Clinically significant depressive symptoms in African American adolescent females in an urban reproductive health clinic.

Adolescent depression is a major public health concern. Depression and depressive symptoms are more prevalent in adolescent females and are associated with high-risk sexual behavior. Only one third of adolescents receive professional help for their depression, although about 90% visit their primary care providers on average 2-3 times per year.

Service utilization patterns of maltreated and nonmaltreated children from low-income, African-American families.

Objectives: This study examined health care utilization patterns by maltreatment status among youths from low-income households across multiple service domains.

Methods: Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 153 African-American maltreated and nonmaltreated children (ages eight to 12). The youths were children of women recruited at a large inner-city public hospital for a study examining intimate partner violence and child maltreatment.

Neurodevelopmental screening in toddlers and early preschoolers with sickle cell disease.

Sickle cell disease is associated with an elevated risk for neurologic complications beginning in early childhood. Detecting higher-risk cases with developmental screening instruments may be a cost-effective method for identifying young children in need of more frequent or intensive assessment. We evaluated the validity of the Denver II test as a tool to detect lower levels of developmental attainment and their association with neurologic risk in 50 young children with sickle cell disease.