of Lumbee adolescents and a group of Caucasian, African American, and Latino/Hispanic adolescents.

Anxiety and aggression in rural youth: baseline results from the rural adaptation project.

There is little research on the prevalence of and risk factors for mental health disorders, including anxiety and aggression, for low income, rural youth. The research that does exist suggests that rural youth may be at increased risk for negative outcomes, including low educational achievement, drug use and possession of weapons among gang members, and alcohol use. Using multilevel logistic regression, we examined individual, family, and school risk and protective factors for adolescent anxiety and aggression in a large, racially diverse sample of 4,321 middle school students who came from two impoverished, rural counties in a Southeastern state.